Hickenlooper lauds Murphy Center as model

Homelessness, Gov. John Hickenlooper reasoned Wednesday morning, is a sign of prosperity. Not a sign to be celebrated — he was at that moment talking with folks who dedicate their careers to combating homelessness — but a sign nonetheless.

Hickenlooper noted the snake-belly-low unemployment rates in Fort Collins and how areas without those kind of job figures also don't typically have large homeless populations. People in struggling cities tend just to leave. Further, Hickenlooper reasoned, low unemployment makes it easier to demand higher wages. He cited an anecdote of a restaurateur friend in Denver struggling to keep dishwashers around at $11 an hour.

So, as businesses struggle to find workers, there's no better time to help steer the chronically homeless into stable jobs, he said, even if it takes outreach and cajoling of business owners.

"There is a direct correlation between prosperity and homelessness," Hickenlooper told a round table of officials at the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope. He added that it leaves him optimistic, because prosperity means there are options. "We'll fix this. It's a solvable problem."

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He had just toured the facility, known as simply the Murphy Center, and heard stories of how the service providers for the homeless there help with clothing, food, work and housing. He called Fort Collins efforts to minimize the number of people experiencing homelessness a model for the Front Range.

Holly LeMasurier, with Homeward 2020, said they've had success in that area already, but building relationships with more employers remains a goal.

"We have a tight employment market, but there's a lot of people that want to make a social impact on this issue and are willing to prioritize their commitment to it," LeMasurier said.

The tour of the Murphy Center was part of a whirlwind of stops Hickenlooper made through Fort Collins on Wednesday. People who work there called it reassuring that Hickenlooper would take the time to check in on their efforts.

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Housing Catalyst recently filed a grant application for part of the $15 million in marijuana tax money that Hickenlooper helped set aside to address homelessness in Colorado. Fort Collins providers hope to receive state-funded housing vouchers for housing for chronically homeless people with high needs. That would free up resources for them to then help others who are homeless but with less intense needs. The Murphy Center would work with tenants in that housing.

"Those vouchers are so competitive and so limited. We really want to reserve those for a specific population and meanwhile, our whole community can be solving those other aspects together," LeMasurier said.

Marla Cleary, Housing First initiative director for the Murphy Center, told Hickenlooper that the new program just helped an individual find housing. The program aims to keep participants stable and able to follow through on tasks necessary to reach self-sustainability, she said.

They hope to find out the results of the grant application in coming weeks.

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This story has a correction. Housing Catalyst applied for the grant and would work with SummitStone Health Partners to administer the vouchers. The Murphy Center would be  involved in helping tenants in the housing.