09 16 YOUNG AND HOMELESS IN DENVER
@DenverLifeNews #NeighborhoodLens
by Lucy Graca On July 13, when Denver police swept away the homeless camps along the Platte River in RiNo and Confluence Park, more got left behind than trash. Two days earlier, Mayor Hancock promised in his State of the City speech that “the [new] Office of HOPE (Housing and Opportunities for People Everywhere) ... will bring a coordinated and comprehensive approach to the policies, programs and projects along the full homeless to housing spectrum.” The Mayor added Denver currently invests $50 million a year to address homelessness. There is considerable interest in dealing with Denver’s homeless crisis. As “Arkins [Court] Resident” said in a comment to a July 21 article in the Colorado Independent, “I live nearby and have seen the excessive littering along the [bike] path, destruction of vegetation in the park for encampments, harassment of people in the area and for the first time in years I have felt threatened and unsafe when travelling through this area.” Indeed, large numbers of people living in makeshift camps in the city constitute a public health and safety hazard to themselves and the city, observes Cathy Alderman of the Colorado Homeless Coalition, which estimates that there are over 3,000 homeless people in Denver every night. But according to the Coalition’s May 2016 Housing Inventory Count, there are only 2,230 shelter beds in the Metro area, and they run at 80 percent or more capacity. And, shelters are not the answer for everyone. For instance, there are only 810 shelter beds for households with children. Nearly forgotten in all of this are an estimated 328 homeless youth between the ages of 15 and 25 who spend any given night on Denver’s streets. These youth were documented by the Metro Denver
GREEN OR MEAN ON WELTON? ECO-FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION FACES PUSHBACK
07 16
facebook.com/ neighborhoodlife
A YOUNG HOMELESS MAN WALKS A DOWNTOWN PARKING LOT WITH ALL HIS BELONGINGS OVER HIS SHOULDER. A
host of agencies and nonprofits are working to manage the rising tide of Denver’s homeless, but resources are tight and disagreements on best strategies abound. Photo by Sara Hertwig Homeless Initiative’s 2015 Point-In-Time Report. Many of these youth are served by Urban Peak, a charitable organization Josh Zmroczek, Urban Peak’s director of Development and Public Affairs, describes as “a convergence of services” for an unduplicated 2,035 homeless youth Urban Peak served in 2015. About half of these youth get reconnected with a family member. For all of them there is a drop-in center with food, computers, showers, caseworkers and an outreach team; a 40-50 bed shelter that usually has a waitlist; and an education and employment center where, last year, 25 youths earned their GED. Urban Peak also owns three apartment buildings with on-site case management for youth who are working or attending school, or who have mental health or addiction
by J. Patrick O’Leary A four-story green office and retail building will rise from the ashes of the former Catholic Worker House at 2420 Welton St. this spring. The current two-story structure, built in 1895, was damaged by a fire earlier this year which destroyed the interior and displaced residents. Rather than rebuild, the owner put the property on the market and local developer GreenSpot Global bought it, planning to rehabilitate it and do a minor expansion. But that changed after an inspection shortly after the purchase. “It was dire, in really bad shape,” GreenSpot’s Traceye Herrington told a gathering of more than two dozen residents at a Five Points Business District community meeting in early June. “The structural engineer said it was not structurally sound.” Herrington’s plan for this stretch of Welton has been a “sustainable green mile” in which GreenSpot would locate its offices. The firm’s vision is to be “an industry leader in providing regen-
problems. They pay a small, subsidized rent. “The impetus to leave is that it’s like living with your parents,” Zmroczek explains with a laugh, adding that 92 percent of these youths exited the program to safe and stable housing of their own. The causes of homelessness among young people are not exactly the same as among homeless adults. Zmroczek explains that some homeless youths’ families have themselves become homeless. Some youths have aged out of foster care, left an abusive family situation or have left home because their families can’t support them. Almost half have a mental health problem. Once on the streets, the youths might turn to drug use or petty crime. continued on 3
erative homes and buildings with the mission of spinning the carbon-reduction meter backwards in our properties. We intend that our new corporate home at 2420 Welton St. … is a demonstration and showcase of what we do—a building of its time, providing wayfinding for the future.” Although zoned for eight stories, GreenSpot’s initial concept was five, with its new offices on top and places to eat and space for people to gather—5,000 square feet of co-working space. As enticing as that sounds, the project took flak from neighbors who hadn’t moved in yet. The buyers of Palisade Partners’ sold-out Wheatley Brownstones next door weren’t expecting the view of another building from their windows and decks. One buyer of an alley unit told Herrington he would lose his view, deck privacy and light. Another said “this is rude” because it would block rooftop deck views of downtown. A few said it would negatively impact their half-million-dollar housing investments. continued on 11
@DenverLifeNews #NeighborhoodLens
facebook.com/ neighborhoodlife