In an announcement late Friday, Mayor Michael Hancock has requested a comprehensive review of Denver’s shelter system.
“We have been hearing concerns from our community on several different fronts, and we are listening,” Hancock said in the release. “Our homeless shelter providers are important partners of Denver’s Road Home. Its commitment to the most vulnerable among us is admirable and appreciated. This is an opportunity to provide focus and support where we need it most.”
The review announcement cites concerns raised by the business community, residential community, protesters of Occupy Denver and the homeless community itself, as those contributing to the need for the review.
An external agency or agencies, brought in by Denver’s Road Home, will be in charge of the review of the city shelters.
The assessment will review, among other things, the referral process, client and community safety, capacity, location of shelters, and the variety of additional services provided.
Denver’s Homeless Commission’s Shelter sub-committee will use the information to inform decision-making and planning.
According to the news release, having an effective shelter system is “an important short-term strategy that must be coupled with long-term strategies of transitional housing, permanent affordable housing, support services and the full range of tactics employed by Denver’s Road Home.”
The announcement comes after weeks of conversations between the mayor and city council about dealing with homelessness, including the possibility of drafting new laws that could ban sleeping on the mall or outlaw outdoor camping throughout the city.
To date, Denver’s Road Home project — started by then-mayor, John Hickenlooper — has received more than $51 million in public and private funding, including grants, donations and about $6 million a year from Denver’s Human Services budget.
Next year, however, the project is expected to lose two major grants.
