PROGRESS

state and other local health departments to develop further relationships in replacement of Tri-County. e department has participated with the Colorado Association of Local Public Health O cials Policy Committee to keep up to date on proposed state legislation impacting health and working with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver Health and all the metro region health departments to redesign a future Tuberculosis control program.

Hill also said he participated in the Region 12 Opioid Council, which guides the expenditure of Opioid Settlement dollars in the county over the coming years.

A brief nancial report was provided for the board to discuss the the county. But large percentage shifts are more likely in Douglas County, where the annual count tends to be in double digits. By contrast, Jefferson and Arapahoe counties’ 2022 tallies each sat at about 500. In Denver, the number was about 4,800. Also complicating the picture: People without homes don’t always stay in the same area. And widening the time period beyond a single night can provide a di erent picture.

Of the people referred to HEART in February, 106 of those were unduplicated, or unique, individuals.

“To let you know, those were not new homeless individuals; they were new to the month of February,” Marsitto said. “It (could be someone) we worked with in the past, we weren’t able to contact them for a month and then they came back.”

Helping a man back on his feet

Marsitto shared a recent HEART success story of a man who was panhandling — he said he had been homeless for more than 40 years. The man said he had some belongings stolen from him, Marsitto said.

The team “was able to help him apply for food stamps (assistance) and health insurance right where he was,” Marisitto said.

During a follow-up meeting, the man said he had a potential job opportunity out of state.

Greg Matthews, a HEART staffer, reached out to one of the team’s faith-based partners, which purchased a Greyhound bus ticket to get the man to his destination.

“The faith-based partner also put him up in a hotel the night before he departed so he could have a warm place to stay and a shower so he could … start his employment,” Marsitto said.

expenditures and revenues of the department.

According to Hill, the expenditures for the department are reasonably stable. It is at 16% of the scal year and they have expended around 10% of what they are expecting to spend for the year.

“So that means we’re around 6% underspent at this point in the year,” said Hill.

e department has been purchasing items and supplies for new programs since late last year and early this year, however, Hill said the department is on budget for revenues and there are going to be ebbs and ows as the year progresses.

“You will see peaks and valleys in the revenues but the expenditures should be fairly smooth because as with most organizations, it’s primarily sta that are the expenditures and salaries don’t change that