Labeled as one of the nation’s least-diverse college campuses – and dubbed the worst just two years ago – the University of Denver might shed some of that image when it hosts a day-long fair to connect hundreds of the homeless with needed services.
As many as 1,000 homeless are expected to be bused from area shelters or directed to ride public transportation to the DU campus April 20 as part of the fourth annual Project Homeless Connect.
The event is intended to create a one-stop location where the homeless can find resources, such as job interviews and housing applications, help in filing out paperwork to get public aid or just a place to get a haircut, toiletries and medical checkup.
“This event will provide an opportunity for our students to get involved in creating real solutions to the homeless problem in Denver,” provost Gregg Kvistad said.
It will be at the Gates Field House in the Ritchie Center.
The three previous Homeless Connect events, each held in government buildings, met with some success. About 600 homeless descended on Denver Human Services offices on Federal Boulevard last year.
This year’s fair marks the first time it will happen on private property, which some say is a testament to Mayor John Hickenlooper’s plan to end homelessness within a decade.
“We are delighted that DU wanted to host the event, as it is DU Volunteer Day, which will have an increased level of participation from the host site,” said Jerene Petersen, coordinator of Project Homeless Connect for Denver’s Road Home, the mayor’s 10-year plan.
The university each year lets employees take a workday to do volunteer work in the community and encourages students and faculty to do the same.
The volunteer effort coincides with the Homeless Connect event, so “instead of finding a service project like a food bank, we’ll just make this event the way everyone can work together,” said Jim Berscheidt, DU’s assistant vice chancellor for news and public affairs.
Many volunteers will act as one-on-one escorts to walk the homeless through the array of services.
Another key sponsor is Mile High United Way, which has co-hosted the event since its inception and is a major partner in the mayor’s homelessness battle.
DU’s offer to host the event comes just months after the Princeton Review published its latest annual survey on America’s colleges, ranking the school 13th for poor interaction between races and social classes. That’s better than in 2005, when the review ranked the school’s diversity the worst in the nation.
DU officials challenged the 2005 designation, saying the school is committed to diversity. They discount any connection between the latest ranking and the upcoming homeless program.
“I don’t really think the survey meant interacting with the homeless,” Berscheidt said. “If it did, it failed to note that we once helped operate a homeless shelter across from DU.”
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
