Boulder County Housing and Human Services opens applications for safety net funding

NEWS RELEASE
BOULDER COUNTY HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES
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The Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services will begin accepting applications on Monday, August 15 for 2023 funding through the county’s Human Services Safety Net (HSSN) initiative. The funding, which comes from a property tax mill levy approved by voters in 2010 and later extended by them through 2030, helps fill critical gaps in health, housing, and human services supports throughout the community during times of budget constraints and other challenges.

Funding available through HSSN for 2023, which will be supplemented by General Operating funds from the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services, will total about $11 million and will be targeted through multiple contracts toward programs that will sustain or increase a seamless network of services to under-resourced or unserved Boulder County community members.

“Through the Human Services Safety Net, the generosity of Boulder County residents has over the past decade delivered nearly $80 million in additional support for thousands of people most in need in our communities,” said Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy. “This is truly about neighbors helping neighbors, and never has this been more important than it is today as families and individuals who were already struggling are weathering a pandemic, inflation, high housing costs, and so many other pressures. As stewards of this funding we are glad to be part of the great work being done by the HSSN in Boulder County, and we encourage organizations to apply for HSSN funds if they can help in this effort.”

Applications for HSSN funding will be accepted through Friday, September 30, 2022. Focus areas for the funding include:

• Housing/Homelessness Prevention: Programming or services focused on increasing the ability for people to obtain and maintain housing. Examples include rental assistance, legal representation for housing, sheltering, pathways to housing for individuals experiencing homelessness and other services to keep people housed.
• Health and Well-Being, including Mental and Behavioral Health: Programming or services focused on supporting people to prevent, maintain, and improve physical and/or behavioral health and increase healthy behaviors. Examples include direct health care services, wellness, food security and nutrition.
• Education and Skill Building: Programming or services focused on advancing childhood development and academic achievement. Examples include childcare, child, teen or adult academic support, and youth, adult, or older adult training/mentoring.
• Individual and Family Supports: Programming or services focused on increasing access to services necessary to meet Boulder County community members needs or improve quality of life, increase economic stability and resilience, and increase safe environments for people with diverse identities. Examples include family resource centers, financial assistance, financial literacy or other forms of self-sufficiency assistance, advocacy, legal representation and protection from violence or other forms of vulnerability, supervised visitation and safe exchange services, and social connectivity.

More information about the HSSN and Request For Applications (RFA), including the recording from a recent Q&A call about participating in the RFA, can be found at www.BoulderCountyHSSN.org.

All applications and supporting documents must be submitted in their entirety, in digital format, to the BCDHHS Community Contracts team via Rory Trujillo Thomes, at [email protected], by Friday, September 30, 2022. Any application submitted after this date and time will not be considered for this funding round.

About Boulder County Housing and Human Services: The Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS) is a 500-person integrated services organization that focuses on connecting individuals and multiple generations of families with a full spectrum of supports. Over an average 12 months during typical times, BCDHHS connects more than 90,000 people with a wide range of wrap-around services, including food, housing, health coverage, childcare, safety, education and skill building, parenting supports, and much more. Visit www.BoulderCountyHHS.org and follow Boulder County Housing and Human Services via social media (www.Facebook.com/BCDHHS and www.Twitter.com/bouldercohhs) to learn more about BCDHHS’ prevention-based wrap-around community supports and services.

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