The Housing First Model and Recovery

This post was originally published January 24, 2024 on www.recoverycafelongmont.org by Elyssa Hamilton

In 2011, the Longmont Housing Authority purchased The Suites to provide supportive housing and other services to address community needs. Rental amounts vary based on income, and housing is provided for as long as people need to get on their feet.

The Suites are built upon a Housing First model that prioritizes stable housing in combination with outreach efforts to engage with individuals living unhoused and to inform them of—and connect them with—available services to help meet basic needs and maintain independence. We believe having a strong community of peers is essential to empowering someone to achieve independence because in our hardest times it is our relationships that keep us going.

The Recovery Café Longmont team is enthusiastic about a collaboration with the city to bring programming to The Suites starting as early as March. Café Program Manager, Chris Poma, is hosting learning sessions with residents in February to establish what time works best to host weekly Recovery Circles and gauge interest in other community building activities peer support specialists can provide.

In a recent monthly Coffee and Conversation held at The Suites, Longmont City Manager, Harold Dominguez, introduced the Café’s model of recovery as a resource for community building and recovery support in order to increase residents’ likelihood of maintaining their housing.

Harold demonstrates his commitment to residents by making them feel heard and respected. It is clear he is invested in providing a foundation from which the residents can thrive. Harold mentioned that the majority of evictions from supportive housing are a result of substance misuse. When he learned more about Recovery Café Longmont, he was optimistic about the impact our model of recovery could provide. During the coffee and conversation session, he turned the conversation over to the peer support specialists — “the experts in the field”— and expressed gratitude for the collaboration between public administration and our nonprofit organization.

Peer Support Specialist Kristina Garcia deepened the conversation by emphasizing the importance of recovering from the trauma experienced as a result of living unhoused. In agreement, one of the residents said she could use community support around her anxiety. While she hasn’t been unhoused in over 6 years, she still lives in “fight or flight mode.”

We hope to help Suites residents connect with each other in a way that lets them know they are not alone in their feelings, challenges, and successes. We are proud to play our part in the Housing First model as a resource to aid longterm recovery and housing stability with tools and compassion from peers.

We believe that everyone is in recovery from something. Whatever you may need support with, peer support specialists can help.

Recovery Café Longmont is a refuge of hope and healing for people in recovery from mental health conditions, substance use disorder, trauma, and all other life challenges. We provide a free community space in which people are reminded that they are inherently worthy of love and a better way of life.

Longmont Supportive & Emergency Housing Resources:

OUR Center: 220 Collyer Street, Longmont, CO 80501

Phone: 303-772-5529

Atwood Emergency Shelter: 811 Atwood Street, Longmont, CO 80501

Phone: 303-651-2388

HOPE for Longmont (Street outreach only): 804 S. Lincoln Street, Longmont, CO 80501

Phone: 303-210-7217

LTHERE:

Longmont Targeted Homeless Engagement & Referral Effort, (LTHERE) provides street outreach, sharing Coordinated Entry, basic needs, health supplies, housing navigation and resources. For more information, contact leah@hopeforlongmont.org.

The Inn Between: 515 Kimbark Street, Longmont, CO 80501

Phone: 303-684-0810

The Inn Between provides transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, no-cost housing for teens facing homelessness, and contracted housing to serve people with high barriers to housing. Visit the Inn Between at theinnbetween.org.

In addition, area police departments may assist with night and weekend emergency housing requests for families with children.

Longmont Police Department: 303-651-8501