Last week, the Boulder Chamber announced they’ve hired two homelessness policy advocates. One is former Councilmember Rachel Friend, and the other is former Mayor Leslie Durgin.
The two will advocate for implementing the Chamber’s Homelessness Policy Solutions Framework – a set of policies introduced in May of 2023 that outlines support services, sheltering, and public space management.
The news came about a week after the City of Boulder announced that its homelessness programs could run out of money by the end of the year. The programs were created with federal stimulus funding during the pandemic, and the city says it needs to find up to $2.5 million from other sources to keep them running.
Jennifer Livovich joined KGNU’s Jackie Sedley to talk about the City’s latest efforts. She is the founder of Streetscape, a nonprofit aimed at providing resources for the unhoused community, as well as the non-profit Feet Forward.
“We are not going to reduce public campers, we are not going to reduce crime, we are not going to reduce public safety concerns, until we invest in the one and only thing for addiction, and that’s treatment,” Livovich explains.
Listen:
Transcript:
Jackie Sedley: Last week, the Boulder Chamber announced they’ve hired two homelessness policy advocates. One is former council member Rachel Friend, and the other is former mayor Leslie Durgin. The two will advocate for implementing the Chamber’s homelessness policy solutions framework. That’s a set of policies introduced in May 2023 that outlines support services, sheltering, and public space management.
The news came about a week after the city of Boulder announced that its homelessness programs could run out of money by the end of this year. The programs were created with federal stimulus funding during the pandemic, and the city says it needs to find up to 2. 5 million dollars from other sources to keep them running.
Here in the studio to talk with us about the news is Jen Livovich. She is the founder of Streetscape, a non profit aimed at providing resources for the unhoused community. Jen, thank you for being here.
Jen Livovich: Thank you for having me.
Sedley: So you’ve been on our airwaves before and you’ve talked to both us and to other news outlets about the importance of lived experiences when it comes to policymaking and support for the unhoused. How have you been able to leverage your experiences to provide policy for the unhoused here in Boulder?
Livovich: Uh, quite frankly, it’s been very difficult. Very, very difficult. Um, my experience with trying, with advancing lived experience and in the rooms where decisions are made and policies are sculpted. Um, has really been that lived experience is often included at the lowest rung, often tokenized.
Uh, people with lived experience often get a $20 gift card, and then whatever they’re contributing is pretty much ignored. And so every day I keep, I keep advocating and keep, uh, trying to advance the value of lived experience because we are insiders to this population. And, um, it’s mostly outsiders who don’t understand this, uh, community and never will, who are sculpting the policy and the solutions, and I think that’s part of the problem.
Sedley: So neither of these new homelessness policy advocates have experience living on the streets. How do you feel about them holding these positions with that in mind, specifically?
Livovich: Well, reviewing The Chamber framework – first and foremost, I’d like to say that I in no way, shape, or form work for the Chamber. I am not a representative for the Chamber and certainly not their spokesperson. So, I can just share my experience and kind of my opinion as I was involved with some of the roundtables. Um, so, I, I looked over the framework again to get a refresh.
And so one of the things I’d like to say is that I appreciate the fact that they acknowledge that they are not homeless experts. They acknowledge that they have done a deep dive. They’ve done a lot of research. Uh, they have also, they also included lived experience within the roundtables. Um, and so for that I appreciate it. Uh, and in terms of who they hired, you know, I briefly met Leslie. At the very last roundtable, um, she seemed very nice, uh, she was in office before I ever got to Boulder. Um, and then in terms of Rachel, I can’t think of a better candidate than Rachel. Uh, I watched her in office. She is a person that asks tough questions. She has an active interest and passion for effective homeless solutions. And so, it’s very likely I’ll be meeting with them both within about two weeks.
Sedley: I wanted to pivot to your speech at the Day of Remembrance. That was back in December, which memorialized the unhoused people who had died over the course of 2023. You talked about the streets of Boulder having a way of getting under your skin. Can you explain what you meant by that a bit more?
Livovich: Right, so, when you’re experiencing homelessness, first and foremost, there’s no one size fits all, there’s no one type of homeless person. Um, and some people can bounce back relatively quickly within a matter of months. Other people are not in a position to do that for a variety of reasons. And so when you’re outside, um, the streets have a way of grabbing ya. So, and that, that, that goes beyond. possible addiction issues, which, um, you know, we’re in a national drug crisis right now. We have been, and, uh, it’s disproportionately harming people who are experiencing homelessness, particularly the unsheltered. But beyond that, uh, the streets do have a way of catching ya.
And what I mean by that is, when you’re outside, Uh, it’s gonna probably sound a little strange, but you have a lot of freedom. If you don’t like who you’re next to, you can move. Unlike when you’re in a lease in an apartment, uh, you get accustomed to the noises and the sounds. And, um, and that is, that can make it very difficult for people to want to accept change and transition into housing.
Uh, and so I guess that’s what I mean by the streets have a way of catching ya.
Sedley: I wanted to touch a bit, you mentioned, you mentioned drug addiction. In a guest opinion you wrote for the Daily Camera back in November, you said that providing housing is not enough, and that unless the city of Boulder engages with its drug crisis, homelessness will remain a problem. Given these new attempts by City Council to address homelessness, with its new appointed advocates, paired with this loss of funding for many programs, do you think that we’re on our way towards some solutions?
Livovich: If I, if I had anything to do with the Chamber Framework, the one thing that I, I think that they could accomplish a lot of the principles that they list on the framework, if they solely honed in on meaningful investments in accessible treatment that builds off the detox, and provides a 30 to 90 day intensive stabilization program, and that lands with a two year, uh, sober supported transitional housing community for at least 50 people.
We are not going to reduce public campers, we are not going to reduce crime, we are not going to reduce public safety concerns, until we invest in the one and only thing for addiction, and that’s treatment. So, I would, I would just really encourage the Chamber to hone in on that. Because by investing in that, they’re going to increase their chances of achieving their principles.
Sedley: You’ve done a lot of work, like I mentioned, to support the unhoused on the streets with Streetscape and Feet Forward, the non-profits that offer peer support and other health services to the unhoused in Boulder. With just about a minute left here, can you paint us a picture of how these communities on the streets of Boulder are holding up during this winter season? It’s been pretty snowy outside, pretty cold.
Livovich: You know, there’s a thing when, when you experience homelessness and you’re outside. Every winter that you’re out there, you build. mental resilience. And you tell yourself, well, I made it. I’ve been out here for one winter. What’s another? I’ve survived five winters. And so, you know, I think that It’s no secret that we lack adequate sheltering spaces. The city never has a plan ahead of time for emergency sheltering services. We’re always scrambling. And, um, that’s been the same story since I’ve been here. Twelve years. Um. And so, I think that the types of direct services that we provide and the peer support, um, that, you know, uh, Streetscape and our peers and people with lived experience are uniquely qualified to offer and support. This community are really critical, um, to reducing emergency room visits, uh, you know, uh, the reduction in frostbite and also getting people connected to services, uh, including housing. So, um, I would say overall this winter though, it’s been relatively mild, but we still have a whole another month.
Sedley: Jen Livovich, founder of Streetscape over here in Boulder, Colorado. Thanks for coming down to the station this morning. We appreciate it.
Livovich: Thank you so much.
