Colorado Housing Connects reports highest number of inquiries in more than a year
Colorado’s sole statewide housing helpline — Colorado Housing Connects (1-844-926-6632) — reported its highest number of inquiries during the week of March 7 in more than a year.
During the week of March 7, Colorado Housing Connects received 1,159 calls and web-based inquires. The 1,159 inquires is the most Colorado Housing Connects has reported since Feb. 5, 2021, when it received 1,179 inquires over a one-week span.
Colorado Housing Connects specializes in preventing evictions by connecting Coloradans to local rental assistance resources, wherever they live, thereby encouraging long-term sustainable solutions. Among the resources the housing helpline can connect renters to include legal assistance, financial assistance and more.
Eviction filings have been on the rise since May 2021. In February, 3,175 eviction cases were filed throughout Colorado, according to data from the state and the City of Denver.
“It’s chilling to think that our call volume has been surging. In many ways, it feels like we’ve been turning a corner on the pandemic — but the families we hear from and the number of people experiencing an eviction filing each month suggest otherwise,” said Colorado Housing Connects Program Director Patrick Noonan. “The concerning part of this trend is that there are still millions of dollars out there to keep families housed and to make landlords whole. We need to work together to tamp down the threat of increasing housing instability and homelessness.”
Brothers Redevelopment, the housing nonprofit organization that operates Colorado Housing Connects, administers funds for a variety of rental assistance programs including Denver’s Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance Program, and the statewide Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Renters facing eviction are encouraged to contact Colorado Housing Connects, pay as much as they can toward their rent, proactively communicate with their landlord and apply for rental assistance.
Inquires can be submitted to the housing helpline by visiting coloradohousingconnects.org or by calling 1-844-926-6632.
