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Tag: denver homeless

  • Denver7 Gives fund helps Fort Collins Rescue Mission after fire shuts down shelter

    FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The kitchen fire that broke out at the Fort Collins Rescue Mission last weekend has left the homeless shelter inoperable for weeks, if not months, leaders say.

    This week, generous Denver7 viewers were able to give Rescue Mission staff a little bit of a lift.

    While the Rescue Mission works to secure temporary space for those with nowhere else to go, Denver7 Gives and Walmart packed cars with bedding and towels on Thursday,

    Denver7 Gives provided $1,000 worth of sheets, while the Walmart Supercenter in Fort Collins donated 50 sets of towels. Those are items the homeless shelter always needs, but especially now.

    “Having clean sheets makes a huge difference for our guests,” said Seth Forwood, Northern Colorado Vice President of Programs for the Rescue Mission. “We’re also limited in our laundry services, and so it helps our staff to have a supply of clean sheets that don’t need to be laundered, that if they’re wearing a pinch, we can just get these sheets right on the bed and get people a nice rest for the time.”

    Forwood also pointed out that without the main shelter building, the Rescue Mission’s guests have limited access to showers.

    A new, larger shelter is under construction, but it is not slated to open until late 2026.

    The Rescue Mission is using a temporary shelter just a few blocks away from the damaged shelter building, but will need roughly twice as much space once cold weather arrives.

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    “Last winter, there was one night where we had to turn away 13 men, even with 159 bed spaces,” said Forwood. “And so we’re gonna need much more than 160 beds this winter, I believe.”

    With that extra need for space, extra sheets will come in handy.

    Leaders at the Fort Collins Rescue Mission load donated sheets into a truck outside the homeless shelter, badly damaged by a fire this week.

    Denver7

    Leaders at the Fort Collins Rescue Mission load donated sheets into a truck outside the homeless shelter, badly damaged by a fire this week.

    “We’re in a tight spot,” Forwood said. “It feels like a month, within a couple of days of work… We have to say, thanks to the overwhelming support that we’ve gotten. You know, my phone is blowing up. There’s donations coming in from all sorts of people. Thank you and your listeners for being able to provide this for us. It’s going to really help us out.”

    Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.

    To donate to this campaign or choose another to support, use the secure form below.

    Want more stories of hope and ways to help in your inbox? Sign up to get the weekly Denver7 Gives Email Newsletter 💌

    Ryan Fish

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  • Supporters of Denver Basic Income Project call for more funding

    Supporters of Denver Basic Income Project call for more funding

    DENVER — Supporters and participants of the Denver Basic Income Project rallied at the state capitol and outside Denver’s City and County Building on Wednesday, calling for more funding to continue and expand the program.

    As Denver city leaders comb through Mayor Mike Johnston’s 2025 budget proposal, supporters of the project are asking city leaders for more support.

    “We’re asking for $1.7 million to complete the second year,” said Maria Sierra, a community engagement manager with the Denver Basic Income Project. “And we’re also asking for money to extend the project for future cohorts so that we can replicate this on to the greater community and impact more cohorts.”

    The Denver Basic Income Project provides direct cash to people experiencing homelessness with no strings attached.

    The project’s founder, Denver entrepreneur, and philanthropist Mark Donovan spoke with Denver7 earlier this summer.

    “I was seeing this growing wealth disparity and income disparities, and I wanted to find a way to give back,” Donovan said. “This is a group of people that are largely often overlooked, looked down upon, and not given the same opportunities.”

    Critics of programs like this say they discourage people from working and make them more dependent on the government.

    Michael Neil says he, too, was skeptical — until he saw the data.

    “I’m a data guy,” Neil said. “Looking at the qualitative data, who was helped, how many were helped, and how many are now in stable housing, whatever that may look like for them is, I think, tells the story.”

    Neil volunteers with the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, one of several groups that make up the Denver Guaranteed Income Now! Coalition.

    People with disabilities disproportionately experience homelessness, according to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

    The Denver Basic Income Project says 45% of participants found housing.

    They also say participants reported fewer emergency room visits and hospital and jail stays.

    They say the project saved taxpayers $590,000.

    They say the results will improve if the city provides additional funding.

    “Our results speak for themselves,” said Sierra. “We don’t understand why they’re not seeing that.”

    Last year, the city provided $2 million for the program.

    However, the program is not included in the mayor’s 2025 budget proposal.

    Denver7 contacted the mayor’s office to ask why but did not hear back Wednesday.

    The mayor’s budget proposal will likely undergo changes as the city council reviews it.

    Last week, Johnston said next year’s budget will be tighter than in recent years as pandemic-era funding runs out and sales tax revenue softens.

    Coloradans making a difference | Denver7 featured videos

    Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what’s right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.

    Brandon Richard

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  • ‘They need to take action’: East Colfax businesses buried between trash, crime plead for more help from police

    ‘They need to take action’: East Colfax businesses buried between trash, crime plead for more help from police

    DENVER — Excessive trash and open drug and alcohol use are just a few of the problems that have become part of daily life on the sidewalks outside East Colfax businesses.

    Cuttin’-up Beauty Academy is located at the intersection of East Colfax and Ulster Street in Denver. Karen Hall started the beauty academy in 1996. Cuttin’-up offers cosmetology, barbering and esthrrtician courses for students preparing to get their license. Today, Cuttin’-up is a family business, Hall’s daughter, Chanele Simmons, serves as the Director.

    Simmons told Denver7 that issues with the unhoused, drug use and trash collecting on the streets are progressively getting worse.

    She said she usually starts her day by picking up trash from around her building, and asking anyone sleeping outside of the building to leave. She reports whats happening on East Colfax to Denver police, but is growing exhausted with the lack of change.

    “I always fear for their safety, especially with a lot of us being women, a lot of the customers being seniors or even children. If they’re looking at the environment around another school, and then they’re looking at the environment around ours, I feel like it puts us in the back seat, said Simmons.”

    Denver7

    Businesses we spoke with agreed that the 2020 relocation of a covered RTD bus stop is exacerbating the issue.

    The bus stop is located in front of Sarahi’s Kitchen, a new restaurant on East Colfax serving authentic Mexican food. Customers sitting next to the window have a full view of the bus stop.

    “I’ve complained. I filed several complaints to both the RTD and the police department. They haven’t done much. They do come and do some patrolling, but at this point they need to take another action, said owner Jesus Pasion.

    Sarahi’s Kitchen_window.png

    Denver7

    Christian Zamora is the manager at El Chalate, which has been on East Colfax for 15 years. Over the years, they changed the hours they operate to close the restaurant earlier. They also installed a gate for more separation for the sidewalk.

    “They would harass my customers to the point where my customers did not even want to come in. They didn’t want to even come eat our food here, just because they were scared of the things that could happen to them just walking from their car to our doors,” said Zamora.

    el chalate on colfax.png

    Denver7

    DPD told Denver7 that they are working to address the ongoing issues along East Colfax. They found that patrolling and arresting people does not stop them from coming back and committing the same crime. According to police, they use Place Network Investigators, or PSI, which focus on the larger area to find the network where these crimes are built and dismantling it.

    In the meantime, businesses along East Colfax are eager to have the streets cleaned up.

    Coloradans making a difference | Denver7 featured videos

    At Denver7, we’re committed to making a difference in our community. We’re standing up for what’s right by listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the featured videos in the playlist above.

    Richard Butler

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