Our Approach
Colorado Village Collaborative exists to bridge the gap between the streets and stable housing by creating and operating transformational housing communities in partnership with people experiencing homelessness. We embody radical solutions to homelessness: housing that centers human dignity, empowerment of marginalized voices, and design solutions that are affordable, sustainable and community oriented.
Leading From The Streets
Colorado Village Collaborative exists to bridge the gap between the streets and stable housing by creating and operating transformational housing communities in partnership with people experiencing homelessness. We embody radical solutions to homelessness: housing that centers human dignity, empowerment of marginalized voices, and design solutions that are affordable, sustainable and community oriented.
We Believe
- We believe that homelessness wasn’t caused by homeless people.
Individuals exist within the systems and historical contexts that act upon them. We commit to analyzing and challenging the social structures that foster inequity.
- We believe in centering the voices of the oppressed.
We know that marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis, and we commit to elevating the perspectives of those most affected by injustice.
- We believe that the experience of homelessness should be dignified.
As a community, we are called to recognize the humanity of each of our neighbors and to provide supports that free one another from poverty.
- We believe that poor people have a right to the city.
We all share in the human experience and are therefore called to design and implement solutions together.
- We believe in solidarity over charity.
Our largest social and economic issues will be solved when we stand side by side and understand that we are not independent but interdependent.
- We believe that an end to homelessness is possible.
Scope of The Housing Crisis in Denver
86,000+ units short of affordable housing
6,888 people Experiencing homelessness
2,073 people unsheltered, many with barriers to accessing the shelter system
Why Tiny Homes?
Tiny home villages provide a strategy for quickly and cost-effectively developing dignified emergency shelter spaces that can function as temporary living spaces as people transition into permanent housing. be utilized to transition people from homelessness to stable housing. While a new affordable unit in Denver costs an average of $290,000, a tiny home can be constructed for $15,000 in material costs. Each home provides dignity and privacy, while the villages are designed to provide a pathway to stable housing. Each village employs a participatory governance structure, empowering villagers to design their community and their future. We are a program that provides supportive services, including case management, peer support and connections to permanent housing.
$290,000
Average Cost To Build One Unit of Affordable Housing in Denver
$15,000
Average Cost to To Build One CVC Tiny Home
Why Safe Outdoor Spaces?
Launched in December 2020 to respond quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with the City and County of Denver, CVC now operates three Safe Outdoor Spaces in the Denver metro area. These SOS sites provide resources and services in a healthy and secure environment that is staffed 24/7. This innovative model provides outdoor, individualized shelter and a pathway into stable housing for people experiencing homelessness in Denver.
The first two Safe Outdoor Spaces successfully operated in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood from December 2020 until May 2021. Since then, CVC has operated SOS locations in the Park Hill, La Alma Lincoln Park, Clayton, Barnum, Regis University, and Montbello neighborhoods.
What is A Micro-Community?
Neighborhoods of small units with a/c and heat
24-hour staff and security, bathrooms and sanitation services, food
Wrap around supportive services (case management, housing navigation, meeting space, office space, etc.)
One step on the way to permanent housing
A Temporary Managed Community is defined in the Denver Zoning Code as “Residential occupancy of multiple relocatable Temporary Structures or multiple spaces for parked Motor Vehicles providing sleeping accommodations, which may be combined with one or more separate structures containing housekeeping accommodations and/or work spaces for operational staff, all located on the same Zone Lot. Tenancy is typically 30 days or longer.” (Please see Denver Zoning Code, Article, 11, Section 11.12.10.L for full definition)
A Micro-community is a Temporary Managed Community use– both terms may be used in relation to this site.
What is the purpose of the Micro Community?
Provide a path from unsheltered homelessness to permanent housing
Keep people safe (unhoused and housed)
Reduce unauthorized camping.
