"This contract is in direct response from what we heard from residents," says Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for CCH.
The city's Department of Public Health & Environment is slated to provide a cool million for more behavioral health staffers, in-house training and technology improvements. At least three CCH properties will be affected by the upgrades: Fusion Studios, at 3737 Quebec Street; Renaissance Riverfront Lofts, at 3440 Park Avenue West; and the Renaissance Uptown Lofts, at 1509 Pearl Street, according to Alderman, who calls it "a great opportunity."
The contract between CCH and DDPHE is intended to provide more case management and behavioral health training for staff at the three properties while also lightening the overall load for CCH amid Denver's ongoing homelessness crisis, Alderman says.
"This gives us the ability to hire more people in a time where residents have higher needs than we have staff to address," she says. "It also allows us to do more training throughout the organization."
As of May 20, nearly 500 people have moved into permanent supportive housing out of the 1,564 individuals that the city has made contact with or moved indoors as part of Mayor Mike Johnston's All In Mile High Initiative in 2024. The new partnership between CCH and DDPHE is expected to affect hundreds of them.
Tech upgrades and better internet service at Fusion Studios and the Uptown Lofts will enable residents to access telehealth services faster and more frequently, Alderman says, which creates a domino effect that helps CCH deal with other issues, like staffing.
"We like to explore every opportunity to provide more resources and help for staff and the people that we are serving," Alderman tells Westword. "That's what this [contract] is."
Specifically, CCH says it plans to pour money into hiring "strengths-based" case managers for its formerly homeless residents and to provide training for behavioral health and mental health staffers at Fusion Studios, Riverfront Lofts and Uptown Lofts.
In recent months and years, CCH and other homeless service providers in Denver have been criticized for the way that clients and properties are treated. A May 11 report by Denver7 Investigates outlined claims of safety problems at CCH properties as well as ethics concerns and an inability to take care of tenants.
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has close to 2,000 housing units.
Courtesy of Cathy Alderman
The Denver-based nonprofit and longtime city partner was called out by two former employees and two residents who used to live in CCH housing. The staffers both quit less than a year after joining the organization, telling Denver7 they couldn't sit back and watch CCH operate.
Allegations against the organization included terrible living conditions — like housing units infested with bedbugs, roaches and mice — and accusations of unethical living standards, such as putting a man with no legs on the second floor of a CCH building with an elevator that often doesn't work and no roll-in shower.
Alderman says senior leadership at CCH has been addressing these problems internally and doing what it takes to move the organization in a better direction; they also met with managers across CCH earlier this year, and conduct regular check-ins and surveys to find out how workers and residents are feeling and what's going on.
At the Uptown Lofts, where residents were complaining publicly about safety issues and a bad bug infestation last year, CCH made several changes, including new vinyl flooring and security updates.
"We've tried to be as responsive to the residents and their concerns as possible," Alderman told Westword in May. "We started repairs in February and are just finishing up. ... Repairs included carpet replacement [with vinyl], vandal-proofing the elevators, full building pest control [one-time and now ongoing], a new office in the lobby, access doors to new space, and new garage doors."
For CCH and other providers, staff turnover and retention have been major issues. The new contract with DDPHE will largely help with that, but Alderman says investments in compensation with current CCH resources have also been made to aid the nonprofit.
"This year, we're making about an $850,000 investment in staff compensation," Alderman says. "We're rolling out pretty soon what's going to be a three-year compensation plan, which will hopefully get people feeling more valued for the work that they're providing so that we can keep making changes over time."
As for what's next, Alderman says CCH will start working on the tech upgrades, implementing mental first aid training across the organization and hiring more support staff for its properties — though it's unclear exactly when the funding will come in.
"We're honored to have the opportunity to be in partnership with DDPHE in providing these critical services and supports for our residents and clients," she says.
