The Launchpad supportive housing apartment community for young people was selected by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits. That means our 50-unit apartment community, the first in our region specifically designed to help young people experiencing homelessness, will move forward with construction this year, and our first tenants move in year 2024.

The Launchpad is the Pikes Peak region’s first permanent supportive housing development that intervenes to change the trajectory of young people experiencing homelessness. Near 50% of unsheltered youth in our community are in life and health circumstances that require in-depth services and healing that go beyond transitional housing programs and time restrictions. The PLACE and our housing development partners, Cohen-Esrey Development Group along with Shopworks Architecture, are creating The Launchpad to be a place where past loss, anxiety, rejection and trauma is transformed into safety, connection, empowered healing and hope for youth.

Receiving this tax credit is a very competitive process, and it is unusual to be awarded in a first application. We are grateful the State of Colorado made significant commitments to The Launchpad, including housing vouchers and services funding. And our fantastic partners at Peak Vista Community Health Centers will play a significant role in the health and healing of young people. At the Launchpad, medical and mental health services, employment and education support, and community programming will create a springboard so youth can avoid a life of adult homelessness. There are many more partnerships, and we are excited to share more in the future.

Be on the lookout for an invitation to an open house to meet our development partners and see how this project is going forward.

The fate of our young people is directly tied to the fate of our community. This project will help hundreds of youth in decades to come live healthier, more productive lives off the street.