World News
Denver City Council clears paths for homeless shelters in Lincoln Park
The Denver City Council on Monday, local nonprofit Haven of Hope gave the green light to turn an industrial building in the Lincoln Park neighborhood into a homeless shelter with eight to 12 beds for people in a recovery program.
The approval came despite eighteen emailed comments opposing the zoning change, largely focused on concerns about the potential impact the facility could have on crime rates, public drug use, trash and property damage in a neighborhood that has recently struggled with problems related to a large number of homeless people. encampment.
City officials swept the encampment — located at the intersection of West Eighth Avenue and Navajo Street — last month, in part because of three overdose deaths and multiple felony arrests that occurred there.
City Council President Jamie Torres, who represents the city’s District 3, where that encampment and future shelter are located, said the concerns raised in the opposition letter are largely a reflection of the city’s inability to adequately address the homelessness crisis.
The city also received 28 comments in support of the zoning change. No one opposed to the shelter spoke at Monday’s meeting.
“These are the symptoms when people don’t have access to bathrooms, don’t have access to places to get water, to find food,” Torres said before joining her colleagues in a unanimous vote to support the zoning change. “And the crisis facing the city is exactly why Haven of Hope wants to do what they can, little by little, to meet the recovery needs of the people on our streets.”
According to the city planning department, the property at 700 N. Mariposa St. is already zoned for larger homeless shelters, with 41 guests or more.
But smaller shelters were not allowed under the city code for the area because they are considered to need easier access to more community resources such as public transportation and food stores to be successful, senior city planner Edson Ibañez explained during an earlier City Council committee hearing. The Lincoln Park neighborhood, with a unique mix of industrial, commercial and residential buildings, is close to transit stops and other amenities, making it suitable for smaller shelters in the eyes of city planners, Ibañez said.
Haven of hope operates its daycare from the building at 1101 W. Seventh Ave., immediately east of 700 N. Mariposa. The Mariposa building has been used as an overflow space during meals and other programs, co-CEO Derrick Vaughns said Monday. The organization’s plan is to provide long-term shelter for eight people who participate in the organization Fresh Tracks program, a faith-based program that focuses on restoring participants’ dignity and self-reliance. The program could grow to 12 beds, but would not expand further at the site, Vaughns said.
Providing safe sleeping space is crucial to protect people from the temptations they may face on the streets. The organization is acutely aware of the challenges unsheltered homelessness brings to the neighborhood and regularly leads its own community cleanup efforts, Vaughns said.
“We sympathize with our neighbors as they feel abandoned and unheard,” he said. “We have also experienced the same things. We have repeatedly opened our doors and will continue to do so to engage in conversations about how we can all improve our community.”
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