Who is Building What Navigation Center?

Jefferson County seems to think Lakewood and Arvada will build a navigation center that Jeffco can contribute to, according  to the August 1, 2023 Jefferson County Commissioner work session. Lakewood mentioned that Jeffco is looking for a navigation center site early in the year. Meanwhile, Lakewood and Arvada are applying for state grants that would go to expanding nonprofit organizations. Ideally, the proposed navigation centers would host services, permanent housing and shelter beds.

A navigation center, a concept pioneered by officials and advocates in San Francisco in the past decade, is a place where a city’s unhoused residents can stay until they can be connected with permanent housing.

– msn.com

Jeffco secured $6 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), also called the COVID Stimulus Package, of 2021. The money was intended to be used for two navigation centers where homeless resources could be centralized and coordinated. Ideally, the centers would host services, permanent housing, and shelter beds. Jeffco has committed those funds for two years, and time is running out to have it spent.

Arvada has purchased land with a building, but unfortunately Arvada found environmental problems with the building that caused delays. Lakewood has reportedly been looking for an acceptable site to build a shelter for the last year. Lakewood says they are still open to that plan, but the current focus is on Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grants to expand RecoveryWorks. Likewise, Arvada is also applying for the same grant to be passed to an associated nonprofit, Community Table.

Should Lakewood and/or Arvada commit to building a navigation center themselves, the project is expected to take longer than the ARPA funds allow. Therefore, Jeffco is discussing other ways to use the funds that will preserve the navigation center option. Commissioner Kerr expressed that Jeffco was still committed to following the American Rescue Plan Act.

None of these projects would be possible without state and local funding. However, the grant is only for the initial stage. After the initial grant the city must secure permanent funding which is estimated to be considerable. Likewise, the county does not seem to have plans to build a navigation center themselves. The $6 million ARPA funds must be spent in August.