Homeless Outreach Team coordinates efforts to offer services ahead of severe weather

Boulder County, Colo.- As we move toward winter in Colorado, Homeless Solutions for Boulder County (HSBC) recognizes that critical weather nights, when temperatures fall below 10°F and/or the City of Boulder experiences 6” or more of snow, are especially impactful to those who are unhoused. While recent changes to the system’s eligibility criteria for shelter stays mean that people have greater access to sheltering, local partners have been working to communicate resources to people in need of shelter during the colder months, and particularly when weather conditions are at critical levels.

To help in communication efforts, HSBC’s Coordinated Outreach Team routinely engages with individuals experiencing homelessness to help prepare and make plans in advance of winter storms. Individuals experiencing homelessness are encouraged to plan ahead or to access HSBC’s year-round programming through Coordinated Entry.

Coordinated Entry screening is the first step in connecting individuals to services including shelter, housing pathways, basic-needs services and case management services. Individuals are provided with grace nights at local shelters until they are able to access Coordinated Entry. Coordinated Entry is available by phone in Longmont, and both by phone or in-person in Boulder:

City of Boulder

909 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, CO 80302

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays;

noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays

303-579-4404

City of Longmont (By phone ONLY)

St. Vrain Community Hub at 515 Coffman St., Longmont, CO 8501

Noon to 2 p.m. Monday thru Friday

303-579-7364

The HSBC Executive Board recently approved several changes to its homelessness policies, including:

• Removing the six-month residency requirement for shelter services.
• Providing unlimited shelter stays for people who are actively engaged in shelter programs.
• Opening available beds to people who are not actively using the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH) Reserved Bed program and increasing space on critical weather nights.

BSH, located at 4869 N. Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304, offers 160 year-round beds. COVID-19 social distancing requirements have temporarily limited shelter beds to 140. To offset this reduction, 20 hotel beds are utilized from Nov. 15 to March 31 when shelter demand is highest. The 20 hotel beds are designed to help protect the most vulnerable long-term shelter residents from COVID-19. On critical weather nights, BSH will add 20 additional hotel beds, pending hotel availability. During the winter season, this brings BSH's total capacity to 180 beds on the coldest nights.

For more details about critical weather and HSBC services, visit the City of Boulder’s Homelessness Services webpage. For more information, contact Homeless Solutions for Boulder County at homeless-solutions@bouldercounty.org.