The Denver homeless advocacy group Housekeys Action Network Denver, or HAND, says mayor Mike Johnston’s House1000 plan is a “scam.” Members plan to urge the City Council Monday not to renew the mayor’s declaration of a homeless emergency in Denver unless he promises to make some changes.
HAND wants ongoing right-of-way sweeps halted immediately, along with sweeps of encampments not causing public health concerns. “When Mayor Johnston first came into office less than three months ago, he made promises to do things different than (outgoing Denver Mayor Michael) Hancock,” according to a news release issued Friday by HAND. “He said sweeping encampments from one block to the next with nowhere for people to go was pointless and that he would strive to only sweep if he had somewhere safer to offer people to go. Now he is doing just that: sweeping houseless people from block to block with nowhere to go every day. He committed to providing trash and bathroom service at encampments, and yet, as of today, there (are) only two encampments with these services.”
Representatives of HAND plan to demonstrate Monday outside of City Hall, 1437 Bannock St. “(The mayor) is only offering hotels to people in visible camps and leaving all the most vulnerable houseless people — sick, elderly, victims, families, etc. — out entirely,” according to the news release. “Furthermore, the hotels he is using for the “house” 1000 initiative have rules like a halfway house — not following the Housing First principles the Mayor touts to believe in and setting up people to land right back on the streets. What he is calling housing is actually just shelter.”
What the emergency declaration says
In the meantime, the mayor wants to extend the emergency declaration over homelessness to Nov.13. The resolution states:
“The City and County of Denver has experienced year over year increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness, an increase in those experiencing first time homelessness, and a tripling in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness since 2019.
“The 2022 Point in Time Count, an annual survey of the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, counted over 1,300 City residents who were unsheltered and living outdoors.
“The initial results from the 2023 Point in Time Count again showed an increase in the total number of people experiencing homelessness and in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, with over 1,400 City residents unsheltered and living outdoors.
“The number of people living unsheltered in 2023 is the highest number ever recorded in the city.
“The large number of people living unsheltered in the city creates significant public health and safety risks due to the lack of available services and the associated impacts of encampments created in spaces that are not safe for habitation.
“People who live unsheltered have higher rates of illness and shorter life spans and living unsheltered is a dangerous health condition for individuals.
“The need to provide shelter, physical and behavioral health care services, and other supportive services for the city’s unsheltered residents is straining and exceeding current city resources.
“The city faces a humanitarian crisis that requires it to take extraordinary measures to meet the immediate needs of City residents living unsheltered.
“The city has requested financial and other assistance from the state government as well as nonprofits and other community resources, including additional sheltering, physical and behavioral health care services, and other supportive services.
“The City anticipates requesting financial and other assistance from the federal government.
“People and property are at risk based on the number of individuals living unsheltered and outdoors in the city.
“The risks posed as described herein require preparation and arrangements for housing, shelter, infrastructure, and other supportive services to protect the health, safety, or welfare of people….”
The emergency declaration allows Denver to procure contracts for services without having to go through the bidding process. It also makes the city eligible for state and federal funding.
The other ‘emergency’
For a few weeks, Denver had two emergency declarations running concurrently. The mayor allowed an emergency declaration over the migrant influx from the southern border to expire. But just days after he did that the number of migrants being bussed to Denver began tracking back up. As of now the city is hosting more migrants than it ever has in non-city shelters – more than 3000 in all, according to the city’s online dashboard tracking migrants. Since last December Denver has assisted more than 24,000 migrants, according to the dashboard.
The migrants continue to arrive. On Saturday, 157 migrants rolled into the Mile-High City. On Friday, the number was 125.
If Denver continues to absorb migrants at its current rate, the city will blow through its $20 million 2024 migrant response budget in just four months, Mayor Mike Johnston said last month. In the meantime, some migrants are becoming homeless after their short shelter stay runs out. The end result is more people than ever living on Denver’s streets.
HAND demands
HAND, meanwhile, has issued a list of demands. “We are demanding the mayor keep his promises regarding sweeps, prioritize vulnerable people, and create accountability for the non-congregate shelter sites used in his initiative,” according to the news release. “While we want an overhaul to his entire ‘House’ 1000 initiative to end all traumatic displacements and create real housing, we are asking that he at least make these few small changes and uphold his promises. Under the Houseless State of Emergency these must be standards kept and we ask that the City Council demand these changes be made under the State of Emergency declaration.”
