Low-pay case managers expected to fix Denver’s homeless crisis

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Now that more than 1,400 people from homeless encampments have been sheltered in the city’s numerous hotels and tiny home communities, it’s time to find them more permanent housing.

That’s not going to be easy, but Mayor Mike Johnston has said intensive case management will be key to All In Denver’s success. All in Denver is what the mayor calls his second round of sheltering, which will bring those moved indoors to 2,000 by the end of the year.

Rapid rehousing leaves tenants high and dry

In a press release Tuesday, Housekeys Action Network Denver, or HAND, reported that 126 formerly homeless people housed through a “rapid rehousing” program now face returning to the streets. People in rapid rehousing generally pay 30% of their income for rent and the rest is paid with a subsidy. But this assistance only lasts for up to two years. The idea is that by then people will have had time to find a job, obtain disability benefits, or otherwise stabilize.

The City and County of Denver bought several hotels and converted them into homeless shelters, such as this Best Western in Park Hill.Photo byGoogle Street View

In late May 2022, the city announced it had use federal pandemic funds to house 359 households, or 597 people. “Denver’s network of shelter services partners do an incredible job, day in and day out, at delivering house keys and a brighter future for individuals facing episodes of homelessness,” former Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a news release. “With two successful housing surges behind us, we’re not only placing more people into housing, but we’re also fostering innovations that will make a lasting impact going forward.”

Only 78 of 359 in permanent supportive housing

But HAND disagrees. They said they obtained data from the city that shows how the 359 rehousing efforts break down:

Rapid re-housing, 126.

Reunified with family or friends, 83.

Permanent supportive housing, 78.

Market-rate housing, 28.

Emergency housing vouchers (long term), 22.

Affordable unit (e.g., public housing), 5.

According to HAND, the numbers do not add up to 359 because of the way the city supplied the data. “There is some overlap,” HAND stated in the news release.

Derek Woodbury, spokesman for the city’s Department of Housing Stability, did not immediately return an email seeking comment. This article will be updated if the author hears back from him.

HAND: Case managers not provided resources

“Case managers, who were supposed to be helping these residents over these past two years, were given no resources to connect them to, told misinformation (including telling residents that they should not worry because they should be getting a long-term housing voucher at the end of the time), and the turnover rate for these case managers was so high making it near impossible for them to provide consistent assistance,” HAND said in the news release. “Instead, individuals are blamed and told they should have gotten their lives together in the last two years to be able to afford the $1,000 to $2,000 a month rents.”

The problem with putting the onus for finding permanent housing on the case managers is that there aren’t enough of them. Pay is so low that case managers and other employees at Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, for example, are attempting to unionize. Case workers for the Coalition make between $20.64 and $25.14 per hour, according to Zip Recruiter.

Case managers paid little

In a news release, people who work for the Coalition say turnover is high, and those who do stay in their positions end up taking on larger and larger caseloads. Eventually, the quality of care given to clients deteriorates, they say.

Most case workers undergo extensive training and work as hard as they can for their clients, represntatives of non-profit agencies have told the City Council. Kelsey Antun, complex case program officer for the city, recently conducted an online seminar for case managers. She explained how to use motivational interviewing and an acronym called OARS to engage clients. OARS stands for open-ended questions, affirmations, reflection, and summary.

Antun said building trust with clients is key to success, and that case managers should “allow for grace” because it is hard for some people living in encampments to “leave what they know.” She said case managers should offer support the way they know clients will accept it. She said case managers should not say, “You should do this” or “why didn’t you do this?”

Developing relationships critical

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Antun said the city leaves up to the various agencies performing case management to do the work as they know best. But she recommended using the Four Core framework developed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. The framework focuses on well-being, permanent connections, education, and employment. The idea is to identify a client’s basic needs first and provide them, whether it’s a trip to the dentist for a toothache, a place to launder clothes, or replacement identification, among other things.

As for connections, a client may have lost touch with friends and family because they don’t have a telephone or an email address.

People who experienced homelessness have lived through great trauma, case managers say. It can be hard to engage them without developing trust. Developing trust requires a relationship to build over time. This often is not possible due to the high rates of turnover among case managers, they argue.