Colorado will spend $95 million to create two new campuses to help people transition out of homelessness — including supportive housing, behavioral health services and job training — under a pair of laws signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday.
. In all, the report found 32,233 individuals accessed support services for people experiencing homelessness between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Nearly 13,000 individuals lived outdoors at some point.
Both campuses aim to provide full wraparound services to people, including transitional housing, help with mental health and substance use disorders and job training. The Ridge View Campus must also provide transportation for residents and the public. “Because of this bill, there will be thousands of Coloradans who will be able to support themselves, have a family, live out their lives in our great state, recover their dignity, have a home, because of the work that will occur in this facility,” Polis said at the signing to repurpose the Ridge View Campus.
At both signings, he noted that these bills are the state providing support to local communities. In the case of Ridge View, it included the use of existing state property to help speed up the program becoming operational. It is being done in partnership with Aurora and Arapahoe County. The Ridge View Campus operated as the Ridge View Youth Services Center for 20 years, before state officials shut it down in 2021. Kids there attended an on-campus charter school and received intense treatment for behavioral health issues. Complaints against it included students running away, drugs, fights and inappropriate use of restraints,That campus covers 100-plus acres, with industrial shops for welding and carpentry, a gym, cafeteria, medical facilities and 126 rooms.