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Tag: Homeless

On a dead-end street in north Denver, migrants are surviving winter with the help of an army of volunteers
Downtown Denver, Local, The Colorado Sun

On a dead-end street in north Denver, migrants are surviving winter with the help of an army of volunteers

By Jennifer Brown | SOURCE: THE COLORADO SUN Footprints in the snow lead from the sidewalk to a path through the weeds, opening to a field that is almost invisible from the road.  North of Interstate 70, in a part of Denver filled mostly with warehouses and gas stations, the tents are flapping relentlessly in the wind. About 10 migrants from South America hunkered down here during four days of subzero temperatures, and the volunteers who brought them heaters and propane, hot meals and fresh water, are prepared to help hundreds more as Denver pushes migrants out of their city-provided hotel rooms in the coming weeks.  The dozen or so brightly colored tents were mostly concealed from view by the field’s dirt mounds, despite that they were just across the South Platte River from...
Annual count of Colorado Springs-area homeless population expands hiring street people to assist
El Paso County, gazette.com, Local

Annual count of Colorado Springs-area homeless population expands hiring street people to assist

By Debbie Kelley | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE For the second time, a yearly census to determine how many homeless people are living in El Paso County on a given night will hire helpers who are familiar with life on the streets to do the counting. Debra Stilen will be among those conducting the Point in Time survey that begins on Monday, a process required by the United States Department of Urban Housing and Development for communities to receive federal funding for programs and services for homeless people. After 20 years of homelessness, Stilen entered transitional housing last year. She was ready. But many of her friends are not. “What I find is a lot of them want to be counted, but people who are homeless are so used to being abused or bullied or negative aspects when it comes to a...
Denver council postpones vote to ban homeless camp sweeps during frigid weather
coloradopolitics.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Denver council postpones vote to ban homeless camp sweeps during frigid weather

By Noah Festenstein | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS The Denver City Council on Tuesday delayed a vote to ban homeless encampment sweeps when the temperatures fall below freezing. The primary sponsor of the bill, at-large Councilmember Sarah Parady, made the motion to postpone the vote for two weeks. Legislative bodies typically delay votes to give sponsors more time to secure votes or consider changes. "The postponement is just due to background logistics and I’m confident it will pass in two weeks!" Parady said. READ FULL ARTICLE ON COLORADOPOLITICS.COM
U.S. Supreme Court to hear challenge on homelessness ordinance ban
denvergazette.com, National

U.S. Supreme Court to hear challenge on homelessness ordinance ban

By Kenneth Schrupp, Washington Examiner | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE (The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear a landmark challenge to an earlier ruling preventing enforcement of anti-camping ordinances — a challenge that was supported by a broad coalition of Republican and Democratic leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “California has invested billions to address homelessness, but rulings from the bench have tied the hands of state and local governments to address this issue,” said Newsom in a statement. “The Supreme Court can now correct course and end the costly delays from lawsuits that have plagued our efforts to clear encampments and deliver services to those in need.” In 2023, Newsom filed an amicus brief supporting Supreme Court review of a...
Should Denver ban homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather? City Council will decide tonight
denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Should Denver ban homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather? City Council will decide tonight

By Noah Festenstein | SOURCE: DENVER GAZETTE Denver's councilmembers will decide tonight whether to ban homeless encampment sweeps when temperatures fall below 32 degrees, a move that Mayor Mike Johnston opposes. The council gave the proposal preliminary approval last week, when a few councilmembers voted against advancing it and others showed hesitation to move it forward. The vote is happening as a cold snap, which plunged temperatures to subzero in the last several days, is expected to leave metro Denver today.  READ FULL STORY ON GAZETTE.COM
Denver City councilmembers ‘desperate’ amid homelessness, immigration crises
coloradopolitics.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Denver City councilmembers ‘desperate’ amid homelessness, immigration crises

By Luige Del Puerto | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS Denver Mayor Mike Johnston plans to travel to Washington, D.C. this week — his second in as many months — to press White House and federal officials for a concrete solution to the illegal immigration crisis that's threatening to consume hundreds of millions of dollars of the city's budget.  Denver’s mayor earlier said if the current influx of immigrants persists, the city could be spending $180 million this year. In the past year, the city burned through $38 million to accommodate the more than 37,000 immigrants who illegally crossed America's southern border and arrived in Denver.  Worried about how to pay for the immigrants' food and shelter, Johnston asked the city's agency heads to evaluate their budgets and come u...
Costs for Assisting Denver’s Overwhelming Indigent Migrants Could Reach $500 per Household, Report Reveals
Downtown Denver, Local, thelobby-co.com

Costs for Assisting Denver’s Overwhelming Indigent Migrants Could Reach $500 per Household, Report Reveals

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM The financial burden to house, feed, and care for the thousands of indigent migrants arriving in Denver could amount to $500 per Denver household, according to a report from the Common Sense Institute. The report from the think tank highlights the growing apprehension regarding the city's ability to provide essential services for the influx of migrants. "If the Denver mayor's recent spending projections of $180 million hold true, the city will have exhausted a significant amount of its general funding by the end of 2024," the report states. "To date, spending has been covered by a combination of federal, state, and city funds, but it remains unclear how the projected 2024 amount will be financed." Furthermore, Denver's expenditures fail to fully ac...
Colorado Springs shelters nearly 900 homeless people as temperatures continue to dive
El Paso County, gazette.com, Local

Colorado Springs shelters nearly 900 homeless people as temperatures continue to dive

By Debbie Kelley | SOURCE: The Gazette Colorado Springs’ shelters and ad hoc warming centers accommodated nearly 900 homeless people who sought to escape Sunday night’s subzero temperatures. The 352 people that hundreds of Hope COS volunteers removed from outdoor camps and under bridges and transported to emergency overnight centers inside three local churches set a record, the organization’s founder Melissa Oskin said Monday. “It’s just about double what we had as a high before that,” she said. READ FULL ARTICLE ON GAZETTE.COM
Denver City Council to consider banning homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather
denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Denver City Council to consider banning homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather

By Noah Festenstein | SOURCE: The Denver Gazette Denver buying the $88.5 million Denver Post building and a ban on sweeps of homeless encampments while temperatures are below 32 degrees top the agenda for the Denver City Council meeting on Tuesday. City offices are closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, delaying the council’s weekly Monday meeting.  Two of the items likely to be most talked about were tabled at the past two meetings. Council members two weeks ago voted to postpone the purchase of the Denver Post building, citing a need for more information about the purchase plan. The city is considering buying the building for $88.5 million. Denver needs more courtroom space by 2030, according to a 2020 courts master plan. READ FULL ARTICLE ON DENVERGAZETTE.COM