Douglas County & Tri-Cities Achieve Quality Data for Veterans

In total, the region has 5 out of 9 sub-regions at Quality Data for Veterans, reaching our goal for 2023.

Douglas County and the Tri-Cities of Sheridan, Littleton, and Englewood have reached Quality Data for Veterans! This Quality By-Name List (BNL) helps us understand the scope of veteran homelessness in each subregion, describes the inflow and outflow on an ongoing basis, gives us accurate information to reduce homelessness, and helps us measure our progress toward ending it.

In total, the Denver Metro has 5 out of 9 sub-regions at Quality Data for Veterans, reaching our goal for 2023! This includes Adams County, the City of Aurora, Boulder County, Douglas County, and the Tri-Cities.

Mike Sandgren, Tri-Cities Homelessness Services Coordinator, serves as the community lead for these efforts. In his experience, Quality By Name Data has key benefits for the veterans we serve and the communities serving them. “Our Tri-Cities region has rallied around the opportunity to serve unhoused veterans in a more streamlined way. The vision of knowing with confidence how many veterans are experiencing homelessness in our community has been a significant motivator for local agencies to begin utilizing HMIS, engaging in outreach, and participating in the Built-for-Zero Homeless Coordination Team.” He added, “Now, we can share stories of specific veterans moving out of homelessness and into stable, dignified living situations.  These success stories – of people known and loved by service providers throughout our region – are having a compounding effect with regards to catalyzing further excitement and engagement with our Built for Zero work.”

Prior to their engagement with Built for Zero (BFZ), Tri-Cities established a strong foundation for homelessness response.  They developed a well-organized service provider network (Change the Trend), which brings together 40 to 50 service providers weekly for networking and collaboration.  Additionally, the Tri-Cities Homelessness Policy Group emerged and developed a plan of action for homelessness response, known as the Tri-Cities Homelessness Action Plan. 

Sandgren highlighted how this foundation led to their region’s Quality Data success. “First, we established a Built for Zero Homeless Coordination Team. Under the guidance of our Improvement Advisor, this team worked through the process of attaining a perfect scorecard for Single Adults, leaning into HMIS utilization and street outreach to make contact with unsheltered individuals throughout the region." Their subregion also established a Case Conferencing team to work through the needs of veterans on their by-name list on a case-by-case basis.  “Through these steps, Tri-Cities is positioned to efficiently engage our Quality Data By-Name-List and take the next steps toward functional zero for veteran homelessness,” added Sandgren. 

Margay Witzdam, Improvement Advisor at MDHI, shared, “Tri-Cities is a prime example of the impact of collective efforts for positive change. Englewood, Littleton, and Sheridan have a strong collaborative history, specifically addressing homelessness, and quickly incorporated the BFZ methodology into their existing strategic plan without hesitation. Through swift actions, organization, a solid foundation, and a dedicated team, Tri-Cities was able to attain quality data for veterans seamlessly.”

Similarly, Douglas County reached this milestone through increased HMIS utilization, outreach efforts, and case conferencing. Sofia Vigil, Regional Coordination Lead, added, “Douglas County has fully embraced the Built For Zero framework to end Veteran homelessness. From the moment Douglas County established its Homeless Engagement, Assistance, and Resource Team (HEART) in 2022, they hit the ground running to ensure they got to know every person experiencing homelessness in their community by name. The quality data verification for Veterans is truly a testament to the collaborative work in the sub-region.” 

By the end of 2024, we’ll have Quality Data and by-name lists for all veterans experiencing homelessness in Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, and Jefferson Counties.