Purposeful Partnerships
In September, our team had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Statewide Conference on Homelessness in Colorado Springs. Six members of our team joined service providers from across Colorado to network, learn, and discuss the diverse ways homelessness impacts our communities.
Beyond attending and networking, Outreach Fort Collins was honored to be selected as a presenter. Our breakout session, titled Purposeful Partnerships—Why Working with Police and First Responders Makes Sense for our Community, featured Sergeant Annie Hill of Fort Collins Police Services. Sgt. Hill oversees the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) team and is an invaluable partner in our ongoing work at OFC.
Our presentation focused on the foundations of our collaboration. We shared insights into how our partnership was built, how we maintain strict client privacy, and our approach to information sharing. We also highlighted inspiring stories of clients we’ve supported together, including several instances where OFC might never have been able to connect without an introduction from the HOPE team. Many session attendees shared that they faced challenging relationships with their local emergency responders, leading to a rich discussion on building trust around common goals, including: ensuring safe and healthy individuals, reducing recidivism, and ultimately reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness.
We believe our work is strengthened through deep, intentional partnerships. We actively invest in relationships not only with unhoused individuals, but also with fellow service providers, city and county leadership, neighbors, business owners, and first responders. The statewide conference provided a fantastic platform to bridge these vital connections and share our model of first-responder collaboration with a broader audience.