About Heading Home

Heading Home formed in 2006 with a focus of ending homelessness in Jefferson County. Heading Home has existed as a subcommittee of Jeffco Connections, whose mission is to establish a collaborative leadership that promotes accountable, efficient, cost-effective, and coordinated systems, in an effort to increase the health and well-being of children, youth, and families in Jefferson County. Heading Home strives to create a systemic response that prevents and ends homelessness whenever possible, and when it cannot be prevented, ensures it is a rare, brief and one-time experience. As a subcommittee, Heading Home has transitioned towards a workgroup focused model whose notable achievements have created a strong foundation for the next phase. Some of those achievements include:

• Homelessness Action Plan - Designed as a roadmap and basis for accountability that moves Jefferson County towards its goal of ensuring homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time only.

• Housing Continuum Task Force - Convened in late 2022 and serves as a subject matter expert body to inform the development of the strategic plan to reduce key gaps to affordable and attainable housing in Jefferson County. 

• Homeless Navigator Collaborative - A county-wide homeless navigation model launched in 2020, comprised of six municipal and county-based housing navigators who work directly with persons experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness. 

• Built For Zero - Working to measurably and sustainably end chronic and Veteran homelessness

Increased Need for a Coordinated Response

According to the 2023 Point-in Time Count, Jefferson County has increased in Unsheltered Homelessness by 153%. Additionally, there was a 68% increase in Family Homelessness. Homelessness in Jefferson County is increasing at a much higher rate than the rest of Denver Metro area. While there are a number of mitigating factors that contribute to homelessness, one thing is clear… Jefferson County must implement a regional and coordinated approach. Jefferson County Human Services hired a Regional Homeless Coordinator in December 2023 after the position had been vacant for almost a year. The vacancy created the opportunity to enhance and change the position requirements to support the evolving community needs. The position is dedicated to supporting the City and County Managers to make strategy and solution decisions jointly. The restructuring of Heading Home creates a governance and advisory element that incorporates key leaders from the county and municipalities. Adding this leadership component is crucial to community progress to both meet our unhoused resident needs and the larger community needs. The Coordinator will oversee Jeffco’s 15-year Housing Plan as it relates to homelessness strategy and focus areas. The role of the Coordinator will streamline communication and effective decision-making to ensure Jefferson County drives progress towards preventing and ending homelessness. 

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Organizational Structure:

Below is the organizational structure for Heading Home. This was created to ensure decision-making authority and information sharing was a reciprocal process. The strategic focus areas developed as part of Heading Home’s work to reduce and prevent homelessness are in line with the solutions and action items outlined in the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness—referred to as “All In”—as well as the best practices and implementation guidance issued by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) for local governments.

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Workgroups: Heading Home currently has 5 established. These are important areas of focus that align with Jeffco’s 15-year Housing Plan. The workgroups will allow for more intentional problem solving and case conferencing. Workgroup members will create Action Steps towards the Strategic Goals to ensure forward progress in addressing barriers. Additionally, the Community Engagement Workgroup will target efforts related to community awareness, communication, and events.

Interagency Advisory Board: a multi-agency collaboration to support Jefferson County’s homelessness strategy. The overarching goals are to (1) build cross-sector knowledge of needs, gaps, challenges, and best practices; (2) use data to make informed decisions related to reducing systemic barriers; and (3) develop action plans to address gaps and ensure the well-being of our most vulnerable residents.

Governance Committee: a leadership body comprised of City Managers, County Manager, and Regional Homeless Coordinator who align towards a comprehensive and regional approach to prevent and end homelessness in Jefferson County. This groups provides guidance and executive leadership related to funding decisions, strategic priorities, and navigating the political landscape.

Read Jefferson County 2021-23 Homelessness Action Plan

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