Here are five key takeaways regarding the report:
CSI is a conservative institution
The Common Sense Institute produces well-polished papers and has academics guiding its research. But knowing the messenger of any report on a critical issue such as homelessness is important, no matter how sleek and substantive it looks.While some journalists and commentators have described the Common Sense Institute as "non-partisan," which is how the organization labels itself, it's more accurate to call CSI what it actually is: a conservative institution. Just because an organization self-identifies as non-partisan doesn't disqualify it from having an ideological bias. And so any analysis and conclusions in a CSI report should be viewed through a lens that keeps the messenger's ideology in mind.
Estimates for per capita spending on homelessness vary widely
The Common Sense Institute estimates that $660 million will be spent by metro Denver municipal governments and nonprofit entities on homelessness resolution in 2023; this figure is up from $465 million in 2021 and $598 million in 2022. The authors of the report, CSI vice president of policy and research Chris Brown and research analysts Cole Anderson and Erik Gamm, contend that per-person spending on those experiencing homelessness or in permanent supportive housing in the region will likely be anywhere from $31,428 to $61,871 in 2023. For the city of Denver specifically, those figures fall between $37,309 and $73,450.CSI got to those figures using two different numerators. One added the total from the region's Point in Time survey — an annual count of those experiencing homelessness that's taken on a January night — with 98 percent of the total number of permanent supportive housing units. The second numerator took the Point in Time count, multiplied it by two and a half and added 98 percent of the total number of permanent supportive housing units.
"Given the PIT count occurs on a single night, key stakeholders recommended multiplying the PIT count by a factor of 2.5 for an annualized count. This method for estimating the annual count of people experiencing homelessness is used by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, St. Francis Center, Urban Peak and other stakeholders. While just an approximation, considering an annual count of people experiencing homelessness is helpful in considering the scope of this issue," the report states.
The report also mentions a third per-capita amount spent on a homeless individual in a year — $20,462 — that it got to by using a numerator of all of the individuals tracked in the Homeless Management Information System, a database maintained by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative.
Service providers criticize the report's methodology
In August 2021, the Common Sense Institute unveiled its first report on homelessness spending in metro Denver. Local service providers blasted the report's methodology, stating that they had been in communication with CSI before the report dropped and offered critiques, but CSI chose to move forward without dealing with their concerns. Between then and now, CSI released another report looking at homelessness, which was less expansive in scope. The report released on October 21 is as ambitious as the original, though.According to CSI, its latest report is "not intended to criticize but rather to bring a critical eye to the issue with a transparent lens on the funds being spent to address the issue." And the organization does appear to have incorporated some of the earlier feedback from service providers into its methodology this time around.
Even so, the Colorado Fiscal Institute and the Bell Policy Center, two liberal research organizations, just issued a joint statement taking issue with the report. Among other things, they take issue with its authors including the costs of Denver Health in treating people experiencing homelessness. "The use of health care expenditures from Denver Health significantly and unnecessarily inflates total costs," they charge. "Regardless of their housing status, many of these individuals would likely still have used health-care services from this provider."
Cathy Alderman, the chief communications and public policy officer with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, says that the CSI report does a "substantial disservice" to homeless service providers.
"Further, the report perpetuates a stigma against people experiencing homelessness by asserting that all people experiencing homelessness are somehow one and the same with the exact same needs," she adds. "And, while we all know that housing is the solution to homelessness, the report fails to demonstrate how best practices in the homelessness response system like Housing First, Denver’s Social Impact Bond Program, or the Denver ReHousing Collaborative might offset some costs to the current system."
One-time federal dollars increase spending
The Common Sense Institute acknowledges in its new report that metro Denver governments and service providers will be spending tens of millions of dollars in federal COVID relief money on homelessness next year, which is one reason why the 2023 estimates are higher than the 2022 numbers; it's also part of the reason why the 2022 figure increased from 2021. But since these federal dollars are drying up, homelessness spending in the area will likely drop in 2024.It's worth noting that much of the 2023 spending of COVID relief money on homelessness in the City of Denver will be on one-time purchases. For example, the city's proposed 2023 budget suggests purchasing four motels — two to transform into navigation centers and two to turn into supportive housing units — for a total of $43.25 million. So while the per capita spending will be higher in 2023 than it was in 2022, partly because of these purchases, it won't immediately translate to more resources for those experiencing homelessness next year.
Service providers won't like seeing aggregate spending numbers
Given their response to the original CSI report, service providers were destined to criticize this one, too. But then, service providers may not ever appreciate seeing aggregate spending numbers on homelessness resolution in the metro area, which at first glance don't reflect positively on the local governments and organizations spending the money.The issue of homelessness is far more complex than can be captured in spending numbers, of course, especially given the huge housing-affordability crisis gripping America, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. But these spending totals are still important.
The CSI report compares the increases in homelessness in metro Denver over the last three, five and ten years with changing homelessness numbers in places such as Washington, D.C., and Houston, which have seen decreasing homeless populations. Houston's model, in particular, has become a focus of national attention, with reports touting the success of its housing-first model. Ironically, Houston got at least some of its inspiration from Denver's Road Home, the 2005 creation of the John Hickenlooper mayoral administration that has come in for criticism for failing to end homelessness.
But as this CSI report notes, Houston calls its own program "The Way Home."