With the first sustained cold of the season arriving in the area, city shelters are rolling out extra beds and blankets for the expected crush of homeless, while energy-assistance programs process a deluge of applications for help with heating bills.
A small snowstorm that was expected to drop a couple of inches in the metro area beginning Tuesday night will be followed by a mass of very cold arctic air, with temperatures tonight dropping into single digits, according to the National Weather Service. The same frigid conditions are expected for Thursday night. Friday night’s low temperatures should be more seasonable, in the upper teens.
“Our goal is to convince people to come in from the cold,” said Katie Symons, outreach coordinator for Denver’s Road Home Project. “We’ll be out there trying to find the people camping under viaducts and bridges, offering them a place to sleep and stay warm.”
Meanwhile, the state’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) has seen a 40 percent increase in applications this year over last, said director Todd Jorgenson. Part of the increase was due to a mass mailing by Jorgenson’s department early in the season to encourage applicants to apply early.
In Denver, LEAP applications are up 52 percent this year over last, with 8,255 residents having applied by Nov. 20.
LEAP provides a one-time financial assistance to people struggling with their heating bills. (For more information, call 866-432-8435).
With a forecast low below 20 today, it will be cold enough to kick in a system of 500 overflow beds for the homeless, added to the 765 Denver has available on any given night.
The Denver Rescue Mission adds another 110 beds and the Samaritan House adds 100 beds. If they fill up, the Salvation Army’s Crossroads Center in the Denargo Market area can add 100 beds and another 30 mats on the floor, all for men.
Overflow shelters for women are the Lambuth Center on Federal Boulevard, which can take in an additional six families, and the Delores Project, which provides an additional 15 beds.
In cases of extreme emergency, the city may negotiate agreements for more beds in two churches in east Denver; in the city’s Wastewater Management office building, which has space for about 55 men; and in Father Woody’s Haven on Lipan Street, which can make room for about 45 men.
As a last resort only for the most vulnerable people, the city may issue vouchers for families to go to designated motels for the night.
“Fortunately, we haven’t had the need for this yet,” said Symons.
Denver has seen its homeless population increase about 15 percent in the past two years, with most of the increase caused by families homeless for the first time, said Jamie Glennon, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services and the Road Home Project. Chronic homelessness is actually decreasing, she said.
While homeless citizens bring the most extreme need for help, the poor economy is causing dramatic increases with other forms of aid.
Applications for food stamps in the city have increased more than 50 percent over past year, to 32,167 in October this year, Glennon said.
The cold is expected to be around for most of the next week, according to the National Weather Service. In Denver, the low is forecast to slip all the way to 5 on Thursday morning, with daytime temperatures remaining below freezing until Saturday afternoon. High temperatures are forecast to get no higher than the 30s for at least a week.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
