Launched in 2022, the SIPPRA program leverages local housing resources, $11.75 million from six private funders, and up to $5.5 million in the form of a Social Impact Partnership Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA) grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to deliver permanent supportive housing to at least 125 people experiencing chronic homelessness and suffering from frequent mental and behavioral health crises requiring emergency care. At the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, participants are mainly at the Renaissance Legacy Lofts.
The SIPPRA program draws on the experience of several partners of the recent Denver Social Impact Bond (SIB) initiative, while bringing in new funds awarded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Social Impact Partnership to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA). The program aims to improve health outcomes and reduce Medicaid costs by improving access to primary and preventative healthcare services and supports in order to reduce avoidable high-cost healthcare services.
SIPPRA project grant funds will be used to re-pay private investors if the program achieves a net reduction in federal Medicaid/Medicare expenditures among individuals housed through the SIPPRA program. Participants are individuals experiencing homelessness who are age 18 years and older with a record of at least eight arrests over the past three years in Denver County. Participants must also be at high risk for avoidable high-cost healthcare services paid through Medicaid, including utilization of healthcare services at Denver Health. As with the SIB program, H2H will be independently analyzed by the Urban Institute.
As with the SIB program, H2H combines permanent supportive housing with modified Assertive Community Treatment (ACT).
Through the modified ACT model, case managers assist participants in:
- Addressing the individual barriers to housing stability,
- Helping to manage chronic medical, behavioral health conditions, and substance use disorders,
- Reducing unnecessary utilization of emergency healthcare services (e.g., ambulance services, ED/hospital services, crisis intervention services, detoxification services
- Improving engagement in preventative healthcare services
- Improving health outcomes
According to Sarah Gillespie, associate vice president at the Urban Institute. “The prior Denver SIB evaluation provided rigorous evidence of what many already knew: connecting people with housing first ends the homelessness-jail cycle and is a better solution for both people and public budgets. The SIPPRA evaluation now provides an opportunity to test the impact of supportive housing specifically on health care costs. The results can further inform practitioners and policymakers as they invest in the most effective solutions to improve well-being and end homelessness.”
This program is active and ongoing throughout 2026. Stay tuned to this page for updated information.
PROGRAM LINKS:
Urban Institute Evaluation Design