City and County of Denver, CO
09/13/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/13/2024 11:12
Cold Weather Shelter Plan Expands, Newcomer Services Consolidate
Cold Weather Shelter Plan Expands, Newcomer Services Consolidate
Published on September 13, 2024
The City and County of Denver today announced it will provide more robust options for people experiencing homelessness during cold weather. In a coordinating move, the city will also consolidate newcomer shelter operations due to low occupancy. Changes will take effect in late September.
Under the new cold weather shelter plan, Denver will provide around the clock emergency shelter when there is a forecasted overnight low temperature of 25 degrees or two inches of snow accumulation. The previous threshold was 20 degrees, and shelter was offered from evening to the following morning. The city will also increase shelter capacity, meal services, and access to transportation.
"Time of day and a difference of a few degrees should not be the determining factor in whether you have a warm place to stay," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. "Under this new policy we will protect more people from life-threatening cold weather by providing the services they need to be safe and feel secure."
The city projects the revised plan will increase the availability of cold weather shelter from around 40 days per season to more than 80. The new strategy is based on a prior proposal from Council Members Sarah Parady, Paul Kashmann, Jamie Torres, and Shontel M. Lewis.
"Bringing people inside saves lives, and this plan removes known barriers to shelter access and will double the hours of availability of cold weather emergency shelter this winter," said Councilwoman Parady. "I'm grateful to have worked alongside advocates, Council colleagues, city agencies, and Mayor Johnston to make this expansion happen."
During cold weather events, shelter providers also utilize additional overflow space in their existing facilities to accommodate demand. In addition, the city stands ready to open additional shelter space, either for overnight use or 24/7, as may be necessary to meet the needs of our community.
"It is simply wrong to leave people to fend for themselves in Colorado's winter cold, when other more humane options are available," said Councilman Kashmann. This new policy promises to reduce the number of folks who lose fingers and toes, if not their lives, when temperatures plummet."
The city will operate three primary cold weather shelters, one of which was used previously for cold weather and two of which are currently set aside to shelter newcomers. In the coming weeks, the newcomer locations will be converted to 24/7 cold weather shelter, at which time short-term shelter operations specific to newcomers will end and Denver will cease to provide onward travel. This move comes as the number of people arriving in Denver from the southern border has plummeted over the last several months.
Denver received fewer than 160 newcomers in all of August. As a result, shelter occupancy has remained extremely low, with sites sometimes going unused for days at a time. This drop in usage is due both to the city's move toward long-term sustainability, as well as the Biden-Harris Administration's Executive Order concerning the U.S.-Mexico border. The city shares its gratitude to the many employees, nonprofits, churches, organizations, volunteers, and others who have provided assistance since the response began in Dec. 2022.
"We're extremely proud to have met the moment by meeting the needs of the nearly 43,000 people who arrived in our city over these last two years," said Denver City Council President Amanda P. Sandoval. "We will forever be indebted to and amazed by the countless individuals who stepped up and came forward to assist newcomers during this once in a lifetime crisis."
Out of an abundance of caution, the city is creating an emergency shelter plan and will explore the option of an emergency site should newcomer arrivals again rise above normal migration patterns. In coordination with Catholic Charities, Denver will continue to offer bridge housing for a limited number of newcomer families at the former Mullen Home site. That partnership will run through December, at which point the contract will end as scheduled and all families will have received assistance with next steps.
No changes are planned for those enrolled in the Denver Asylum Seeker Program, which is currently providing services like workforce training, legal support, and food to around 850 individuals. Work authorization clinics are also slated to continue.