As much as we’d like to respond individually to you, we receive hundreds of emails in the District 10 office about this issue and we are currently understaffed. Right now, 3-1-1 is averaging more than 450 calls per day. We will continue to update on homelessness and unsanctioned encampments in our newsletter and on the District 10 website. Sign up for the newsletter here.

I hope that the information below provides you all with some clarity regarding:

·        Unsanctioned encampments

·        What the City is doing to address unsanctioned camping and homelessness

·        What Councilman Hinds has been working on

·        What you can do

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·         The City’s approach for addressing homelessness continues to evolve and improve based on a variety of changing factors such as:

• Centers for Disease Control guidelines
• litigation over camping ban legislation
• new City programs and funding made available
• and, frankly, learning what works best and adjusting to meet those lessons learned

Public Camping

If unwanted camping is occurring on your private property, you can sign a no-trespass agreement with your Denver Police Department (DPD) district. They will ask that you post no trespass signs on your property. This agreement allows DPD to enforce on your private property without you having to report it. Our office will be very happy to put you in touch with the appropriate CROs to get you signed up for this.

What Happens When Unsanctioned Camping Concerns Are Reported

In the months of March and April 2021, the City received about 2400 calls regarding homelessness encampments. Lately, 3-1-1 is receiving an average of 450 calls each day. When calls come in regarding crimes in progress at or around encampments Denver Police Department responds in these situations:

• Reports of children at the encampments
• Crimes such as assaults, sale of narcotics, robbery
• Lower level crimes: damaging, defacing or destruction of public or private property and trees; trespass; and urinating or defecating in public
• Fires or medical emergencies at encampments are responded to by the fire department or paramedics

The City is preparing a Street Enforcement Team to address lower level crime with citation authority. The goal of the Street Enforcement Team is to free up DPD to address harder crime. This will be rolled out soon. If there are no crimes in progress, 3-1-1 will report to the Early Intervention Team (EIT).

Early Intervention Team (EIT) And Other Partnering Providers*

Started in October 2020 via a directive issued by Mayor Hancock, the Early Intervention Team (EIT) is designed to mitigate the growth of encampments where people experiencing homelessness live in Denver. The EIT is made up of Denver Human Services and the Fire and Police departments. The team conducts outreach with community members living in encampments during the week. DPD also has assigned 4 officers and a sergeant that work on the night homeless outreach team to assist EIT during the day Mondays through Thursdays. Each EIT shift has 4-5 firefighters and 4-6 Denver Human Services staff, deploying 8-10 people per shift.  The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment also provides Substance Abuse Navigators as part of this team, approximately 3 days per week. DPD Homeless Outreach staff (4 officers and a sergeant) partner with EIT on some engagements such as the seven-day posted clean ups (noted below).

What does EIT do?

When there are non-emergency encampment concerns, those calls should be made to 3-1-1. Reporting condition changes at encampments to 3-1-1 and the city will track what is happening. These calls are triaged based on certain characteristics: size, location (near homes? or schools?); presence of needles, rodents, trash, excrement, etc…

When EIT shows up (and they often do multiple visits), the team will engage with each individual to address an immediate crisis or emergency — like physical health needs, mental health crisis, extreme intoxication, fire hazards and other immediate harms. The EIT offers resources and assistance for shelter or other alternatives to living in the encampment. Depending on the nature of the response and engagement at each encampment, the amount of camps responded to each day can vary.  The goal for EIT is quality engagements, which may take time, and persistence over quantity of responses.

*See attached regarding various encampment outreach efforts

Clean-Ups

The City does perform clean-ups of encampment areas. These are clean-ups only and are issued a seven-day notice and are NOT related to enforcement of Denver’s camping ban. Denver is not removing encampments in part by direction of the Center for Disease Control pandemic guidelines that suggest it can be dangerous to uproot people during the pandemic. Several conditions can trigger a clean-up by our right-of-way enforcement team: significant encumbrances located on the rights-of-way (blocking sidewalks, for example), a large accumulation of trash and debris, discarded sharps, human waste, propane and active burning.

Early during the pandemic, Denver followed CDC guidelines that suggested uprooting people in unsanctioned encampments was dangerous – for about the first four months, clean-ups were paused. Denver has been conducting clean-ups since then and as CDC guidelines have changed, more of us are vaccinated, and more encampments appear, the City is now doing 2-3 clean-ups each week.

Here is what a common seven-day notice looks like:

Seven-day notice of a Large-Scale Encumbrance Cleanup conducted by Department Of Transportation and Infrastructure. The cleanup is scheduled for DATE in the areas STREET. The cleanup will begin at TIME.  DOTI has determined that this cleanup is necessary due to the conditions of area, which includes encampments blocking the rights-of-ways, the accumulation of trash, debris, discarded sharps, human waste and the presence of propane tanks and grills.  DFD has been alerted due to significant concerns related to the presence of fire hazards. DOTI is acting now with the hope of preventing further deterioration of the conditions in this area. Please note that this action is initiated by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (Public Works) as a coordinated multi-agency cleanup of the specified areas. It is not enforcement of DRMC 38-86.2 (Unauthorized Camping on Public or Private Property Prohibited). 

What the City is Doing to Address Homelessness

If you are curious (and since many folks have recently asked) about the current work the City is doing to address homelessness in general, I suggest watching this video and visit Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) webpage. The video reports on how the Department has adjusted and responded to the huge jump in homelessness related to our impending housing crisis and ripple effects from the pandemic. It also offers an overall general understanding of the multi-faceted work our HOST Department performs. And, here are just a couple recent examples of HOST’s work that you may have heard of:

Latest Efforts by Mayor Hancock

Mayor Hancock announced at the end of June that Denver will buy more hotels and motels, as well as expand Safe Outdoor Spaces, to provide more temporary housing for immediate help while Denver continues to grow housing affordability through various actions spearheaded by HOST and other City agencies.

Safe-Outdoor-Spaces (SOS)

District 10, thanks to a number of private and non-profit partners, has hosted a number of Safe-Outdoor-Spaces. These are temporary, highly-managed camping sites with wrap-around resources and basic services available on-site. It has been our experience in District 10 that neighbors were initially concerned about SOS sites. However, almost immediately after our SOS sites were open and operating we heard from several neighbors that they were surprised and happy about how well they were working.

Often times there is a lot of initial fear when a new SOS is set up. However, I’d like to note that to date, I’m unaware of any complaints that have come into District 10 related to any of our SOS sites. Further, the DPD district with the most SOS sites relayed that there are next to zero calls for service at SOS sites (seemingly less than the normal call levels in any neighborhood) because of the on-site, strict management of these operations.

Help From Congress

Recently, Congresswoman Diana DeGette worked with Mayor Michael Hancock to obtain a hotel that will provide 240 units of affordable housing. She wrote an editorial about how partnerships like these are coming together to help address the homelessness problems we’re facing. With more federal funding available, more of this type of housing will come on-line within the next few years.

The Bigger Picture – Some Key Points

If we don’t address the bigger picture the problems associated with homelessness, like unsanctioned camping will get worse. 100,000 in Denver area are housing cost burdened. Denver – and Colorado — is also in the middle of a severe housing shortage crisis, which began well before the impacts of the recent pandemic have made the situation worse. Some estimate it will take three years or more to meet demand.  Pre-pandemic contributors to our current housing crisis:

• Between 2012-2018 rent went up 62%
• Between 2012-2018 home values have gone up 73%
• Between 2012-2018 income has gone up only 35%

Land-use and income policies have largely contributed to where we find ourselves today. Public support for solutions can be very contentious. Often times it is really hard to communicate in a way that makes it easy for the very busy public to digest the complex, bigger picture. Yet, it is that complex situation that lead us to an environment like the one we are experiencing in Denver today. Sometimes it is really easy to separate the public from their local government, but public support or opposition to solutions genuinely, strongly influences the direction our city takes.

This housing crisis is a national problem that needs federal help at the local level. The solution isn’t just about clearing unsanctioned encampments. Most municipalities, including Denver, are doing all they can with the resources they have to address the bigger issue of homelessness and housing insecurity. Local resources often just aren’t enough. There is a high cost to clearing encampments and it doesn’t help solve the overall bigger issue of homelessness and housing insecurity. Many professionals believe to genuinely curb homelessness, we need both housing and wrap around services. This is an 8 minute documentary from Austin that mirrors many of the challenges that Denver faces – though their approach is slightly different. The video in many respects gets at the heart of everyday reality for the housed and unhoused living in close proximity.

According to HOST, we estimate we will have enough funds to help obtain or preserve up to 6000 affordable homes in the next 5 years within these three focus areas: affordable home ownership; affordable rental; and homelessness resolution.

In addition to our newly established local funding source, Denver’s HOST will be competing for some of the $2 trillion housing and homelessness dollars in the American Rescue Plan for housing vouchers and other funds to help our homeless neighbors. And, our Congressional delegation is keeping the issue front and center of their agendas. For example, as noted above, Congresswoman Diana DeGette has worked with Mayor Michael Hancock to secure funds for a hotel which will be first used as shelter and then as transitional housing.

A few of the other 2021 Goals that HOST is meeting now:

• • Keep 2000 people in their current homes (rental assistance, etc)
  • Serve 15,000 people with services for homelessness resolution
  • Serve 4000 people with housing opportunity services (down payment assistance, buyer counseling)
  • Rebuild our shelter system in the three-year shelter expansion plan
  • 24/7 shelter access
  • This month Denver opened a 46-bed crisis-stabilization center for people experiencing behavioral-health emergencies, including our unhoused neighbors
  • Later this spring/early summer, opening a shelter that will be capable of serving up to 600 people per night
  • Add three or more Safe Outdoor Space sites
  • Policies to increase affordability and accessibility for housing: housing incentive program; missing middle housing types; eviction prevention help
  • Expanding outreach, engagement and enforcement efforts to better connect people to shelter, housing, treatment and other services, and to protect against the public health and safety hazards caused by large unsanctioned encampments
  • 46-Bed Solutions Center we just opened in June (see press release at the end of this email)

What Councilman Hinds has been working on

Using his bully pulpit and his wide network in the community, CM Hinds has been able to help providers navigate Denver resources and form partnerships to house people and offer needed services. From the time he ran for office, he has been a strong advocate for local government actions to increase affordability. He became well versed on Denver’s housing crisis that had taken root and continued to grow many years prior to taking office. He performs his legislative duties always with an eye toward expanding Denver citizens’ ability to access an affordable, safe, and healthy place to live. Here are just a few examples:

• hosting townhalls, having on-site visits with housed and with unhoused neighbors, attending clean ups, visiting safe outdoor spaces, studying national best practices  – to learn and to observe what solutions are working and where we can do better
• funding for landlords to keep people in their homes
• partnering to open the first Safe Outdoor Spaces
• when possible, partnering with community service providers
• loosening outdated restrictions on who is allowed to live together
• funding for new housing developments for those with lower area median incomes
• re-zonings for development of new housing requiring more affordability
• funding for services that support our police, like the early intervention teams and STAR program, so they can concentrate on hard crime while support is offered to those suffering from homelessness
• rules and regulations that protect and bolster wages at the lower end
• updating zoning rules and regulations to accommodate more housing options
• job training and retention programs

What You Can Do

We’ve heard from a lot of you that you would like to help. Here are some options.

The City’s non-profit partners often have volunteer opportunities and ask for supportive actions for their projects. Some of our partners in ending homelessness need dollars to feed and house folks, while others advocate for you to show up and testify at Council in favor of new housing developments or policies that keep people in homes and off the streets. Here are a couple of our non-profit partners you might want to follow:

·         Colorado Village Collaborative

·         Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

Do a deep dive into what IS happening now. Understanding the work City employees and your elected leaders are doing on this issue – and having discussions with your community about that work – is more helpful than you might imagine. Gaining support for programs, easing fears and even alerting us to policies or programs that aren’t already in the City’s tool chest are important. A first step is to learn all about HOST – Denver’s housing stability department that was created by Mayor Hancock in 2019. You can review HOST’s 2021 action plan.

Testify. CM Hinds frequently says our democracy is stronger when we all participate. This is an unprecedented time and it is important for the Council body and for the Mayor’s office to hear from you. Sharing your thoughts about your experiences and your ideas regarding solutions is welcomed during these meetings – which are televised, so you can also hear what others are saying on the issue. Denver City Council usually meets on Monday evenings and starts with a public comment period. Often times issues related to homelessness are heard in our various Committees that occur during the week. Those Committees also often host public comment periods. You can participate virtually, and soon, we’ll be meeting in person again. Learn more about what’s on our weekly agendas and when you can testify here.

Office Hours

Councilman Hinds offers virtual office hours appointments each week to meet with constituents. If you are interested in discussing crime, homelessness, and other items of concern with Councilman Hinds, please let me know so I can loop in his scheduler to find a date and time that works for you. I hope these actions bring some relief to you and your neighbors.

Thank you,

Teresa

FACT SHEET: Denver Opens 46-Bed Solutions Center to Help People in Crisis

Mayor Hancock and the Mental Health Center of Denver today opened a new crisis-stabilization center that will significantly enhance support for people going through behavioral-health emergencies, including people experiencing homelessness.

“Denver continues to innovate with behavioral health solutions designed to get people the right care at the right time — care that has become even more urgent since the start of the pandemic,” Mayor Hancock said during today’s grand opening. “The Solutions Center will provide critical longer-term options for recovery through collaborative, unified services. It also will divert those in crisis away from unnecessary time in jail or on a psychiatric hold.”

• Nearly seven years in the making, the Solutions Center will be a vital addition to the City’s co-responder and Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) alternative-response programs. It will offer three tiers of service:

 

• • Drop-Off & Crisis Triage Center – First responders can bring people experiencing a behavioral health crisis here for immediate care. Only first responders (law enforcement and fire department/EMT units) or designated mental health professionals can refer someone to the Solutions Center. There is no public drop-off or walk up access.

• • 16-bed Crisis Stabilization Clinic – The clinic will accommodate voluntary stays for up to five days for people receiving medication, evaluation, and therapeutic services.

• • 30-bed Transitional Shelter – Transitional housing for up to 30 days for people recovering from a crisis. During this time, staff will work to connect individuals to community resources to assist with their successful reintegration into the community, including transportation, housing, and ongoing care.

• The Solutions Center will operate 24/7 with staffing provided by 59 clinicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, peer support specialists, residential counselors, and support staff.

• The building is located on the Denver Human Services Castro Campus in the Sun Valley neighborhood.

• It includes reception and common areas, laundry rooms, 46 bedrooms, multiple nurse stations, restrooms and showers, private client meeting rooms, medical and mental health exam spaces, a kitchen and dining area, a fitness room, administrative support areas and a 21,500-square-foot, fenced and locked courtyard complete with a basketball court.