Homeless to Housed: Denver’s Approach

Since its founding in 1984, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) has worked to serve people experiencing homelessness through housing, health care, and supportive services. One of the most significant struggles for CCH clients has been the difficulty in maintaining health following release from hospitals and other facilities, safely recovering from recent medical or clinical procedures, and other recovery needs that cannot be safely met in shelters or on the streets. The new John Parvensky Stout Street Recuperative Care Center (JPSSRCC) exponentially increases the Coalition’s ability to serve these clients.

The facility treats clients with a variety of needs, including healing from postsurgical procedures, wound care, respiratory or heart issues, oxygen needs, chemotherapy treatment, and more. In addition to medical assistance for acute conditions, clients are provided with the opportunity to receive care onsite and ongoing integrated health care at the adjacent Stout Street Health Center including behavioral health support, pharmacy access, substance use treatment, peer support, and job training. Clients also can work with integrated case managers and housing counseling staff to identify long-term housing options, thereby providing them the opportunity to successfully transition out of homelessness to a long-term residence upon discharge.

The interior design of the building was selected through a trauma-informed process, and donated art warms the space. The Coalition believes that energy efficiency and environmentally friendly construction should be the standard for affordable housing. The building is designed and constructed to meet or exceed Enterprise Green Communities guidelines. These standards deliver greater energy and water efficiencies, better indoor air quality and space use that will be sustainable over time—ultimately resulting in lower utility costs. Architectural services for the mixed-use project, which is designed as attractively as market-rate housing in the Arapahoe Square neighborhood, were provided by Christopher Carvell Architects, and construction was provided by Milender White.