YHDP RFP for Youth Homelessness due May 28

Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) is excited to announce the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project (YHDP) Funding, as part of a national initiative by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This funding opportunity aims to encourage creative and effective solutions to prevent and end youth homelessness in the Metro Denver region.

Since receiving $2.58 million in funding last September, our efforts, led by the Young Adult Leadership Committee (YALC), have been focused on ensuring that the mission and vision for these projects authentically represent the needs and aspirations of young people affected by homelessness. Our goal is clear: to build a brighter future where all youth thrive, supported by values of empathy, justice, and harmony.

We are looking for applicants who are deeply committed to youth empowerment, utilizing lived experiences to inform their practices, and eager to collaborate with the YALC and other partner organizations. This is not just a funding opportunity, it's a chance to be part of sustainable solutions and meaningful community engagement in ending youth homelessness. 

How to Apply: Detailed instructions and criteria for submissions can be found in the full RFP document here. Join us in this effort to improve the system for young people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity in our community!

Registration Link for virtual RFP Information Session on May 6th at 12 PM MDT:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vfuCuqz0rHd1c-EKNBHFA77_3iNNiYSoj.

HUD Announces Annual NOFO Awards, One New Project Funded

On January 29, HUD announced $3.2 billion in FY 2023 Continuum of Care (CoC) Competition Awards to CoC grant recipients in approximately 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs across the U.S. and its territories. The Metro Denver Continuum of Care received $32,836,361. These CoC grants provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, states, and local governments to quickly rehouse individuals and families experiencing homelessness and provide support while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness. Our community was awarded the following funding:

• Brookview - Renewal 2023 - $835,177

• CCH Families PSH (Formerly Families Transition Grant) - $5,385,223

• CCH MDCHC PSH Project - $8,690,668

• Coordinated Entry Metro Denver FY2023 - $555,905

• Cornerstone 2023 - $139,291

• DOH Consolidated PSH MDHI FY2022 - $8,081,007

• FY2023 Back Home RRH - $260,598

• FY2023 Bedrock - $634,880

• FY2023 Boulder County CoC Rapid Rehousing Program - $850,270

• FY2023 Spectrum CoC $929,794

• HAWCCO0099L8T032209 - $287,223

• HMIS Expansion FY23 - $125,000 HMIS

• Metro Denver Renewal FY2023 - $754,810

• Housing is Healthcare - $955,985

• Irving Street Women's Residence - $286,693

• JuanDiegoCO0094L8T032213 - $179,070

• Marshall Street Landing - $530,528

• Planning_FY23 - $1,491,902

• Providence at the Heights - $109,998

• PSH Consolidated Project FY2023 - $669,013

• Ruth Goebel House - $104,238

• Youth Transitions Project CoC $979,088

For more information, go to:

• HUD Press Release

• CoC Competition Awards Information

Final CoC NOFO Application Posted, Feedback Due 9/27

Dear Partners,

Thanks to everyone who already provided input on our region's Collaborative Application for federal homelessness funding! We appreciate your support in strengthening this year’s application to HUD. As part of this important community process, MDHI is posting the final version of the Collaborative Application as well as the Project Priority Listing. 

Please send final input to NOFA@mdhi.org by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 27.

Metro Denver Receives $2.58 Million from Federal Government to End Youth Homelessness

DENVER, COLORADO – On September 20, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $2,580,526 to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) to prevent and end youth homelessness. The funding was awarded through HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP). The grant allows key stakeholders in Denver’s homelessness services community, including those with lived experience, to create and implement a coordinated community plan to end homelessness for youth aged 24 and under.

Metro Denver was one of 16 communities selected by HUD to receive a YHDP grant this year, totaling $60 million in funding. These funds will be sub-granted to support a range of housing programs for youth, such as rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and transitional housing. “YHDP was developed using vital input from the very communities it serves,” said Rocky Mountain Regional Administrator Dominique Jackson. “With a strong focus on targeted outreach and supportive services, the funding available through this program will enable organizations like the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative to reach more youth and change the trajectory of their lives.”

Layla Said, Communications Specialist at MDHI, led this year’s grant writing, Homeless Youth Needs Assessment, and stakeholder engagement. She shared, “This is a pivotal moment for our community, one that gives us a real opportunity to address a critically unmet need for housing resources and end youth homelessness as a region in collaboration with those we serve.”

Metro Denver’s Homeless Management Information System showed 1,787 youth accessing services related to homelessness in metro Denver between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. During the same period, 632 unaccompanied youth were served by Runaway and Homeless Youth Projects. School districts also identified and reported 8,240 students experiencing homelessness during the 2020-2021 school year, and the annual Point in Time count identified 469 youth experiencing literal homelessness on the night of January 30, 2023. "Youth homelessness is a growing challenge in our community,” said Dr. Jamie Rife, Executive Director of MDHI. “This funding will greatly strengthen the region’s ability to meet the needs of young people navigating this crisis,” she added.  

Dominique Jackson, Rocky Mountain Regional Administrator of HUD, will be presenting the region with a check on September 27th at 10:15 am at Urban Peak's facility located at 1630 S. Acoma St. in Denver. The public and press are invited to attend.

The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is a federal initiative designed to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness. Its goal is to support selected communities, including rural, suburban, and urban areas across the United States, in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness.

MDHI is the Metro Denver Continuum of Care, the regional system that coordinates services and housing for people experiencing homelessness. This includes prevention/diversion, street outreach, emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing. MDHI works closely with each county in its continuum (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson) to build a homeless crisis response system that gets people back into housing as quickly as possible.

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For more information, please email info@mdhi.org.

Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Grant Open

Up to $15 million in federal funding available to prevent and end youth homelessness in metro Denver. See below for ways you can support our community’s application.

Interested in learning more about the YHDP? You can read the full HUD notice here or review our first stakeholder presentation from May 1.

Provider Survey

Do you work with young adults aged 24 and under that experience homelessness or housing instability? Please add your input to our Needs Assessment and Coordinated Community Plan by May 15 at 11:59pm.

Youth Survey

This survey is for young adults that have experienced homelessness or housing instability while aged 24 or under. This input will support our Needs Assessment and Coordinated Community Plan.

We encourage providers who work with young people to designate a time for them to complete it before May 15 at 11:59pm. All of the questions are optional. Young people should be compensated for their time via monetary or in-kind incentives.

Special Unsheltered NOFO Application and Priority Listing Posted

Thanks to all of you who provided input to our region's Collaborative Application to HUD as well as our region’s Unsheltered Plan! We appreciate you helping strengthen our application to HUD.
As part of this important process, MDHI is posting the final version of this critical application as well as the Project Priority Listing:

Collaborative Application

Priority Listing

Annual CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Released

The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has officially posted the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Continuum of Care Competition on Grants.gov.

Applicant Timeline

• Review the NOFO Grantee Presentation for more information

• Letters of Intent due August 17

• Applications due in e-snaps by August 29

• Fill out this form to give feedback on our Consolidated Application by September 23

• MDHI submits Collaborative Application by September 30

Types of Applicants

• Returning project applicants may choose to import FY 2021 renewal project application responses; however, this must be requested during your registration of the Renewal Funding Opportunity in e-snaps and is only available if you submitted a project application in the FY 2021 CoC Program Competition. Imported responses must be carefully reviewed to ensure accuracy.

• Projects renewing for the first time, that were previously awarded prior to the FY 2021 CoC Program Competition must complete the entire renewal project application.

• New project applications must be completed in full and in accordance with the new project application components permitted in this year’s Competition.

Additional Guidance 

The following additional guidance will be posted on the CoC Program Competition page of HUD’s website between August 1, 2022 and August 22, 2022: 

• FY 2022 CoC Estimated ARD Reports

• Detailed Instructions

  • CoC Application

  • CoC Priority Listing

  • Project Applications – all types

• Navigational Guides

  • Accessing the Project Application

  • New Project Application

  • Renewal Project Application

  • UFA Costs Project Application

  • Planning Costs Project Application

  • CoC Priority Listing

Questions 

Questions regarding the FY 2022 CoC Program Competition process must be submitted to CoCNOFO@hud.gov.  

Questions related to e-snaps functionality (e.g., password lockout, access to user’s application account, updating Applicant Profile) must be submitted to e-snaps@hud.gov.

You can also contact MDHI at nofa@mdhi.org.

Special NOFO for Unsheltered Homelessness

Timeline

August 12th: Letters of Intent Due

August 19th: Unsheltered Plan Feedback Due

September 16th: Project applications submitted to CoC

September 30th: Feedback due on our region’s Unsheltered Plan

October 5th: CoC notifies project applicants about whether their application will be accepted and ranked, rejected, or reduced

October 18th: CoC posts online all parts of the Special NOFO Consolidated Application for public viewing

October 20th: Submission Deadline

We are excited to announce that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released a special Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that includes $365 million in grant funds and housing vouchers to enhance our communities’ capacity to address unsheltered homelessness by connecting vulnerable individuals and families to housing, health care, and supportive services. This will fund up to $13 million in new projects that address unsheltered homelessness across Metro Denver. Read the full HUD Notice.

Special Unsheltered NOFO Webinar - View the Slides (PDF)

On 9/12/2022 MDHI released a draft version of the plan for public comment which can be found here: Metro Denver Unsheltered Plan for Public Comment

Please be sure to read the introductory comments that provide more context.

Who can apply?

All first-time CoC applicants will need to create an account in e-snaps. Please visit the CoC Program Applications and Grants Management System on the HUD Exchange for assistance navigating e-snaps. Current CoC or ESG-funded projects are not eligible to apply for this NOFO.

What projects are eligible?

Permanent Supportive Housing (PH-PSH), Permanent Housing – Rapid Re-housing (PH-RRH), Joint TH and PH-RRH, and Supportive Service Only (Coordinated Entry, Street Outreach, Standalone)

What costs are eligible?

Please read the HUD notice for eligible costs and threshold requirements.

Next steps?

Register to attend our upcoming MDHI webinar hosted on August 4, 2022 from 1-2 pm. You can also help create our Regional Unsheltered Plan by completing this form. Responses are due August 19th.

Where can I find the Metro Denver Plan?

Here is a link to the requirements for the Unsheltered Plan, which accounts for 70 points for this competition. MDHI is working with partners to complete this plan. All submissions should align with these requirements.

Additional Resources

HUD Announces First-Ever Funding Opportunity to Address Unsheltered Homelessness

“We have a responsibility to ensure that people sleeping in their vehicles, in tents, or on the streets, including in rural areas, have access to decent, stable housing and services, like health care and treatment, to live with dignity and safety.” - Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The $365 million package includes grant funds along with housing vouchers that will enhance communities’ capacity to address unsheltered homelessness by connecting vulnerable individuals and families to housing, health care, and supportive services.

• $322 million will be awarded to Continuum of Care (CoC) Programs through a Special Notice of Funding Opportunity to fund homeless outreach, permanent housing, supportive services, and other costs associated with a community’s approach to solving unsheltered homelessness. Grant terms last three years and are eligible for renewal under the CoC program competition.

• $43 million will fund approximately 4,000 new incremental vouchers. These will be allocated via a separate notice to public housing authorities with a priority to those that participate in a comprehensive community approach to solving homelessness. These vouchers can serve households experiencing or at-risk of homelessness; those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and veterans and families that include a veteran family member that meets one of the proceeding criteria.