Denver council shifts Harm Reduction Action Center funds to operations
The amendment allows the center to use $489,376 in federal pandemic-relief funding for operations by Sept. 30 while preserving separate opioid-settlement money for a potential building purchase.
Denver City Council approved an Aug. 31 amendment allowing the Harm Reduction Action Center to use American Rescue Plan Act money for operating expenses while preserving separate opioid-settlement funding for a potential building purchase.
The council first voted 9-0 to allow the measure to be filed late, then adopted the resolution in a unanimous block vote. The amendment to the city’s agreement with the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, which operates HRAC, did not increase the contract’s total funding capacity or extend its term.
The amended agreement identifies $489,376 in ARPA funding for HRAC operations and $239,345 in opioid-settlement funding for purchasing a building for behavioral-health and syringe-access services. The documents do not say that the building purchase has been abandoned or that the ARPA amount is an expressly calculated unspent balance redirected from the purchase. The amended agreement and the filed resolution preserve the separate funding designations.
Eligible operating costs include supplies, equipment, rent and utilities, as well as naloxone, fentanyl test strips, pipes, drug checking, health education, smoking supplies, food, hygiene items, wound care, sharps disposal and referrals to health and social-support services.
During the meeting, the council president said HRAC had been delayed in finding a building that met its needs and that the approaching federal spending deadline made it important to give the organization time to use the ARPA money. The reviewed documents do not provide more detail about the search or identify a formal decision to abandon the purchase. The council’s Aug. 31 meeting video contains the discussion and vote.
The revised ARPA performance period ends Sept. 30, 2026. HRAC’s listed targets include serving more than 2,500 people through more than 10,000 access episodes, distributing 1,500 naloxone kits, conducting more than 45 educational tours and making more than 4,000 referrals. A final closeout report is due no later than two weeks after the term ends.
The council’s action came as members proclaimed Aug. 31 Denver Overdose Grief Day. The proclamation cited 563 drug-related deaths in Denver in 2025, including deaths involving fentanyl, methamphetamine and polysubstance use. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner’s 2025 report said 522 of those deaths were classified as accidental, 25 as suicides and 16 as undetermined. The proclamation also directed the city clerk to send a copy to HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville.