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Advocacy and Action with the League of Women Voters


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Housing and Homelessness


1. Join Our LWV of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties Housing and Homelessness Committee.
Advocate for affordable housing to prevent homelessness.
Contact Committee Chair Sonya Pennock at sonsu at earthlink dot net for more information.


2. Join the LWV of Colorado Housing Task Force
For more information, see the LWV of Colorado Housing Task Force webpage






LWV of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties Homelessness Position (adopted 2021)


Statement of Position on Homelessness

This League of Women Voters of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties Statement of Position on homelessness was adopted by the Management Team on May 24, 2021.

The League of Women Voters of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties believes that housing is a basic human need and that addressing homelessness is a responsibility of all communities.

The goals to be considered when addressing homelessness should be as follows:
  • Moving those who are experiencing homelessness into a safe housing environment as quickly as possible.
  • Providing housing that is affordable, safe, appropriate and adequately maintained.
  • Preventing people from falling into homelessness.
  • Respecting the dignity of those who are experiencing homelessness.
  • Promoting self-sufficiency.

    • To achieve the above goals, the League of Women Voters of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties supports the following strategies:

  • Following widely accepted best practices to reduce homelessness.
  • Providing an adequate supply of a housing including, but not limited to, affordable rental housing, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing.
  • Cooperating and coordinating among cities, counties, and non-profits in the Denver Metro Region to provide broad-based homelessness services.
  • Providing adequate and sustainable public and private funding for homelessness programs, including funding for personnel.
  • Ensuring adequate availability of emergency housing, including, but not limited to, year- round shelters, paid hotel rooms, and approved safe outdoor spaces including parking areas with services such as public toilets and trash receptacles.
  • Supplying adequate funding and program support for emergency assistance with rent, mortgage, utility, food and other living costs, as well as assistance in securing housing and avoiding eviction and foreclosure.
  • Subsidizing adequate transportation via public transit, ride-sharing services or other available means to help those experiencing homelessness access services.
  • Enacting laws that reduce the costs of housing such as permitting more than two unrelated adults to reside together.
  • Adopting laws and policies that incentivize private developers and community organizations to build new affordable and low-income housing or convert existing buildings either fully or partially into affordable and low -income affordable housing.
  • Adopting zoning laws and policies that facilitate development of multi-family residential buildings and preserve existing affordable and low-income housing.
 History:

At its 2018 annual meeting the League of Women Voters of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties approved a study of homelessness in Arapahoe and Douglas Counties. In the summer of 2018, a committee came together to conduct the study. Committee members interviewed city and county elected officials, city and county staff, school district employees, public health officials and non-profit providers of services for those experiencing homelessness. On April 23, 2019, the committee hosted an all-member meeting featuring a presentation by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. A planned May 2020 panel discussion was canceled due to Covid 19 pandemic. A second all-member meeting was held February 16, 2021, featuring a panel discussion including the manager of Arapahoe County’s Housing, Community Development and Senior Resources Division, the executive director of the Douglas County non-profit Help and Hope and the Director of Development and Communications at Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. An all-member meeting to reach consensus on the homelessness study was held April 20, 2021. The LWV of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties Management Team adopted the position on May 24, 2021.



A copy of the LWV of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties Homelessness Position may be downloaded in pdf format here