File Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | As a homeless camping ban inches closer to becoming law, Aurora lawmakers on Monday signaled their support for sheltering the city’s homeless at the Aurora Day Resource Center year-round.
The center near Montview Boulevard and Wheeling Street in northwest Aurora can currently accommodate up to 75 people during a weather emergency.
According to homelessness programs manager Lana Dalton, who addressed the council during their Monday study session, setting up 24/7 sheltering at the center would cost $750,000 initially and $1.35 million on an ongoing annual basis.
Council members were presented with five options for short-term shelter — Mayor Mike Coffman said he thought the investing in the center made the most sense given the resources and staff that are present already.
“Food services are there, everything is there. We’re going to have to add services to augment that, but it’s all there,” Coffman said. “So my suggestion would be to start with that and then revisit it, because that’s going to be the quickest thing to stand up.”
Dalton estimated it would take about one to two months to prepare for the expanded sheltering.
Laying the foundation for Monday’s discussion was a proposed ban on unauthorized camping that the city council is scheduled to vote on for the third and, possibly, last time March 28.
City Council proponents of the ban say it would prompt the city to be more aggressive about breaking up homeless encampments, which could push more people into shelters and services. The city would only be able to sweep an encampment if there was adequate shelter space to serve all of the campers.
Critics of the ban on city council say many or most of homeless people ousted for camping in public spaces won’t seek out the city-run shelters and instead will just move their camp to a new public site, creating a cycle of sweeps making already difficult lives more onerous for homeless people.
The city can’t begin to expel campers, according to the tentatively approved ban, unless there is space in shelters, and the number of people in Aurora without homes is key.
Dalton told Councilmember Angela Lawson that the 2021 survey of the city’s homeless residents undertaken on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported 594 people.
Depending on weather conditions, the city may have fewer than half as many shelter beds available, which has fueled opposition to the camping ban on the grounds that it would be unenforceable as long as shelter space is full. Dalton said the tents and Pallet shelters maintained by the city were filled to capacity Monday night.
Other options for short-term shelter considered by the council included vouchers for rooms at hotels or motels, more heated tents and Pallet shelters, and temporarily leasing a warehouse.
Council members split on Coffman’s suggestion for the group to look into opening the Aurora Day Resource Center year-round before pursuing any of the other options, with Alison Coombs, Juan Marcano, Ruben Medina and Crystal Murillo voicing opposition.
Because it was not opposed by the majority of the council, the item was scheduled to move forward out of the study session.
Coombs, Marcano and Murillo both said they wanted to see the city invest more in shelter that included non-congregate options such as Pallet shelters and motel vouchers.
“My concern with congregate shelter is that it’s going to be a lot less attractive to a lot of folks,” Marcano said. “We’ve already heard mention of people with pets who refuse service at congregate shelters because of that reason, and I’m also concerned about putting large portions of our unhoused community in the same spot.”
Staffers said it would cost $76.71 to shelter one person for one night under the 24/7 sheltering model at the Aurora Day Resource Center.
The $1.35 million estimated cost per year includes $600,000 for overnight security, $600,000 for case management staff, $65,000 for food and $85,000 for utilities and supplies.
Why do smart people keep thinking each city has to solve the problem on its own. Why not an area-wide collaboration? That’s what’s needed. I know each city’s council would be giving up a ,little of its power, but being on a council is not meant to be a power trip, like some of our members seem to think.
Joe, what a concept! Why indeed??
Comitis, which is a part of the Day Resource Center is already used for some sheltering of the homeless.
What will happen with those beds?
AND will the existing vital services the Day Resource Center has still be be available??
Comitis has beds for the homeless, yes. However, those beds are lotteried out, at present, once a month. So with Comitis, you gotta win the lottery before they care about you at all.
That seems like a lot of money . What kind of security? Food?
for security, the issues with the ADRC are numerous. As it is, the police are summoned there regularly to deal with the more violent people who come through. Basically, the cost for security means they either A- hire private security to stalk around the ADRC all day, or B-expect police to be constantly on-call at that location.
As for food, at the ADRC presently, food is about what they can get ahold of. Some mornings, all they offer is white bread and grape jelly, maybe a packet of oatmeal. Some mornings it is more, but selfish people seem to hog the best before most even get food. Bottled water and coffee. Thats about it. So that food cost is going to basically tossing scraps at animals, not the kind of “food” you might think of.
Aurora could have been working to help people experiencing homelessness for years but has not – now it tries to throw something together which is not thought-through nor sufficient to justify the horrible camping ban. Council sought no expert information from the social workers, human services and advocates for homeless who know what is needed using a Housing First Model – a lot more funding for services, social workers paid a decent wage, outreach, affordable permanent housing and temp housing, mental health services (30+ % of homeless are vets experiencing PTSD) – all coordinated and funded with some hiring of the needed employees. This is known by those working with homeless but never of interest or acted upon by majority of Council. Coffman only focuses on punishing homeless and making it harder for them with camping ban. I have no confidence in any concerted effective plan for homeless under Coffman, EVER.
$1.3 million a year to house homeless people who for the most part are not, nor have been, a citizen of Aurora except to pitch their tent is bordering on craziness. Especially in light of all the other budgeted money that Aurora pays for this problem that probably doubles or triples.
We do not have a Socialist nation, state or city whereby everyone’s assets, liabilities and problems are the concern of everyone else. We have a society of self responsibility. You want that society where there is a lack of self responsibility, go to a society where most citizens believe that way.
It’s not the American way and certainly not my way. $1.3 million a year is a lot for a city our size.
Move the squatters out. Marcano says they will just go to another part of Aurora once we move them out. If they do move ’em again, and again and again until all the squatters know that Aurora is not the city to squat. It won’t take long if we get serious about making them uncomfortable in Aurora. Then we save $1.3 million a year plus all the other “lost” money we spend on them.
Now, I predict, the knowledge of all this new spending will get around to the homeless in the Metro Denver area and it will invite them here even though we have a camping ban. Then we can double the homeless in Aurora and double the $1.3 million to $2.6 million. Can’t you citizens of Aurora see this?
More nonsense being fed to the voters to excuse what is already a bad plan. For reference, it is not noted here that as of today, the ADRC, while being closed for classes, discussed how to present this exact thing, which will probably be at next week’s hearing. So be watching out for that “presentation”.
But before then, let’s go through a few facts surrounding this. The fact that this was not brought up until this past Monday, yet the camping ban itself has been being voted on for over a month, proves the necessary supporting services were not in place, yet the Council attempted to push through the ban anyway. This is just the housing necessity. The facts surrounding the abatement process as it pertains to people actually in the system receiving aid, and its degenerative impact on that aid, is not even noted. Nor is the fact that the process of receiving any sort of housing aside from this mat on a floor at the ADRC is an exceptionally long one. Nor is the fact that the ADRC, even if open 24/7, is already being treated as if you can just keep stacking people on top of one another, once the Covid restrictions are lifted completely. While they keep claiming the few lockers they have can be used to keep important documents found during abatement. They also refuse to discuss the fact that the term “pet owner” does not mean just dogs. They refuse to discuss the current difficulty of anyone attempting to simply sit down at the ADRC with their dogs, let alone what would happen were a cat interjected into that scenario. They won’t mention how all but emergency laundry was canceled. They won’t mention how often forcing everyone that needs aid into one large room causes problems that force a police response.
The ADRC does the best they can with what they are given. Yes, reinvesting into it should’ve already happened. But not just as an excuse to validate a ban that was proposed multiple times before this was even proposed. This is just another attempt to use the ADRC as the “go-to excuse ” to make the public say, “yeah, thats fine”. Anyone who believes that, go spend a night there. Go watch what just one day looks like, then keep telling yourselves that having it open more will solve the problem. Then you, like several members of the Council, will know you are lying. To yourselves, and to everyone else.
We live 5 houses away from one of Aurora’s city parks (33 years) and have never, including as we raised our kids who were interested in doing so, been allowed to pitch a tent and stay overnight (even one night) in that or any city park. The more likely place to camp than say a concrete overpass. So I’m baffled, not by the (dire) need of the homeless, by how such “camping” (especially semi-permanently as it appears) can be or ever was legal.
As to actual tents, tarps, cardboard boxes and “crap” — who provides these to homeless folks? Is the city footing that bill? Pretty certain such camping is free to the taxpayers at the moment. And our budget strapped city is considering a (non btw) solution that will cost in excess a $million/year to maintain? Sorry… WHAT?!?
As I told one of the candidates running (successfully) for Council last fall, this really isn’t that complicated. Or expensive. #1 it’s illegal to camp/sleep/reside in public parks, roadways and (certainly unless authorized) on private property or should be. I mean, why aren’t homeless encamping at the municipal center? If they did, what would happen (other than drawing the attention of City Council)? Pretty sure they’d be removed under current laws and ordinances.
#2 There are vacant lots, fields and undeveloped property (DIRT, wild grass, great places to drive tent stakes) — vast amounts of such — within city limits. It costs absolutely nothing to legalize living in whatever on such tracts of land. With no administrative costs (what I suspect is the annual expenditure mentioned). And for a million bucks you can buy a lot of really nice tents.
Remove these eyesores. One per day where a city truck pulls up, throws all the crap (and good stuff) in the bed and hauls it to the dump (btw another good place to camp that blends with the scenery). Point out designated undeveloped places where this (having your stuff confiscated) won’t happen. Fairly certain the word gets out that you cannot camp/live this way in the city.
And as an aside, charitable folks and agencies can move forward with helping people — not on the taxpaying dime — find better, permanent housing, jobs, medical and mental health care, food, jobs, etc.
Coffman made it clear when he “went homeless” for a week. The campers are there to party, the folks in shelters are trying to get off the streets. All you have to do is talk to each person to see what they want. We owe them help, not a party…