SHG Advisors, a Colorado-based consulting firm, is proud to be working with Pitkin County to co-develop solutions for how the County can better serve individuals experiencing homelessness and the Pitkin County community more broadly. We want your help.
What is happening and how will it impact me?
Pitkin County already provides a variety of supports and services for low income, housing- unstable, and unhoused people. However, demand for services has continued and is expected to increase. We know that more services are needed and we are working to identify the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness, as well as the broader community.
Between October 2024 and June 2025, SHG Advisors collected data and completed an analysis to understand the current challenges and potential future needs of people who are experiencing homelessness, as well as the services available in the community. SHG Advisors mapped services currently available for people experiencing homelessness to the housing continuum and identified the gaps. Upon identifying initial options for consideration to address the community need, SHG Advisors shared its findings and recommendations with Pitkin County. We encourage you to review the initial report shared with Pitkin County, as well as the presentation made to the Board of County Commissioners in August 2025. The Aspen Daily News also published an article following the presentation.
If you still have questions, please submit them via this form. (Spanish version here.)
As next steps, SHG will continue to develop program and service plans so that Pitkin County has the information it needs should it decide to move forward with implementation.
Resources from Joint Partner Meeting:
SHG Advisors has been engaged by Pitkin County to develop (1) a behavioral health strategic plan, and (2) recommendations to address homelessness in the community (as outlined on this page). The projects are separate with distinct approaches and deliverables, however, there is some intersection of the work.
On April 22nd, 2025, we held an in-person meeting on April 22nd to review the themes and findings to date for this work, as well as the work we have been doing to address homelessness in the community. The agenda for the meeting is here. The deck is here, and the meeting recording is here.
Other Ways to Get Involved:
SHG Advisors is engaging Community Champions – business and civic leaders who will assist with developing a County-specific approach to addressing homelessness. This group of volunteers is essential in serving as public champions of this work, promoting positive changes, and making recommendations that are realistic for Pitkin County. If you are interested in being a Community Champion, complete this form (Spanish form here).
I have experienced/am experiencing homelessness.
SHG Advisors is committed to engaging the community in developing solutions to address the need. As such, SHG Advisors has created an Advisory Council on Homelessness. The Advisory Council includes people who have experienced homelessness, and they will provide input on what services exist; identify service gaps; share what has and hasn’t worked; and co-design recommendations for consideration. If you or someone you know has experienced homelessness or is experiencing homelessness and might be interested in getting involved with this endeavor, let us know. Submit an application or nominate an individual here (click here for the Spanish application). Participants will be compensated for their valuable input.
Resources
The resources below help streamline services and provide a central location to get connected to resources you may need.
・2-1-1 is a confidential and multilingual service connecting people to vital resources across the State. No matter where you live in Colorado, you can find information about resources in your local community here.
・This Resource Directory offers a collection of free, low-income and reduced-cost community resources in the Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle counties.
How is this related to the behavioral health work that is taking place?
SHG Advisors also worked with Pitkin County to address the behavioral health needs in Pitkin County. We know that there is some intersection between people who are unhoused and behavioral health. However, the majority of people with behavioral health conditions are not homeless. Further, decades of research reveal that only about one-third of people who are unhoused have a serious mental illness. The behavioral health work was focused on a larger population: the community at large in Pitkin County. The housing work is focused on people who are unhoused — and that includes people living outside, in a car, in a hotel/motel, couch surfing, or in an overcrowded unit with more people than beds. The behavioral health strategic plan was completed in July 2025. Please visit the landing page for that work for additional information.
The Team
Learn about the SHG Advisors team leading this housing work.