WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it has offered the City and County of Denver, Colorado (Denver) a Social Impact Partnership to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA) Project grant in the amount of $5,512,000 and a SIPPRA Independent Evaluator grant in the amount of $826,800 for its Housing to Health (H2H) program, a permanent supportive housing program designed to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability. Once the grants are accepted by Denver through its legislative and executive process, Denver will be the second entity awarded funding under the SIPPRA program. Denver expects to present the offered SIPPRA grants to the City Council in early October.
“This investment will allow more Denver residents, who are experiencing homelessness, to receive basic housing and health services, which will make a substantial difference in the lives of these individuals and provide benefits to the whole community,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen said. “Homelessness and housing insecurity are one of the most significant challenges that a person or family can face. The Treasury Department will continue to work with communities across the country as they seek to address this challenge and provide opportunities to those at-risk of being homeless.”
“We’re honored that Denver has been selected as the first city to tackle the complicated issue of homelessness through a Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act award from the U.S. Treasury Department,” Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said. “Through our previous work, we housed more than 250 people experiencing homelessness who were frequently interacting with police, our jails and emergency care, and we proved that when housed and wrapped with services, people encountered the criminal justice system less often and dramatically increased their use of preventative medical care. This is a win-win for everyone involved because the wellbeing of these individuals is greatly improved and the city is able to redirect those costs to other needs.”
“In 2018, we passed the bipartisan Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act to empower states and local communities to find innovative ways to improve community outcomes in health care, education, job training, child care, housing, and more. As it often does, Colorado is leading the way with a new Housing to Health program in Denver that was made possible by SIPPRA to house and support 100 families so they can get back on their feet,” said Senator Michael Bennet. “Congratulations to the City and County of Denver on receiving this grant. They deserve our thanks for the incredible work they are doing.”
“While homelessness resolution is one of the top challenges faced by Denver and many other communities, we know from experience that we can make lasting change by offering housing together with much-needed wrap-around services,” said Britta Fisher, Executive Director of Denver’s Department of Housing Stability. “We’re thrilled to build upon Denver’s recent pay-for-performance successes and reduce homelessness among our neighbors who are facing some of the toughest and costliest of housing stability challenges.”
“We must provide wraparound services if we want to make a lasting impact. Housing alone isn’t enough. This grant will help Denver keep people housed and off the street,” said Senator John Hickenlooper.
The SIPPRA program makes funding available to state and local governments for pay-for-results social impact partnership projects. SIPPRA projects may seek to improve a variety of social problems, including increasing employment, wages, and financial stability for low-income families; improving family health and housing; and reducing recidivism.
The H2H program will target homeless individuals 18 years or older, who have been previously incarcerated, and are at high risk for avoidable and high-cost health services. Denver will receive up to $5.512 million if its H2H program sees an increase in housing stability (reduction in homelessness), improved health, increased access to health services, and a decrease in criminal justice involvement. These outcomes are expected to lead to a reduction of net federal health care expenditures. The SIPPRA Independent Evaluator grant that Denver will receive will be used to pay for the costs of independently evaluating the project. Similar supportive housing projects have shown an increase in housing stability and access to health services while decreasing criminal justice involvement including fewer arrests and jail days.
SIPPRA funding is awarded through a competitive process. The Treasury Department selected Denver’s project based on the strength of its application, input from the Commission on Social Impact Partnerships, and in consultation with the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
For more information about the SIPPRA program
, please see https://home.treasury.gov/services/social-impact-partnerships/sippra-pay-for-results.
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