With its new justice center approved, the city of Denver is poised to present its next challenge to citizens: Ending homelessness.
Even thinking about that seems impossible, but a city commission Monday will unveil an ambitious, comprehensive plan designed to create more low-income housing units and more job opportunities while casting a wider safety net for the working poor. The ultimate goal is to get the homeless off Denver’s streets within 10 years. About 10,000 people are homeless in the metro area on any given day, more than 4,000 in Denver.
But can the growing problem of homelessness not only be reversed but actually solved? Some U.S. cities have had success reducing their numbers, and it’s certainly a laudable goal – one that’s worthy of this intensive citywide effort.
Mayor John Hickenlooper made the pledge to end homelessness during his 2003 campaign, and within weeks of his election he formed a diverse, wide-ranging commission of business leaders, elected officials, social workers and even the homeless themselves. They were asked to come up with a plan in 18 months, so they scoured the country looking for successful programs while devising their own solutions tailored to Denver.
The plan has eight goals: create more permanent and transitional housing; increase the number of shelter beds and the hours they’re available; prevent future homelessness; provide better services, including health care access; reduce panhandling; help homeless people acquire job skills; increase community involvement; and change zoning codes to expand emergency shelter operations.
The first task is to create more affordable housing, using the Housing First model deployed in New York. It allows people to move directly from the streets to housing but cushions the transition with intensive support services.
“We can make a difference,” said Roxane White, chair of the Denver Commission to End Homelessness and manager of the Denver Department of Human Services. “We have a really good comprehensive plan, and we’ll need the community behind us to site facilities, help with jobs and help with fundraising.”
Ending homelessness won’t be cheap. The city already has $8 million earmarked for the first few years, but the commission expects it will cost about $12 million a year. Besides city money, another chunk will come from state and federal grants, and citizens will be asked to chip in about $3 million annually in private donations.
White will counter any concerns about costs with: “You’re paying right now and are you getting the results you want?” The homeless tab at Denver Health Medical Center is $42 million, and one night in jail for one person costs $174.
The monthly cost of a bed at a shelter and services is up to $1,000 for an adult and $1,500 for a youth. So it’s cheaper to provide what White calls “eviction assistance” – that is, paying the rent for someone teetering on the brink of eviction and working with them to find more affordable housing. That not only prevents homelessness but also reduces the societal costs.
Since only 40 percent of Colorado’s homeless live in Denver, the commission’s report is expected to address cooperation with the suburbs and some integration of Denver’s plan with any current or future plans for area homeless.
The commission already has increased the number of housing units in Denver, and even secured a grant to provide 5,000 voice-mail boxes for homeless people looking for work.
Denver’s plan won’t be worth the paper it’s written on without adequate funding and an investment, not just financial, from the community. We hope Denver accepts the challenge.
