Many folks associate homelessness with unbathed people who talk to themselves and sleep under bridges, in cars, or in shelters. Some people who are homeless may have a temporary roof over their head by couch surfing, staying with someone they may or may not know for a few days, sleeping on a sofa or a floor, then moving on to the next spot where they can try to rest their head. Others live in overcrowded households or in dwellings that are physically or environmentally unsafe. Sometimes homeless people just disappear.
For hundreds of thousands of people across America, homelessness redefines the meaning of hopelessness. According to HUD, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are four operational definitions of homelessness – literally homeless, imminent risk of homelessness, homeless under other federal statutes, and fleeing/attempting to flee domestic violence.
Whether someone lacks a primary nighttime residence meant for human habitation or they are housing insecure, meaning that they lack security in their shelter due to high housing costs relative to their income, homelessness is a national crisis with serious consequences for individuals who have no stable domicile. As the weather becomes colder with the change of seasons, homelessness becomes an even more serious situation.
Homelessness amid wealth and tourism
In a National Institute of Health report, household overcrowding increases the risk of infectious disease and mental health. It can affect educational attainment and employment opportunities. According to the Denver Homeless Coalition, homelessness is occurring at the highest levels ever seen in Colorado, and the Estes Valley, a community whose main industry is tourism and hospitality, is no exception to the problem.
Some people live in their cars and are lucky enough to find an employer willing to let them park on site while they cover a shift at a cash register, wait tables, or wash dishes back of house. Many individuals and families in the Estes Valley share two-bedroom dwellings with four or more people. Wit little or no privacy, the arrangement may be affordable, yet residents risk their physical and mental health as well as personal dignity.
A new state law signed earlier this year by Gov. Jared Polis, House Bill 24-1007, prohibits municipal restrictions on the number of people who can occupy a single dwelling. Although the law allows for exceptions based on health and safety concerns, it will be difficult for local authorities to police housing situations that may put people in harm’s ways.
During the peak tourist season, Crossroads Ministry of Estes Park will serve on average 36 individuals experiencing homelessness. That figure drops to an average of 12 during the winter months.
In 2023, in northern Colorado region, 3,922 unduplicated individuals experienced a minimum of one day of homelessness, including 517 children and 3,405 adults. “The total number of homeless rises to 4,458 when accounting for people using domestic violence emergency shelters,” said Brian Schaffer, executive director of Crossroads Ministry in Estes.
The Estes Valley Crisis Advocates provides a shelter, My Sister’s Place, as a domestic violence emergency shelter that serves both area residents and people who come to vacation in the Rocky Mountains and find themselves victim of domestic violence.
Places like Crossroads use case managers on staff who serve individuals experiencing homelessness to navigate the system, but in reality, finding a home is not as easy as filling out an application and moving into a physical structure. After an initial assessment, an individualized action plan is developed to address the most pressing issues the individual is facing while waiting for a housing option to become available.
For many people, the process of qualifying for help is lengthy and complicated, Some give up and become chronically homeless, living on the streets or in overcrowded apartments or houses. This is often the plight of people who lack legal documentation.
Scott Moulton, the executive director of the Estes Park Housing Authority says some of the housing authority’s properties, due to funding source(s) used to create the properties, have restrictions based on lawful presence, stating, “Not all of our properties have these restrictions from a federal level. EPHA is actively having conversations about how we may better support undocumented members of our community.”
Meanwhile, those who qualify to receive housing help, find themselves stuck in a bubble of disappointment. Something as simple as finding reliable public transportation to get individuals to a home or shelter can prove to be nearly impossible.
According to Schaffer, “Statistical data has proven that people who are struggling with the negative effects of being homeless, mental illness, and, or drug addictions are highly capable of committing criminal activity.”
Although there are some people who chose to live off grid, being homeless is never a choice. It is the result of a confluence of circumstances – illness, losing a job, getting divorced, or domestic violence. Homelessness does not only affect people with addiction or mental health. The employed, unemployed, semi-retired, or fully retired are also can find themselves homeless.
In the Estes Valley, homelessness and housing insecurity are compounded by the high cost of housing, a high demand for housing, and a shortage of housing stock, and for many people, housing is not affordable.
The median home sold price in Estes Park in August 2024 was $695,000, which is $409 per square foot. The median listing price for a home was $782,000, which is $416 per square foot. During the same period, rental rates ranged from $1,400 to $6,450 with a median price of $2,500 according to Zillow and only 21 rental units available.
People can find themselves in an impossible situation of having to decide what to pay for—housing, groceries, health insurance and medical care, a car payment, gas to get to work, or credit card bill—and what to forgo. Long standing social stigmas related to poverty cause many people to not speak up or seek help for fear of being judged by family, friends, neighbors, and the larger community.
Definitions of Affordable, Workforce, Attainable and Low-Rent Housing
Housing terminology—including the definitions of what is meant by the terms affordable housing, workforce housing, and attainable housing, and low-rent housing—is often misunderstood, which complicates the conversation about important public policy solutions. (See our Good Question Q&A with Scott Moulton, executive director of the Estes Park Housing Authority on operational definitions of housing terms.)
Affordable housing is defined as housing that costs no more than 30% of a household’s gross income, including utilities. This definition is used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
In Estes Park, workforce housing is defined by the Town’s Administration Policy 227, adopted on Feb. 28, 2023, as “housing within the Estes Park R-3 School District for people who work within the boundaries of the school district. Attainable housing is housing that is attainable for someone earning less than 175% Area Median Income (further defined for renter- and owner-occupied units below). Thus, workforce and attainable housing opportunities created or facilitated by the Town shall be located within the school district and pricing should accommodate individuals and families making less than 175% AMI.”
The Larimer County Area Median Income is the current applicable area median income for Larimer County published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Consistent with Estes Park Development Code Chapter 11, Section 11.4, “attainable housing units” and “workforce housing units” for renters shall mean the following: Housing units that are attainable to households earning 175% of the Larimer County Area Median Income or below, adjusted for household size.
To qualify as attainable rental units, housing costs (i.e., rent and utility expenses) must not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the maximum income for an imputed household size based on 175% of the Larimer County Area Median Income. The imputed household size is equal to one and one-half (1.5) times the number of bedrooms in the unit. For example, rent on a two-bedroom unit would be equal to 30% of the monthly income limit of a three-person family; for a three-bedroom unit the rent should not exceed 30% of the monthly income of a four-and-one-half-person family-the midpoint of the range of a four- and five person family.
If the property owner does not pay all utility expenses, then a utility allowance, computed by the Estes Park Housing Authority, must be subtracted from the housing cost to determine the maximum rent.
Consistent with Estes Park Development Code Chapter 11, Section 11.4, “attainable housing units” and “workforce housing units” for unit owners shall mean that housing units are attainable to households earning 175% of the Larimer County Area Median Income or below, adjusted for household size. To qualify as attainable units, housing costs must not exceed 40% of the 175% Larimer County Area Median Income, adjusted for household size.
The definitions of the terms workforce and attainable housing are also defined in §11.4 of the Town’s Development Code.
In Colorado to quality for low-income Section 8 housing, an individual must have income below 50% of the area median income. In the Denver metro area, a one-person annual household income of under $66,300 is considered low-income, an income of under $43,450 is considered very low-income.
Part two of this series will address some of the answers and solutions to homelessness in the Estes Valley
If you are experiencing homelessness in the Estes Valley, please contact Crossroads Ministry of Estes Park at 970-577-0610 or the Estes Park Housing Authority at 970-591-2535. For help with domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text them at 88788.