More than just 'Band-Aids'
Ambitious plan would address root causes of decades-old problem
By Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News
May 21, 2005
Homelessness, a festering problem in Denver for more than 20 years, can be eradicated here within a decade, say backers of an aggressive plan Mayor John Hickenlooper embraces. The heart of the plan is a proposal to build 3,000 units of affordable housing and provide services for the mentally ill and addicted. The cost could be as much as $30 million per year. Hickenlooper said Denver already is spending tens of millions on the homeless, with little to show for it.
"We're wasting so many resources in applying Band-Aids instead of addressing the root causes," he said. "Someone who's sleeping under a bridge is less likely to get a cold and more likely to get pneumonia. We put them in the hospital for $800 a day when for $1,400 a month, we could put them in an efficiency apartment with wraparound care."
For the past 18 months, the Denver Commission to End Homelessness has been working on the plan that will be officially presented to the mayor Monday. One idea being discussed is asking metro voters to extend the 0.1 percent sales tax that funded Invesco Field at Mile High to pay for affordable programs for housing for the homeless. Hickenlooper said it's "premature" to talk about a tax vote but emphasized that homelessness isn't a concern for Denver alone.
"There's a recognition this is no longer just a center city issue," Hickenlooper said. "The mayors in the suburbs recognize homelessness is an issue in their communities."
The tragedy of homelessness unfolds every day at 10 a.m. at Samaritan House, the largest shelter in Denver. One recent morning, a dozen parents showed up, all of them putting their names in the lottery that the downtown shelter holds for space in its family area. Several brought their children, including a 2-year-old girl and a 4-week-old baby. Only one room opens up daily, and there are always more families in need than rooms available. That is why Monique Strous, 36, and seven months pregnant with twins, is sitting on a plastic chair with her hands folded over her belly. She comes every morning, trying to get a room.
"I've been here several times trying to get in," she said. "There's usually eight to 10 families when I come here."
Strous has been staying with her 6-year-old son at a small shelter in Englewood. Some parents are staying at motels on East Colfax Avenue, which is where Denver sends families that have no other place to go.
'Crisis is grave here'
In a way, the parents are lucky. If they don't get a shelter room, they'll at least get a voucher for a place at a motel. A similar daily lottery is held for single women and single men, but if they don't win a bed, they may have to sleep outside.
"The homeless crisis is grave here," said the Rev. John Lager, a Catholic priest and director of Samaritan House. "People are camping out on the street."
The city that Denver officials chose as a model for dealing with homelessness is Philadelphia. That city once had almost 900 people camped out downtown but has managed to get almost all of them into housing. Philadelphia built housing and provides extensive mental health and substance abuse treatment at a cost to the city of $17 million a year.
"They've definitely been the leader in addressing the issue," said Hickenlooper, who visited Philadelphia in October.
Denver's homeless population is roughly half the size of Philadelphia's. Several key players in Philadelphia's success story came to Denver last fall and were shocked by the lack of services - especially for families in crisis.
"Our jaws dropped," said Ed Speedling, who coordinates homeless outreach in Philadelphia. "You have a lot more youngsters on the street there. We wouldn't tolerate a child on the street."
This month, a survey of the homeless in Denver found that there are 10,268 people without homes in the metro area - an increase of 18 percent over last year - and half of them are families with children. Most of those people, however, are staying somewhere, either doubled up with friends or family or living in shelters or motels. While there are instances of children living with their parents in cars or makeshift shelters, there have been no reports of children wandering the streets alone. The study estimated that about 1,000 people are actually living outdoors in Denver at any given time. Many of those are the chronically homeless, people who have been on the street for years and often have severe mental illness or addictions. This is the group that most alarms the public by panhandling or behaving oddly, and they tend to congregate downtown, where their presence troubles the business community.
"There's been a marked increase in the perception downtown is unsafe, and that's related to panhandling," said John Desmond of the Downtown Denver Partnership. "There's a growing perception of a homeless problem. It has a major impact on how people perceive downtown, even though the crime rate is low."
The partnership, as well as the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, have been active on the homelessness commission. The partnership is funding a full-time outreach worker and case worker to assist the homeless on the 16th Street Mall. It also has 13 full-time "ambassadors" who walk the mall and discourage aggressive panhandling. A recent survey of convention bureau members found that 87 percent thought panhandling was a problem and that 57 percent believe it has a negative impact on their business.
Heavy financial burden
Denver's homeless have been visible downtown since the 1980s, when several factors came together and sent people onto the streets. A real estate boom eliminated dozens of "single room occupant" hotels that once catered to the poor. At the same time, under former President Reagan, funding for public housing was slashed, and de-institutionalizing became a buzzword for Colorado and other states that discharged hundreds of mentally ill patients from state hospitals.
"We created a perfect storm," said Roxane White, manager of the Denver Department of Human Services and chairwoman of the homelessness commission.
The financial burden of dealing with the homeless has been dropped in the laps of cities such as Denver. The city's public health agency, Denver Health, spends more than $48 million per year treating the homeless, who cycle in and out of the emergency room, outpatient clinics and psychiatric ward. The 1,074 homeless patients who required hospitalization last year cost Denver Health $32.1 million. On an outpatient basis, 6,388 homeless people were seen, many of them making multiple visits and costing Denver Health $16.3 million.
"It's difficult for someone to maintain their health while they're on the street," said Linda Lenander, director of clinical social work for Denver Health. "They're exposed to the elements and poor nutrition. You can't maintain good hygiene. If you have a wound, the chances of infection are great."
Many of the homeless people Denver Health sees have chronic mental illness.
"They may or may not be in treatment," Lenander said. "It's hard for them to live without the support that comes from mental health centers and case management."
Lenander has worked at Denver Health for 26 years and said the number of homeless coming for treatment has risen significantly.
"The number of families with kids has increased," she said. "It's not just the homeless guy on the corner flying a sign."
Many of the chronically homeless are arrested repeatedly, usually for minor violations such as panhandling or urinating in public. The sheriff's department doesn't track how many homeless or mentally ill people are in jail but said there is a substantial number. Arresting and jailing someone costs the city $174 a day. Denver Fire Department crews make about a dozen trips a day responding to medical emergencies involving the homeless.
"In downtown, a considerable amount of our runs are providing medical care to indigents," Division Chief Juan Gutierrez said.
Keeping someone in a shelter is also expensive. The average daily cost of a shelter stay is $25. For those with mental health problems, providing treatment while they're in the shelter can cost more than $1,500 per month.
"Right now, we're spending at least $72 million a year (in Denver) on homelessness," White said. "The costs for health care won't come down until we get people in housing."
To begin building permanent housing for the homeless and providing them with mental health and substance abuse treatment, White said Denver will have to come up with several million a year.
"It's not cheap; it's an investment," she said. "I think we can do what Philadelphia did. We're at the tipping point."
She said a program such as Philadelphia's would cost $30 million annually, with much of that coming from federal matching funds. White says that the city would need to kick in about $7.7 million per year to launch the effort. She says as much as half of that can be raised from foundations and other private sources, but the city would have to commit tax dollars for the remainder during tight times. Such an ambitious program requires a dedicated source of funding, hence the attraction of extending the metro area's stadium tax. Affordable housing has become a big issue in most metro cities. Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer said the tax extension idea was "interesting" but that city officials would want to know more about how the plan would work before endorsing it.
"We're trying to find ways to support affordable housing in tough economic times," Tauer said. "I think you'll see more cities discussing this as the (stadium tax) proposal moves forward."
Hickenlooper said it is too early to talk about a possible election but concedes that ending homelessness will require a substantial financial commitment.
"It's reasonable to expect funding will come from a variety of sources and represent a broad collaboration of local governments and the nonprofit sector," he said. "What voters have shown is that if you can deliver a product that does what it says it will do, they'll support it. What voters don't want to do is throw money at a problem with no results."
Hickenlooper said he is awaiting the completion this fall of a comprehensive report on affordable housing in the city before making a commitment to go to the voters.
"You have to define the problem and figure out how to solve it and see what it costs," said Hickenlooper, whose victory at the polls to build a new justice center is still fresh.
Daily heartache
Under prodding from the homelessness commission, several efforts already have been made. The number of outreach workers has been doubled to eight; a municipal court to hear cases involving the homeless is being created; the St. Francis Center opened an all-night coffeehouse; the Denver Rescue Mission added 100 beds; a 30-person shelter for homeless families opened at Fort Logan; 5,000 voice mailboxes were made available to homeless people looking for work; and a database to track all of Denver's homeless is being developed. None of that is much comfort, however, to losers of Samaritan House's daily lottery for a family room.
It isn't Monique Strous' lucky day. She has taken four bus lines to attend the lottery and looks exhausted and sad when the one available room is won by Terry White, 35, and Patrice Vassel, 34. The couple have a 4-week-old son, Terry Jr., who is nestled in Vassel's arms wearing a tiny knit cap.
"I was praying for the pregnant lady to win the lottery," said Vassel, nodding toward Strous.
Vassel and White said they have been homeless for several months after getting into an argument with family members they were staying with. Recently, they've been living at a motel on Colfax.
"With a newborn, you can't stay outside," Vassel said. "It's not fun being homeless. A lot of times even your own family won't give you a leg up."
The couple hope the training programs offered through Samaritan House will help them get jobs and a place to live.
"We're sick and tired of being sick and tired," White said.
For the Rev. Lager, the daily lottery is a constant heartache. He vividly remembers the day he saw a mother and her 6-year-old daughter walking down the street towing suitcases, the girl in tears and struggling to keep up.
"You hear the kids saying, 'So where do we go now since we didn't get in?" he said.
A class at the shelter teaches children how to deal with anger.
"Some of these kids have lived in the alley or in a car," he said. "It's just not good for children to be in this situation."
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The cost of care
• Statistics from Denver Health
6,607 Number of homeless served in 2004
36,342 Visits by homeless individuals
$48.4 million total cost