Tribe Recovery Homes, a Denver-based drug addiction treatment and sober living provider, has closed its residential program in Boulder, citing a recent loss in federal funding. It becomes the latest nonprofit in the city to shut down amid funding challenges.

The organization ran an 11-bed residential program on Pearl Street where people recovering from drug addiction could stay for a month or more. Residents had access to peer support and treatment, including therapy and medication to curb cravings.

The home was a core part of the city and county’s strategy to address methamphetamine addiction and substance use, particularly among homeless and formerly incarcerated people. Its closure follows the shutdown of Boulder’s only homeless youth shelter and a residential treatment home for young people.

The City of Boulder plans to bring in a new operator to provide similar services at the Pearl Street site, but that transition will take at least two months, according to Kurt Firnhaber, the city’s director of Housing and Human Services.

“We’re in a difficult environment right now with state and federal funding challenges,” Firnhaber told Boulder Reporting Lab. “The city isn’t able to and doesn’t have the resources to backstop some of the challenges.”

Tribe first opened the Boulder facility in 2023 with a $900,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant, leasing the building from the city essentially free of charge. The program was overseen by both the city and county. But when start-up federal funding ended, both the city and county declined to provide ongoing funding.

The county has since transferred oversight of the site to the city, which will continue leasing the property to the next vendor for $1 per year, according to Firnhaber. Instead of receiving grant funding, the future operator would be expected to bill Medicaid and other insurance providers for services.

The city recently issued a request for proposals to select another provider to operate a similar program out of the same building.

Thomas Hernandez, the founder of Tribe, said one reason the organization chose not to apply to be the next operator was partially because the city wants to place a greater emphasis on serving homeless people, while Tribe primarily serves formerly incarcerated people.

“We weren’t aligning in mission statements,” he told Boulder Reporting Lab.

Hernandez said the organization ran out of its federal grant in April and expected more challenges securing federal funding under the Trump administration.

“It’s rough when you lose funding,” he said. “You have all your staff paid for, and then you’ve got to pick up that bill.”

He said the organization had been scaling back operations ahead of the closure. Two people still living at the facility were moved to Tribe’s homes in Denver, and the group plans to continue outreach work in Boulder.

The city’s request for proposals closed Sept. 19, with a new operator expected to be selected by early October.