Metro Denver Homeless Initiative names new executive director

One of Denver's largest homeless response organizations has named its new executive director.

Jason Johnson, a experienced housing nonprofit executive, is now tasked with overseeing the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, according to a news release that noted Johnson was found after an "extensive search."

MDHI is designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate metro Denver’s homeless response. It oversees a regional system of elected officials, nonprofit leaders and experts around the seven-county metro Denver area to curb homelessness. MDHI provides case management services and is Denver's largest homeless response partner.

Johnson will begin as MDHI director on Dec. 16. Since the beginning of the year, Rebecca Mayer has served as the organizations interim director. In its news release, MDHI officials said the director's interview process spanned several months.

“We are extremely grateful for the collaboration, support and patience from our community partners and the MDHI team as we worked through this important process,” said MDHI Board President Brendan Clark in a statement.

Johnson began his work as a licensed social worker in Boulder, where he grew up in publicly funded affordable housing, according to MDHI.

Previously, he spent a decade managing regional housing programs, was the director of the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department and a planner with the City of Kent's Housing and Human Services Division in Washington.

“Jason embodies the values, experience and passion that we were searching for in the next leader of MDHI, and we are so thrilled to welcome him back to Colorado to lead and advance the amazing work being done at MDHI and across the region to end homelessness," Clark said.

Each year on one day in January, MDHI conducts a point-in-time count to calculate the number of homeless people outdoors or in shelter.

Denver's homeless population remains high.

MDHI's January count showed the total number of homeless people in Denver ballooned from 5,818 last year to 6,539 this year. And the city saw only 150 fewer "unsheltered" homeless people when compared to last year's count.

Most recently, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston touted the city for moving more than 2,000 homeless people into temporary shelters since he took office in July 2023.

Despite the housing efforts, a Denver Gazette investigation earlier this year showed that metro Denver’s homeless crisis has worsened and become among the most acute in the nation, despite the city of Denver contracting for at least $274 million from 2021 through 2024 on efforts to keep people off the streets.

"(Johnson's) experience leading in both the nonprofit and public sectors, history of fostering collaboration, commitment to equity, and lifelong dedication to serving our unhoused neighbors are just some of the many reasons we believe Jason is the right choice to lead MDHI," Clark said.