How Arvada is Addressing Homelessness

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All right, welcome to Inside Arvada, the official podcast of the City of Arvada.
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I'm Sean Starr, one of your hosts.
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Today's episode, we're discussing the city's response to homelessness with the city's homelessness manager, Lynette Batessarian.
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Lynette joined Arvada in November 2025.
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And before that, she was in a similar role with the city of a boulder for three years.
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And altogether she has about 10 years working in the homelessness field.
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And as always, I'm joined by my co-host, Katie Patterson.
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Hi, Katie.
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Hi, Sean.
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And hi, Lynette.
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Thanks so much for being here.
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Hi, thank you.
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And so we had two of our homelessness case managers on a while back, Hudson and Alex, over a year ago now.
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So it's been quite a while.
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But since then, the team's grown quite a bit.
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And you've come on board.
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And so just tell us a little bit about what you do here for the city.
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Yeah, so for the city, I assist the homelessness navigators and the outreach navigator that we recently brought on.
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And I support them in whatever they need to do their work.
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And I help with everything from budgets to grant writing to leading a leadership team that oversees homelessness from PD and different departments and municipal court, and do all the things that I can to support the community as well.
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Yeah.
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And so the uh in community survey results over the past couple of years, homelessness and addressing that issue has risen to one of the top priorities of our community.
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And so that's, I think, one of the reasons why we, you know, your team has expanded.
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And this year in particular, one of the wildly important goals that we have is to get uh, I think it's what, 65 individuals out of homelessness into permanent housing.
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And as I understand, your team has had a lot of success with that here, about halfway through the year.
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So help us understand kind of where we're at and achieving that.
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Yes.
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So we have done um, we've helped 47 people as of today exit homelessness.
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And so that's either in permanent housing or reunifying with family members in other cities and states.
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And so um we're more than halfway.
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And the team has worked with organizations like Mission Novada and Safeside Recovery to support that goal as well.
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Yeah, a lot of teamwork across other organizations.
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I mean, a lot of work is being done here by the city, but it's so important to make connections to those other organizations and pool resources.
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Um, you know, connecting f uh folks with families in other state, that's a solution that I've maybe not too familiar with.
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Yeah, it's it's called reunification.
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And what we do is we reach out to the family and we say, you know, your family member wants to come home.
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Will you support them?
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And do you have a permanent place for them to stay?
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And if that person on the other end of the line says yes, I'm ready for my family member to come home, I'm ready to support them, we will support them in getting back to their family.
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That's amazing.
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And so that's a great example and kind of leads into our next question around kind of like, what does a typical day or week, week in the life of a team member look like?
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That's kind of one example of what maybe a phone call within one day could look like.
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Um, but how how does outreach work?
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Yeah, so outreach um is something that we're really ramping up.
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And so what that means is the team is going out as a group and setting up in different areas where there might be a lot of camps.
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And so um they want to really target that area and say, hey, how can we get you out of this situation?
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You know, this is not sustainable.
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You can't live outside.
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Um, that's not, it's not acceptable for anybody to live outside.
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And so what they want to do is get them into, you know, housing or supports so that we can start them on the path to housing.
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And so what they do is they go out, they provide them with some water, they start to build that connection, you know, here are some snacks.
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Let's talk about what we can do to get you out of this situation.
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And a lot of times people that are in those situations have been really burned by the system.
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And so they're ready to meet a friendly face out there and say, okay, I'm willing to talk.
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Let's talk because this is not a good spot for me to stay in.
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Yeah.
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Um, recently Hudson was kind of sharing a story and I just loved this, like the way it was able to visualize it.
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He was like, Yeah, I think we passed out, you know, 50 donuts and and just made it a welcoming experience that I think is maybe not the typical case for someone who's living unhoused um when they're interacting with just members of the public.
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Um, and so it's just like a cool way to visualize that.
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And then he talked about how that transitioned into like, and that was, you know, we got three people driver's license or helped that pro start that process.
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And um, it was cool to hear him kind of speak to that.
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Yeah.
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And that's like the first step.
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We have to build that rapport with someone who may not be willing to come into um, you know, the municipal court and talk to us because that's that's very much a barrier to them.
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But if we're willing to meet them where they're at and say, hey, can we order you an ID?
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That's the first step to housing.
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That's the first step to them receiving um a place to live.
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You need an ID to get an apartment.
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So let's get you on your way.
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And that really breaks down the barriers.
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Uh something as simple as a donut and some water will get people comfortable.
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And and then kind of as that process continues, um, how do you like keep that relationship over time as you're working through?
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I imagine it's not like the first day of outreach and we we found you this place to go so that you can, you know, have somewhere to sleep for uh maybe for that night, but maybe not consistently over time.
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Yeah.
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So Rochelle, our um outreach navigator, is a peer support specialist with lived experience and homelessness.
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So she really knows how to make those connections.
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She is really able to say, I've been there, I know what that's like.
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Let's talk about what's a better option for you.
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Do you need to go to shelter?
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Do you need to look at domestic violence shelter options?
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You know, what can we do to support you out of this situation?
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Because I've been there.
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And that's really valuable.
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That's something that I mean, you just don't get with someone who hasn't been in that situation.
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And so having her on the team has just been fantastic.
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Even though your team has grown quite a bit, you're still pretty small, all things considered.
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So, how do you work with other departments in the city, like our parks department, our police department?
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I think they have a core team that helps address some of these, you know, outreach outreach efforts.
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So, how does that work as a city team and some of the efforts that you're doing?
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So we definitely collaborate across the city.
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Um, PD is just an amazing support.
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I really love working with them.
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Our core team is fantastic.
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Um, they help support us even by going out to those outreach um areas and saying, like, hey, we saw a large camp.
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Let's take you out there and help you find that camp.
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And let me show you this area, or hey, I know this person that's parked over here in an RV and it's broken down.
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See if you can make a uh connection with this person and build a relationship to really get them in a safer spot, like the safe camping initiative, parking spaces, or you know, just anything that's in a safer space for them.
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And then with parks, they help us if um they have tagged belongings that belong to someone.
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They'll let us know and we can put an outreach tag on that and say, like, hey, you know, contact us.
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You're gonna have to move.
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You can't camp.
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You're gonna have to move, but let us help you.
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Yeah.
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And so um, one of the you know, successful projects that your team has done over the past year or so is over at Suburban Studios off Sheridan and 64th Avenue.
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And that has served as a transitional housing for folks, getting them off the street and into some temporary housing so then they can kind of get everything together to then move into permanent housing.
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Um, I believe that was like some grant funding that we got to get that through the first year, and then we just recently got some more grant uh funding awarded for that project.
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So tell us about some of the successes there.
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How many people have used that program and gone on to then, you know, permanently live in regular housing and not on the street anymore?
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Yeah.
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So that program has been really successful.
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Right now, it has a 77% success rate of um people moving into permanent housing.
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And so um that has been amazing.
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That's a really high success rate.
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I was gonna say, what's like is there something to compare that to?
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So um the success rate is higher because we're choosing people who can move into housing.
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So um what that means is people who are motivated, people who want to go from um outside, they might be working, but when you're living outside and working, there's nowhere to store your belongings.
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There's, you know, nowhere to take a shower even.
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And so they need that that like success step.
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And so they meet with our case managers and then they move into, you know, suburban studios, and then they start um the housing search and they start saving up money.
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And so as they do that and we get more and more people in there, our success rate has been moving up.
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We no longer use it as um emergency shelter.
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So that has um, because what happens is people just come in and then they they aren't successful.
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So we need people who are really pushing to get through and get on their own to um self-sufficiency.
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And so that has brought up our success rate.
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Yeah, I think um our creative services team has done some videos featuring some of the folks that have taken advantage of that program.
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So we'll link that in the show notes so that kind of put a face to some of these stories.
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Yeah.
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And um, and so we and you talked about like the outreach being one way that you kind of get in touch with folks.
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And we didn't mention the, but we have before on the show, I think, the one small step court.
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Like we've talked about that with the judge too, because that's kind of another avenue, right?
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That folks can kind of get connected with your all services.
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Yeah.
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So when um when people are um coming into one small step, they can come in and meet with our navigators and all the different services available there from Salvation Army to Stride Health, um, anything that helps them, you know, get on the path out of homelessness.
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There's Family Tree that comes in, um, SafeSide Recovery will come in, they're peer support specialists and they have sober living homes.
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So we work with all these different organizations that allow people to get out of homelessness in the way that they need to exit homelessness that works best for them.
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So if I'm a listener and I want to make a difference, I want to help these folks out, and I'm not sure exactly what to do, but I want to like pour my either money or energy into helping you and your team.
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What can I do?
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So one way is the Colorado Gives Fund.
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Um, we have a link to that on our website.
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We also have an Amazon wish list that provides um outreach supplies.
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And then another way really is supporting organizations like Mission Arvada.
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We could not do this work if it wasn't for Mission Arvada.
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Um they do the work that is missing in a lot of communities.
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They provide the day services, they provide the food, they provide haircuts, DMV to go, and uh the coalition um health services come by there.
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So without them, we could not do this work.
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And then and um they're kind of like a uh they're a day day shelter, is what you're saying.
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So it's not somewhere that folks are sleeping at night, but it does provide some of those resources that may be the missing step in somebody keeping a job, going to a job interview, being able to apply for an apartment.
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Yeah.
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Um and yeah, and then I know there are lots of, I'm sure, common questions, misconceptions um in the work that you all do.
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What are some things that you'd want to highlight or maybe reiterate around um the work you all are doing?
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So I think the biggest misconception is that people don't want help and they choose to be homeless.
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And I think whenever someone has asked that question to someone experiencing homelessness, I think the answer if they say, I'm fine, is because they've been through a system that is confusing, that is um, you know, just kind of convoluted.
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You know, you're going online, you're trying to fill out forms that are government forms, that are federal forms to try to get a birth certificate or an ID.
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It's really hard.
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It is not a simple process.
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And you have to go to a library or you have to go to the Social Security office with the DMV, you have to make appointments and you have to kind of know how to do this stuff.
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And even for me, just trying to get into the Social Security office, it's not easy.
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And when you come across someone who says that, they have been through a system that is designed for failure.
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And a lot of people who work in this system are stretched thin.
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Um, there's a lot of backlog and weight.
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And so I can see why someone would say that they're just tired.
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They're frustrated and they're tired, but they all want help.
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Nobody wants to be unhoused.
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Yeah, I think Alex and uh Hudson shared some of those stories of just how difficult it is to get an ID, something that folks maybe take for granted that have always had one, right?
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And just if you don't, and you at that point in life to try and get one is way harder than you'd ever imagine.
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It's very hard.
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And it's the first step to get housing.
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I think another one too that um we hear a lot, or I think we talk about a lot internally, at least, is like this concept that people are coming from elsewhere and then being here unhoused, um, where um, and then also that kind of like visible, invisible homeless.
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Um and a lot of these folks are our VAT ends or they're you know, families or um sleeping in their car or couch surfing.
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Like there's lots of types of um housing instability in unho unhoused um populations.
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Yes.
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We see a lot of families lately.
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Um, according to this 2025 state of homelessness, families increased um, I think by 75 to 100 percent over the last year.
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That is an incredible amount.
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That also includes youth.
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Um, I believe youth was 111%.
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So youth going along with family homelessness, they're sleeping in cars, they're they're couch surfing, um, they're not always visible.
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So that is one of the hardest things is to know that families are losing housing here in Arvada.
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They're losing housing in their community.
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And so when they lose housing in their community because either rent increases or family is downsizing and they're living with parents or other family members, um, they have nowhere to go.
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And we want to help those family members or those individuals who are losing housing before they end up in shelter.
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So that's when we we try to get in as fast as we can because once you experience homelessness, it's very traumatizing.
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Absolutely.
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Um, we're gonna do a little bit of trivia now to end things, um, wrap things up.
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Uh we'll have three questions here, and you've uh touched on a couple of them already.
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We'll see if any of the answers have been given away.
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Uh the first one is about you know how people can help out and contribute.
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And we do have a fundraiser through the Colorado Gibbs Foundation.
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Um, and so how much money has that raised so far?
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Is it in the multiple choice?
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If you know the amount, know the answer right away, let the other person answer and try and guess.
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All right, so is it uh$9,000,$10,000,$11,000, or$12,000?
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$12,000.
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I don't know.
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I that was a guess.
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$10,000?
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$12,000.
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Yeah, yeah.
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I just went really hopeful.
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That's my approach.
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Exactly.
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You you got uh$12,637 to be exact, and our goal is$15,000.
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So we're almost there, well on our way, and that uh money for those uh donations go toward things like transportation, so RTD vouchers and bus tickets, move-in kits, security deposits per housing, fees for vital documents, and um outreach donations such as socks, gloves, and snacks.
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So stuff that folks really need.
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Um each year there's the point-in-time count done um by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, and it's done here in Arvada as well to get uh an idea of just how many folks are out there um living homeless in the community.
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And so 2026, the count was conducted in January, and Arvada's number went down from 294 in 2025 to 289 in 2026, so something to celebrate right there.
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According to that data, and Lynette, you touched on this a little bit, what percentage of these homeless in Arvada were families?
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36%, 46%, 56%, or 66%?
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56.
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46.
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56.
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Yeah.
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You're in a roll.
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Um yeah, 161 of the 294 um identified as uh families, highest uh of the three groups.
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So there was families, adults only, and youth only.
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And so uh families was the majority there.
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Adults only was like 38% on youth were six percent.
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So thinking about that one increased the most.
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That's yes, pretty wild.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:01.519
Uh all right.
00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:02.559
Third and final question.
00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:11.200
Uh, according to the 2025 Arvada Community Survey, what percentage of residents said homelessness is the most important issue facing Arvada today?
00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:15.680
Is it 14%, 24%, 34%, or 44%?
00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:17.920
I'm gonna say 44.
00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:19.359
I'll say 34.
00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:20.240
14%.
00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:20.960
Oh.
00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:21.759
Yeah.
00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:22.960
Um, that was third.
00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.319
That I know I'm a little surprised too to find that out.
00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.240
That was third behind infrastructure transportation roads, however you want to call it.
00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.079
And then uh overpopulation growth slash development was second.
00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:35.839
Then homelessness there at 14%.
00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:46.160
Wanted to uh celebrate a win by your team there, because in that question or in that survey, it also asked, like, what is your satisfaction with the way the city is addressing homelessness?
00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:52.240
And that went up five percentage points from 2024 to 2025, from 21% to 25%.
00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:59.440
So your team is doing a great job and it's being recognized by the city, which even moving a couple percentage points is really difficult in something like that.
00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:01.599
So point that out and celebrate it.
00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:02.079
Great.
00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:03.440
Thanks for coming on.
00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:04.640
Thank you for having me.
00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:05.680
Thank you.
00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.119
As a reminder, we'd love hearing from our listeners.
00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:18.160
You can stay in touch by texting us using the link at the top of the episode or by emailing us at podcast at our dot org.
00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:23.759
We love hearing feedback about what you enjoy, what you'd like to see differently, episode ideas, and more.
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:29.440
Coming up on Friday, July 17th is our first movies around town event of the summer.
00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:32.640
It'll feature the movie Labyrinth at Terrace Park.
00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:38.240
Get there early to enjoy live music before settling in to watch the movie on our giant inflatable movie screen.
00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:40.559
The movie will begin about dusk when it gets dark.
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:51.599
And also be sure to vote in our People's Choice movies poll, and you can visit ArvadaCo.gov slash movies to vote which movie you want to see for our final movies around town event of the year in October.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.039
High Tea for Seniors is coming up on Saturday, August 8th.
00:19:55.119 --> 00:20:00.160
This is the Arvada Festivals Commission's annual celebration for seniors 85 and older in our community.
00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:04.319
It's a free event featuring tea, a light lunch, sweet treats, and a fun activity.
00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:12.720
But you do need to RSCP by reaching out to Adele Burton, aBurden at Arvada.org, or by visiting ArvadaCo.gov slash high tea.
00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:23.200
The late summer garden in a box program with Resource Central to provide low water plants to your landscape is available now for pre-order with pickup in August and September.
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.519
The program does tend to sell out quickly, so definitely check those out as soon as you can.
00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.400
Resourcecentral.org slash gardens.
00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:39.759
And then every May through August, the city offers the resident rebate program to offset city taxes for income qualified households.
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:48.640
Eligible residents can receive$100 for the first person and 65 for each additional household member based on that qualification.
00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:53.519
Learn more at arvata.co.gov slash resident dash rebate.
00:20:53.839 --> 00:21:02.480
And then city council recently passed the 2026-2027 rates and fees for trash and recycling with Republic Services.
00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:08.079
And so those updated rates and fees are posted at arvata.co.gov slash waste.
00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.440
Thank you to our guest today, Lynette Battisarian.
00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:20.559
Be sure to listen to our next episode with Jason Amon from the Arvada Police Department talking about the new Arvada Real-Time Information Center or Arctic.
00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:25.839
Today's podcast was recorded and edited by Arvada Creative Services.
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:36.480
Today's fun fact is the grant that the city received for its suburban studios transitional housing program was for$100,000 from the Colorado Gibbs Foundation.
00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:37.519
Whoa.