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All in Adams--Stop Homelessness Before It Starts
25 Plays8 days ago
In this episode, we sit down with Rachel Jakubowski, CSWB Administrator and Francisco Medina, Poverty Reduction Services Coordinator, to learn more about Adams County being chosen as one of 10 pilot communities nationwide to launch the “Right at Home” initiative in partnership with Metro Denver Homeless Initiative and the City and County of Denver.
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Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to All In Adams, the official podcast of Adams County Government, where we're all in for our residents, our employees, and our community. So whether you live here, work here, or you just want to know more about what makes Adams County a great place to be, thanks for tuning in. We're all in, Adams.
00:00:22
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of the All in Adams Adams County podcast. My name is Carson Forsman. I'm a communication supervisor with the county. And we have some exciting news to share with our residents. So I'm going to read it off.
Adams County's Selection for Homelessness Prevention Pilot
00:00:37
Speaker
Before we get to who these fine folks are, so Adams County was selected for National Right at Home Homelessness Prevention Pilot. They were chosen one of 10 pilot communities nationwide to launch the Right at Home Initiative in partnership with Metro Denver Homelessness Initiative in the city and county of Denver.
00:00:58
Speaker
And this is going to help so many families in our community. We'll get back to
Introduction to Key Team Members
00:01:02
Speaker
that, but I want to introduce our folks here with us. Let's start with Rachel. I'm Rachel Jakubowski. I'm the Poverty Reduction Administrator for Community Safety and Wellbeing.
00:01:11
Speaker
Francisco. Yeah, I'm frances Francisco Medina. I am a
Focus on Prevention and Challenges
00:01:15
Speaker
Poverty Reduction Services Coordinator under Rachel in the PRU as part of Community Safety and Wellbeing as well. Amazing. And you guys obviously do amazing work for our our county and our residents. And let's take a step back before we get to this huge announcement, just to give some folks some context of what you all do for the county. Let's talk about your team a little bit, specifically you two, right? You have a bigger poverty reduction team, but you guys do more of the prevention side.
00:01:42
Speaker
Yeah. So um as a department, our our role really is like man making real and lasting impacts um for our residents through elevating people, improving systems and strengthening neighborhoods. In the prevention side, we really focus on maintaining helping people maintain stable housing.
00:02:04
Speaker
That's amazing. And i'm it's got to be a challenge sometimes, right? Talk to me about that. And working with our residents, what's that like? I can speak to it on a higher level and Francisco can speak to it more directly. yeah um it's ah It's challenging because there's not enough funding and there's a lot of need.
00:02:27
Speaker
The county in 2025 alone, um there were ninety one over 9,100 eviction filings. And so there's a huge need for rental assistance and eviction prevention services and not enough funding.
00:02:42
Speaker
And you're you're you're meeting with these folks, right? or What's your role? Yeah, yeah, Carson. So a lot of the on-the-ground work is done ah ah through multi... I would say it's multifaceted. So it's you know ah outreach coming from referrals ah through email, from phone calls, residents that are concerned about mobile home parks going up for sale and so...
00:03:04
Speaker
It gets challenging in that there's so many things we have to dabble in. And as Rachel mentioned, there's very scarce resources right now for supporting all the things, right?
00:03:15
Speaker
And then there are duplication of services, it it feels like, in some areas. and um And so it gets difficult to point residents in the right direction and and feel intentional about it every single time. And so...
00:03:30
Speaker
Um, that's what we're running into, into right now. Um, I would say a lot of it is, rental assistance. I would say that's like the number one thing that folks are inquiring about lately. um and, and, you know, benefits and, uh, SSI and things like that too, but rental assistance is at the top of the list. And, you know, unfortunately there aren't a lot of programs in the County and, and a lot of resources in the County for, for folks that are going through that.
00:03:59
Speaker
It's got to be it tough to navigate that when there's not a lot like, I mean, can you share? What do you,
Collaboration with Community Partners
00:04:04
Speaker
how do you help these people when there isn't a lot like you're that voice, right? And you're listening, I'm sure. And it's, it's got to be interesting for you.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I think it's about ah just expending all all options and really being that connector and ah being resilient alongside the residents and and trying to find that solution.
00:04:27
Speaker
So we do we do have great partners in the community that are, you know, doing as much as they can as well to help ah folks who are going
Discussion on New Funding and Flexibility
00:04:35
Speaker
through some challenges and and through hardship. And so that's, that's what we do. We kind of push and push and push until we, we hopefully achieve some sort of support. Sometimes it might not be the full support they need, but ah even a little bit goes a long way, i would say.
00:04:50
Speaker
That's awesome. Yeah. Well, let's transition to this announcement, right? So it's, and correct me if I'm wrong, right? It's to help folks who are Maybe getting to that point where they need that help so they do not become homeless, right? Is that kind of where this funding is going to be? Do we know how much funding we're getting in? I know we just announced this about a week ago.
00:05:13
Speaker
um Rachel, can you share a little bit about that? We don't know exactly just yet. We know that um we're going to get a, ah between Denver and Adams County, we're going to get a minimum of $5 million. dollars But um a lot of that is dependent on things like cost of living and some of the other communities. So we don't know the exact amount just yet.
00:05:34
Speaker
What could this money do for folks in our community? I'm looking at frances Francisco. yeah yeah Anybody can answer, right? like And it's a it's a big question, right? like Is it a game changer?
00:05:46
Speaker
um You know, I do think that it is in the sense that, i mean, just being one of the 10 communities nationwide that was elected for a pilot program like this, i think I think it speaks volumes about the collaboration that is already happening here. And so... um And so I think it can go a long way. The the cool thing is that right at home is flexible with with how they want us to utilize this money. And so
Long-term Benefits of Financial Assistance
00:06:13
Speaker
all circumstances are different. I think families can utilize this from hardship like ah being unemployed, short-term rental assistance, ah Medical expenses, you know, people get into car accidents and they're, you know, they got to fix their car. Childcare. I mean, we all know childcare crazy expensive now too. So I think it goes a long way in that it's flexible, like financial money that can go and in different directions, right? And it's not locked in and there really is no cap to how much we can support a family, right? It's, they have this...
00:06:50
Speaker
whatever it takes mentality. And that's how they want us to approach this to, to really be intentional about serving the residents and people in need. So, I mean, if you, if you think about it that way, it goes a long way. So, yeah. So you mentioned and earlier, not having a ton of tools in your toolbox, sometimes talking to our residents.
00:07:07
Speaker
I mean, now that we have this, is that just another tool in your toolbox to help folks? Would you say, or kind of explain that if I'm reading that, reading through the lines correctly there,
00:07:19
Speaker
On how this could help? Because I know it's it's challenging and you talked about it, right? and But can is this going to help quite a bit? Yeah, this will be another tool in our toolbox. And really the the key to it is um that it's intended to be the right size assistance for each household, right? So...
00:07:41
Speaker
Different circumstances look different for different households. And so some families and and homes need more support than others. But the point of it is to get them the assistance that they need in a meaningful way so that they are able to maintain that housing stability long-term.
00:07:58
Speaker
And the research from Santa Clara, where it this started, shows that two years later, folks are still housed, which is... significant because sometimes or oftentimes actually um housing
County's Proactive Collaboration and Innovative Programs
00:08:12
Speaker
instability can be cyclical and it can continue to occur. And so if you give them the financial assistance or the short term assistance that they need that is meaningful to them in their circumstance, then they're more likely to stay housed long term.
00:08:29
Speaker
um But right now we have with the funding sources that we do have, there's, there's caps, you know, there's, there's caps for how much each household can get and timeframes that they have to meet and things like that. And so it can just be one additional barrier.
00:08:46
Speaker
Do you know how we were selected? you know that back-end process? How did we get this funding? I'm just curious. Yeah, so it's a good question. A lot of work on your end, maybe? yeah Well, what's funny is it was several months back. We had a we were asked to participate in a meeting with MDHI and um one of the representatives from Ride at Home, and we didn't know...
00:09:10
Speaker
anything about this yet, but they were really kind of telling us what this initiative was. And they were asking us if we wanted to, if we would be interested in partnering. i think this initial call was really kind of to, to check the alignment. um They asked us a lot of questions about the,
00:09:29
Speaker
prevention services that we were already doing and already offering um and really wanted to know kind of what our obstacles were. And so I really think Adams County
Personal and Impactful Stories from Team Members
00:09:38
Speaker
stood out like they came to us. And I really think that we stood out because of our, the programs that we were already trying to run, the regional collaboration that we are so strong in, our data infrastructure that we invest a lot in,
00:09:54
Speaker
And just the fact that we are are known for trying new things. Well, congratulations to you all on your hard work and having all that in place. Cause I know even your department, right. Has grown over the years, uh, community safety and wellbeing. That's the department that these folks are under. And I know, uh, you guys do a ton of work on on the backend too. So that's amazing. Um, what do you guys like about your job?
00:10:19
Speaker
Like what? I mean, you're, you were talking five months. You said you've been here. yeah um what do you like about what you do? You know, it's um it's an ever-changing role. and ah And what's unique about my role is that I get to be out in the community be ah and be a face for our department, for our initiatives, for the programs that we have. And so it can be as cool as just being out at one of the healthy farmers markets and ah sharing resources, folks get to ask questions, just, you know, be a face for the department um and and really kind of let people know about the cool things that we have going on.
00:10:55
Speaker
um And then while when I'm not doing that, I get to be in office and answering calls and and really having that one-on-one interaction with residents again, um helping connect them to resources, things like that. And It's been really cool. like i Five months I've been into this role and Rachel was ah kind enough to just be like, take some of these cool programs that that you like so much, um make them your own. And so um it's also given me the opportunity to be innovative and creative um with programs ah that I hope ah alleviates and helps some of the challenges that we're seeing in the county. And so a little bit of everything, like I said, you know, a little bit of... a
00:11:35
Speaker
ah kind of customer service up front you know being out nature being out with the folks and then uh tending to the phone and emails and connecting people and um all that's needed really amazing rachel i gotta ask you what do you you've been here for a while now right about eight years ah eight years same so what do like what do you like about working here I, it's really all about the people for me. um While I am, i don't get to do as much of the community engagement and direct service as Francisco does.
00:12:10
Speaker
Everything that we do behind the scenes is for our residents. And that's what really keeps me going is that is knowing the impact that we're able to make through a lot of these initiatives that are behind the scenes.
00:12:23
Speaker
Can I put you on the spot? Is there like a success story you could share? or You don't have to say names, obviously, but like something you always remember. Like, I know you've been here for a short time, but still like, you're like, Hey, this is why I do what I do.
00:12:38
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I mean, um, I can, can I speak to long distance travel? you think yeah Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the programs that we have over at a CSWB is long distance travel where, ah folks currently experiencing homelessness are just one support system away from,
00:12:53
Speaker
from just being in a better situation. And so what long distance
Significance of Funding and Innovative Spirit
00:12:57
Speaker
travel does is ah we help folks who are working with navigators um in any of the agencies or municipalities and in Adams County get somewhere where they can't get to their to that destination by RTDs. So um one person i I specifically think of is just, it was just like the immense gratitude that that person, um you know, approached me with when when we were handing over a bus ticket. And then we also do a resettlement gift card so that when they arrive at their destination, it's not all the help, but it's some help. And so we do a resettlement gift card to to Walmart, Target, whatever stores in their area. And so it was just heartwarming to just see that a bus ticket and ah and a $100 gift card can go such a long way for somebody. And
00:13:48
Speaker
um And that one particularly was just, it just stuck with me. You know, that's when I was like, this is this is cool. This is impactful. I want to do more of it. And um and that's why I do the work.
00:13:59
Speaker
Rachel, there's gotta to be a few.
00:14:03
Speaker
Putting you on the spot. You know, I would say the one that stands out the most to me right now is we have a, um it's called a ready to work program.
00:14:13
Speaker
And it's where um residents who are experiencing homelessness get into a program with Bridge House and they have this work crew who comes in and they um do services for parks and open space, public works in the animal shelter.
00:14:31
Speaker
And one of the residents who was working for the animal shelter on the work crew um sent in a ah little note and said that they found their calling in life through working at the animal shelter. They decided they wanted to be a vet tech and they felt like they had a purpose again. And it was just very, very, very heartwarming that a program like a program that we run has such a huge impact in a way that we never expected.
00:15:01
Speaker
Love to hear that. And
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:15:03
Speaker
sometimes it takes the funding, right, to be able to do those certain things. And it's exciting that we're we're getting some of that funding for you all to go out and share it with our residents and tell more great stories, right? It's amazing. So I appreciate both your time coming. Was there anything else I missed that you wanted to say? i always ask ah ask that at the end, but I think we had a great conversation. And again, just super excited ah that you and your team has this at your disposal to use and and help Adams County residents.
00:15:31
Speaker
me you have anything I just think it's it's a great opportunity for us. I think, um you know, it it speaks volumes about Adams County and and how we're willing to be innovative and sometimes take a risk. But as Rachel mentioned, I think it's well intended and we do it with residents in mind and serving our communities. So super excited about what's to come. Awesome.
00:15:52
Speaker
Thank you so much. Appreciate appreciate it. Thank you. Thank That's a wrap for this episode of All In Adams. Thank you for joining us as we explore the people, programs, and the policies that make Adams County a great place to live, work, and thrive.
00:16:07
Speaker
If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know. We're All In for bringing you the stories that matter most.
00:16:18
Speaker
Until next time, take care of each other and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and x We're all in, Adams, and we're all in for you.