Although Denver has long housed homeless individuals in motels on an emergency basis, the city now plans to purchase a motel in northeast Denver and transform it into a homeless shelter. This building here behind us represents hope, the transformation that can take place on this property and the transformation that is possible for the people who will call it home. That transformation is foundational to the future of our city and is a pillar for our economic recovery and sustainability going forward, Mayor Michael Hancock said at a May 6 press conference in front of the Stay Inn (which had been in turning into a Travelodge) on Peoria Street just south of I-70.
Five people from Park Hill – Kurt Monigle, Dave Rodman, Jean Baptiste-Varnier, Justin Lovac and Blair Taylor – filed the suit to prevent the establishment of a campsite at Park Hill United Methodist.
Their complaint suggests the site poses a risk of immediate danger to children who attend the preschool, camp or daycare at the church, or children who live and go to school in the area. These neighbors also express concern about traffic congestion if the church’s parking lot is taken over by Colorado Village Collaborative.
Further, the lawsuit said the Park Hill site does not provide access to resources like public transportation, as other sites might.
Sanctioned homeless campsites relocating to South Park Hill, Regis
Courtesy of Colorado Village Collaborative)
Denver’s sanctioned homeless campsites will be pulling of the stakes for moves across town.
The two existing “safe outdoor spaces” in Uptown and Cap Hill are set to be dismantled at the end of this month. They will be replaced with new sites in South Park Hill and Regis June 1.
The nonprofit Colorado Village Collaborative, led by Cole Chandler, announced one location in the parking lot of Park Hill United Methodist Church, at 5209 Montview Blvd., in early April.
On Wednesday the nonprofit and Regis University announced plans for one on the campus of the private Catholic University in northwest Denver. It will be located in a parking lot behind the McDonald’s at 5085 N. Federal Blvd., next to a soccer field.
Come mid-June, Regis University will be hosting Denver s fourth-ever safe-camping site for people experiencing homelessness. We re going to be sleeping 100 people a night in a model that didn t exist a year ago at this time, says Cole Chandler, director of the Colorado Village Collaborative, which will be setting up the site at Regis University s campus in northwest Denver at the same time his group is establishing a new facility in a parking lot of Park Hill United Methodist Church in South Park Hill. The two sites will have 89 tents combined, with room for 100 people experiencing homelessness which represents around one-tenth of the estimated unsheltered homeless population in Denver. Approximately $900,000 of city money will fund the two sites for seven months of operation.
Garrett Flicker, the new chair of the Denver Republican Party, is pushing a proposal for the November ballot that would allow for up to four city-funded, sanctioned homeless encampments and could also increase enforcement actions at unsanctioned encampments. We wanted to ensure that the encampments have basic services, such as sanitation, hygiene, running water and safety lighting. Due to these services costing more in your camps compared to your traditional pop-up encampments, and combine that with the ability to patrol these four encampments, we decided on four, Flicker explained during an April 16 meeting with city staffers to answer questions about the proposed initiative.