Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the REACH FAQ page. Here you’ll find answers to common questions about what we do, and how you can get involved. Please reach out to the program team directly with additional questions about eligibility, applications, or participation.
REACH is designed for early-career clinical researchers, including clinical fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty, who are interested in advancing research related to homelessness and health.
Applicants may come from a variety of clinical, health, and public health disciplines. Examples include physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, public health practitioners, epidemiologists, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and substance use counselors, among others.
Applicants do not need to be affiliated with one of the REACH partner institutions.
Residents in their final year of training may also be eligible, particularly if they are transitioning into a research fellowship, T32 program, or other research-focused position. We recognize that career paths do not always fit neatly into categories and will consider individual circumstances when determining eligibility.
If you are unsure whether your background or career stage qualifies, please contact us at REACH@cuanschutz.edu.
REACH uses a broad definition of clinicians and practitioners. Eligible backgrounds may include medicine, nursing, public health, epidemiology, social work, psychology, physical and occupational therapy, substance use treatment, and other disciplines that directly contribute to health care, public health, or the health of people experiencing homelessness.
Eligibility is not limited to individuals who provide direct medical care to patients.
Potentially. REACH welcomes applicants from a broad range of health-related disciplines and considers applicants’ backgrounds and career goals individually.
The program is intended to train researchers whose work addresses homelessness and health, particularly at the intersections of substance use, HIV, infectious diseases, and chronic disease. Laboratory-based basic science without a clinical, health services, public health, or related research focus generally falls outside the scope of the program.
If you are unsure whether your discipline fits, please contact the REACH team before applying.
No. REACH is a national program, and applicants do not need to work or train at one of the institutions affiliated with REACH.
Applicants should have appropriate institutional support for their research and career development, but their home institution can be located elsewhere.
Applicants who are transitioning between institutions may still apply.
Depending on the timing of your transition, your home mentor may be based at your current institution or the institution you will be joining. The most important consideration is having mentorship and institutional support that will help you successfully complete the REACH program and your proposed research.
If you are in the middle of an institutional transition and are unsure how to describe your mentorship plan, please contact us.
Please reach out to REACH@cuanschutz.edu before applying.
REACH is designed to augment, not replace, the mentorship and career development support available at a Scholar’s home institution. We are happy to discuss your circumstances and whether your existing or anticipated mentorship structure is appropriate for the program.
Your home mentor should be someone who can meaningfully support your research and career development at your home institution.
Your home mentor does not necessarily need to be an expert in every area covered by REACH. The program is specifically designed to supplement Scholars’ existing mentorship with additional expertise.
For example, REACH mentors may provide expertise in homelessness, substance use, HIV, community-engaged research, research methodology, or NIH funding and career development.
Applicants should select the home mentor who is best positioned to support their overall research trajectory rather than trying to duplicate the expertise available through REACH.
REACH Scholars receive structured mentorship in addition to the mentorship available at their home institutions. The REACH project team will match each Scholar to a REACH mentor.
Mentorship matching considers each Scholar’s research interests, career goals, methodological needs, and areas in which additional expertise would be valuable. REACH also incorporates community expertise into the mentorship experience.
Applicants do not need to design their application around a particular REACH mentor. Instead, describe your research and training needs clearly so the program can identify appropriate mentorship support.
Each cohort of the REACH Scholar program lasts two years. Four Scholars are selected annually.
REACH Scholars participate in a structured two-year research and career development program.
Activities include:
- Monthly webinars and other didactic or research-in-progress sessions
- Biannual in-person meetings and workshops
- Ongoing mentorship
- Networking and collaboration with Scholars, faculty, and community partners
- Completion of a pilot research project
- Program reporting and other required activities
The program is intended to complement Scholars’ existing research training and career development rather than replace the resources available through their home institutions.
Learn more on our How to Apply page.
Yes. Funding is provided for required travel associated with in-person program meetings.
REACH supports research intended to improve health, health care, and health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
Projects may involve clinical research, health services research, epidemiology, implementation science, community-engaged research, policy-focused research, or related approaches.
Projects should generally connect homelessness or housing instability with REACH’s areas of emphasis, including substance use, HIV, infectious diseases, chronic disease, and related health outcomes.
The proposed project should also help advance the applicant’s longer-term research and career development goals.
Applicants should present a thoughtful, feasible project and clearly explain its significance, innovation, approach, and relevance to their career development.
However, applicants should not feel that they must submit a fully developed NIH-style grant application.
The application format is intentionally flexible. Selected Scholars will work with REACH mentors during the early months of the program to strengthen and finalize their pilot projects.
Your proposal should therefore demonstrate that you have a strong research question and a feasible plan while leaving room for refinement through the REACH mentorship process.
Your application should address the significance and innovation of the proposed work, but you do not need to rigidly reproduce the structure or formatting of an NIH R-series grant application. Focus on communicating why the research question matters, what is new or valuable about your proposed work, how you plan to conduct it, and how the project supports your research trajectory.
If your proposed project involves human subjects research, your application should demonstrate that you have considered the relevant regulatory requirements.
You do not necessarily need to have every approval completed at the time you apply. However, you should describe anticipated IRB requirements, your expected approval process, and a realistic timeline.
The goal is to demonstrate that the project can feasibly be completed during the REACH program period.
REACH Scholars may receive up to $20,000 in pilot project support, including funds that can be used to support meaningful community partnerships.
The funding is intended to help Scholars generate preliminary data, test approaches, strengthen community partnerships, and develop work that can contribute to future research and NIH funding opportunities.
REACH program staff will work with selected Scholars to refine their budgets and ensure that proposed expenses comply with NIH and institutional requirements.
Yes. Supporting and appropriately compensating community partners is an important purpose of the available project funding.
Depending on the project, allowable expenses may include:
- Compensation for community partners’ time and expertise
- Participant compensation
- Use of community spaces or other community resources
- Community health workers
- Research assistants or other project personnel
- Other expenses necessary to support meaningful community-engaged research
Applicants do not need to be experts in NIH budgeting rules before applying. Selected Scholars will work with the REACH team to refine their budgets and determine whether proposed expenses are allowable.
Yes. Student research assistants and other personnel who directly support the proposed project may be included when appropriate and allowable.
Applicants should explain how the proposed personnel will contribute to the research.
No. REACH pilot funding is intended to support research project expenses and does not provide salary support for Scholars or institutional overhead.
The REACH team will work with selected Scholars to develop an appropriate and compliant project budget.
No.
Your application should provide a reasonable budget that demonstrates that the proposed project is feasible, but selected Scholars will have an opportunity to work with REACH leadership and mentors to refine their project plans and budgets.
Applicants should focus on proposing expenses that are directly connected to accomplishing the research and supporting appropriate community engagement.
Applications are generally due in late summer each year. Applicants are typically notified of decisions in the fall or early winter. Late submissions will not be accepted.
| Application Due Dates | Scientific Review | Executive Committee Review | Decision Notification | Start Date/End Date |
| August 31, 2026 | September 2026 | October 2026 | December 2026 | February 2027 / January 2029 |
| August 31, 2027 | September 2027 | October 2027 | December 2027 | February 2028 / January 2030 |
| August 31, 2028 | September 2028 | October 2028 | December 2028 | February 2029 / January 2031 |
| August 31, 2029 | September 2029 | October 2029 | December 2029 | February 2030 / January 2032 |
Visit our Scholarship Application Requirements page for more details about what to include in your application submission.
We encourage you to apply again in a future cycle.
Applicants may be able to strengthen their research project, mentorship structure, preliminary work, or other aspects of their application between cycles, and REACH welcomes reapplications.
At this time, REACH is primarily a research training program for early-career investigators.
Community members and people with lived expertise are nevertheless integral to the REACH program, including through community advising and community-engaged research partnerships. REACH hopes to continue expanding opportunities for community involvement as the program develops.
If you work in the area of health care for people experiencing homelessness, or have lived experience navigating homelessness and want to get involved in research, we welcome you! You can join our listserv to stay informed about current activities and opportunities, and let us know if you are interested in serving as a community advisor.
Still Have Questions?
If your question has not been answered, please contact the REACH team at REACH@cuanschutz.edu. We are happy to discuss individual circumstances and questions about eligibility.