Jamie Rife, the head of the city’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST), will step down from her post at the end of the month, according to a press release by Mayor Mike Johnston’s office late Wednesday afternoon. 

Rife, who was appointed by Johnston and has held the position for just under two years, will move on to tech-driven nonprofit Housing Connectors as senior vice president.

Her last day will be Nov. 30.

“It has been the honor of my professional career to serve our community and work alongside so many dedicated colleagues committed to creating affordable housing and addressing homelessness,” Rife said in the release. “Thanks to Mayor Johnston’s leadership, the confidence and support of Denver City Council, our incredible city staff, and our amazing partners, we’ve made meaningful progress toward ensuring every resident has a safe and stable place to call home.”

Rife previously served as the executive director of the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI), overseeing the city’s annual Point-In-Time Count.

After joining HOST in January 2024, she led the mayor’s efforts to end homelessness in the city.

In the interim, Deputy Chief Operating Officer Molly Urbina will assume the responsibilities of Rife’s role until a search for a permanent replacement is complete. 

Urbina has been with HOST operations for the past two years and has extensive experience in housing and community development.

She has previously served the City and County of Denver for nearly a decade.

“Tonight, thousands of Denverites will sleep in their own beds and not the streets because of the work of Jamie Rife,” Johnston said in the release. “Jamie is among the most fearless, intelligent, and compassionate individuals I have ever known, and our city is forever changed for her dedication and commitment to serving individuals experiencing homelessness.”

Rife oversaw Johnston’s “All In Mile High initiative,” as well as the city’s broader homelessness efforts, eliminating large encampments, moving 7,800 people indoors and 6,500 into permanent housing.

However, a year ago Rife and her department faced a grueling city audit, which found that Johnston’s citywide program to shelter homeless people was failing to adhere to some accountability measures meant to safeguard the use of taxpayer dollars and meet some of its most basic goals.

HOST, which oversees many of Denver’s homeless shelter operations, lacks effective systems for monitoring providers’ performance. The oversight concerns included deficiencies in departmental organization, financial management and accountability, according to a statement, at the time, from Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien.

Additionally, O’Brien said the department also failed to ensure adequate safety measures at one shelter, track shelter-related expenses comprehensively, and enforce contracting requirements for invoices.

At the helm of HOST, Rife has seen a change as the city has refocused its efforts from temporary shelters to more permanent housing, concentrating on “throughput,” rather than long-term shelters.

In September, the city announced several cost-cutting measures in its homeless strategies, including the plans to close the Comfort Inn, one of the city’s larger homeless shelter hotels, and cease funding for the Monroe Village tiny home micro community, converting it to workforce housing. 

Citing the decrease in the number of people living on the streets, officials said the decision marks the next phase of the mayor’s efforts to end homelessness and will redirect city resources toward treatment and permanent solutions, including long-term housing.

Approximately 18 months ago, the average length of stay in a city-run shelter was consistently over 210 days, according to city officials. That number has now dropped to approximately 180 days.

HOST also recently announced that it would revise its approach to funding homeless shelter program services in the future, transitioning from flat-fee-based contracts to performance-based contracts for the city’s non-congregate shelters and Housing Central Command.

“These contracts (flat-fee) are just cost reimbursement models, so whatever the eligible expenses are, I pay for that as the provider, then bill the city, and then the city just pays the provider back,” Chandler said. “We’re switching to where we’ll be actually paying for specific outcomes.”

The switch means HOST will be scrutinizing how well vendors fulfill their contract deliverables.