Center will offer resource navigation and services to help individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness on their path to housing.
Holiday Closures
In observance of the winter holidays, the City of Boulder is adjusting its operations schedules.
At the City of Boulder’s request, the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH) and the city are working together to open a Homelessness Day Services Center at its existing overnight shelter location, 4869 Broadway St.
The Homelessness Day Services Center, identified as a Boulder City Council priority in 2022, will serve as a welcoming and inclusive space where individuals experiencing homelessness can engage with service providers in a single location. The center will aim to build a sense of healthy community, meet people where they are and where they can receive services, and provide participants with a path to housing. In addition, day services will include dedicated beds to provide more robust discharge options for homeless individuals leaving the hospital.
“The complexities surrounding homelessness have increased dramatically in the last three years, and the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless is proud to open the new day center as part of a larger commitment to solve homelessness altogether,” said Mike Block, chief executive officer at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. “We are very excited on behalf of our homeless population that the city wants to partner not only in providing day services, but also in making our entire homeless response system more robust and solution oriented, resulting in more people finding a permanent home.”
Previously, the city announced that the center would be located at 1844 Folsom St. However, in July 2023, the owner and developer of that location withdrew from the process.
Presented with this challenge, the city looked at several other locations for the Homelessness Day Services Center. Recognizing that BSH is well-positioned to integrate services, shelter and housing, the city and BSH began discussions of expanding the BSH’s role to host day services at their facility. Both organizations agreed that this solution would benefit the unhoused community the most.
Kurt Firnhaber, director of Housing and Human Services, said, “We are grateful for the strong partnership the city has had with the Shelter for many years, and we look forward to working alongside Boulder Shelter for the Homeless in this new capacity. Incorporating day services into the Shelter’s existing offering will assist people without housing with daily living, activities and pathways out of homelessness.”
While the BSH facility was not originally listed as a potential location for the center, this location meets key evaluation criteria of size, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, distance from public transportation and schools/day care, zoning and affordability.
Community Engagement
As a next step, the city has requested that BSH submit a conditional use application and management plan in order to accommodate the addition of day services and other minor modifications to the shelter use. In early 2024, neighbors will be mailed an invitation from the city to attend a good neighbor meeting to share their input on the day shelter use and proposed BSH management plan.
In addition to the neighbor-focused engagement, the city has opened a Be Heard Boulder questionnaire to gather community feedback on the Homelessness Day Services Center. Feedback collected through Be Heard Boulder will be shared at the good neighbor meeting.
Initial outreach was conducted in 2022 to determine what characteristics would be important for a day center location. Engagement feedback was summarized in the Community Outreach Report, released in October 2022.
The Homelessness Day Services Center is anticipated to open later this winter. Learn more about the Homelessness Day Services Center on the city’s website. Learn more about Boulder Shelter for the Homeless on the BSH website.