Are we really in a housing crisis? Are these ballot measures necessary?

Broomfield is one of many communities along the Front Range, in Colorado and across the country, grappling with cost of living increases, high housing costs, stagnant wages, general economic squeezes, and other challenges. However, we are somewhat unique in that we’re a small enough community to meaningfully address our crisis if enough of us could manage to pull in the same direction. 

We are heartened by the fact that Broomfielders take responsibility for their community. They truly care and take action to help their neighbors when they become aware of specific needs. We already have an active, motivated and connected network of service agencies who are engaged and working together through the Broomfield Housing Solutions Forum, the Broomfield Community Services Network and the Together Colorado faith communities advocacy network. Non-profit, faith and civic leaders are becoming more and more aware of local housing challenges and how they affect residents’ ability to thrive. And likely, most of us know someone who’s struggling to maintain their housing or former neighbors who had to move away because they couldn’t afford to stay. 

This is not an impossible task. In fact, we’re convinced that true housing stability for all could become a reality here in Broomfield. All we need is the collective will to make it happen.

Stable housing is important because it supports, sustains and intersects with so many parts of our lives: work, transportation, the environment, and health, to name just a few. And right now, too many Broomfielders get displaced from their community because their rent or mortgage rate or housing fees increase or they lose their job or they get in an accident or any number of other circumstances. Too many families and individuals have to choose between making a house payment or paying for their prescriptions or groceries or childcare. Like half of all Americans, too many Broomfield families are living paycheck-to-paycheck, can’t afford a $500 emergency expense, and are one emergency away from homelessness.

Consider these key Broomfield-specific statistics: 

• Local experts estimate that at any one time there are approximately 300 people experiencing homelessness here. Around half of them are children enrolled in Broomfield schools. Since 2019, at least seven people have died while unhoused in Broomfield. Three of them graduated from Broomfield High School. Two of them served in the armed forces. Their names: Kenny, 30; Brittany, 36; David, 67; Stephanie, 43; Randy, 55; Rich; 61; and James, 59.

• In 2024, our local family resource center, Broomfield FISH, served more than 15,000 unduplicated clients — 1 in 5 Broomfield residents — with basic needs support. More than half of FISH’s clients were children, and FISH client households spent, on average, 75% of their income on housing.

• Half of all Broomfield renters or 3,200 households are “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than the HUD recommended 30 percent of their income on housing (mortgage/rent, utilities, etc.). Households that spend 30-50 percent of their income on housing are considered to be “moderately cost-burdened” or at risk of housing instability, while those that spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing are considered to be “severely cost-burdened” or at risk of homelessness. (A helpful exercise: What percentage of your income do you spend on your housing?)

• We have a shortage of 1,662 housing units that are affordable for residents earning less than $52,000 per year. 

• Just 1 percent of local homes sold in 2021 were affordable to households earning less than the AMI (Area Median Income).

• For our entire community of nearly 77,000 people, we have only a handful of full-time caseworkers to come alongside people who are navigating housing instability. This severe shortage of case managers, social workers and resource navigators drastically limits the capacity of local agencies to address the needs they’re seeing and severely strains our community in myriad ways.