An upstart Denver non-profit which launched a podcast about homelessness two years ago now wants to create community hubs to serve the unhoused community.
Elevated Denver’s Johnna Flood and Liane Morrison told members of the Budget and Policy Committee of the City Council Monday that they collected massive amounts of data and conducted 80 interviews with people experiencing homelessness. They also engaged 60 non-profits, businesses and other institutions and enlisted the help of “champions,” local leaders in the homeless services industry.
They then created a “collaboratory” where members of these groups convened and brainstormed solutions to challenges people experiencing homelessness face. Morrison noted their approach “is grounded in user input like product development in the business sector,” adding, “Everyone has a stake in developing the solution.”
For members of the collaboratory who have not experienced homelessness, facilitators conducted immersive experiences to expose them to the hardships unhoused people face.