AURORA | As temporary homeless shelters close, and the city prepares for the 2025 opening of its “Regional Navigation Campus,” Aurora is undergoing an overhaul of its homelessness services.
Funding for ancillary homeless programs is the latest modification in a sea change of how Aurora will manage a growing homeless population.
The region’s annual “Point in Time” homeless census, taken in January, estimated about 700 homeless people in Aurora, about half of them, “unhoused” or unsheltered. The number is essentially unchanged over the past three years, according to homelessness census records.
Area homeless activist and program managers say the actual number of people without homes is much larger, but no official alternative count exists.
Aggregating the city’s homelessness service providers under one roof was one of the objectives of Mayor Mike Coffman’s “work-first” plan for addressing homelessness, which the council’s conservative majority approved in 2022. The Navigation Center will, for the most part, accomplish that.
Aurora’s transition also coincides with the impact of the recent Supreme Court Grants Pass V. Johnson ruling, which alters the legal framework for addressing unsheltered populations and informs local policy changes.
Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado
Transitions, closures and looking ahead
The city is focusing on reorganizing services as temporary shelter programs in Aurora begin to close.
Most of the changes are linked to the city’s purchase of the Crowne Plaza Hotel Aurora for $26.5 million for the 13-acre property, which it closed on over the summer. The campus is located in the far northwest part of the city, which will become a large shelter and service center in the city.
City officials estimate the total investment in the center, after remodeling, will be about $40 million.
Earlier this year, Aurora identified Advance as a contractor to operate the Navigation Campus programs and shelter, signing a $2 million operation agreement with the non-profit organization.
Changes in the organization and structure of the city’s own programs for homelessness started then, in October.
One Pallet housing location run by the Salvation Army and individual shelter space at Comitis Crisis Center already closed their location to an estimated 100 to 150 people.
The Salvation Army worked with the city of Aurora and partner agencies to permanently or temporarily house more than 60% of our guests, Forker said. More than a dozen people moved to the Salvation Army’s other Safe Outdoor Space in Aurora. Forker said the organization helped everyone during the transitional period by providing case management services and additional referrals.
“The Salvation Army undertook a major humanitarian effort to relocate residents,” said Jennifer Forker, communications director for The Salvation Army Intermountain Division. “There aren’t many housing options for people experiencing homelessness in the city, so it wasn’t easy.”
Emma Knight, Aurora’s Homeless Programs manager, said the city is collaborating with county partners and Denver to expand shelter capacity, including providing hotel vouchers as needed, while working on long-term solutions for the community.
The Village at Chambers, Pallet housing that was operated by The Salvation Army, ceased operations in September when funding was exhausted. Forker said the location had 56 shelter structures that could house singles or couples.
Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
Its counterpart, the Village at Peoria, which is also operated by the Salvation Army, is set to close in January 2025. The Salvation Army is working with the city to ensure residents are offered permanent or temporary housing. The Village at Peoria had 40 shelter structures that could house between 40 and 70 people, according to Forker.
“The outreach team remains actively engaged with unhoused clients, maintaining a primary focus on connecting them with permanent housing,” Knight said.
Jim Goebelbecker, executive director of Advance Inc., who will be running the Aurora Regional Navigation Center, which is under development and expected to open next year, has taken over operating the Aurora Day Center on the Fitzsimons Medical Campus.
He said that by mid-January 2025, his team will take single homeless people for overnight stays at the Navigation Campus, even though the campus is not planned to open until the fourth quarter of 2025.
“No one will be staying at the campus all day,” Goebelbecker said. “They’re only going to be there for the evening hours until the morning, and then we’ll bring them back to the day center.”
Comitis Crisis Center, run by Mile High Behavioral Health, closed its singles floor at the end of October to refashion the center to provide more family-only space. Starting Dec. 1, the Comitis will reopen the floor to families only.
Miller said the change would provide additional space for Veterans Affairs and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families services. Comitis worked with the Aurora Day Resource Center to rehouse the singles who had to leave, Miller said.
The floors with the families and substance abuse treatment were not moved. Comitis only closed the floor the singles were staying on to convert them for family accommodations.
“None of our families that we were serving were disrupted,” said Anna Miller, director of business development and public relations for Comitis. “Any emergency families—through weather activation— we’ve been able to accommodate through the remodel.”
Councilmember Alison Coombs, who is on the board of directors for the Mile High Behavioral Healthcare/Comitis Crisis Center, said that some individuals who receive treatment sometimes belong to the families being sheltered at Comitis.
Miller said they do not define a family at Comitis, which could mean an uncle with his niece and nephew.
The recovery unit is an intensive recovery program separate from the rest of the facility, with individual staff, case workers and security. People being treated are required to be sober and do not have a violent background.
“We’ve always served families and children, and we’ve always had an outpatient recovery unit, so there’s never been an issue or a problem,” Miller said. “It has an 87% success rate of people staying sober a year after they receive services. So it’s a very successful program, and we’ve never had an interaction issue.”
As Aurora reshapes its homelessness services, the city remains committed to balancing the needs of families and single adults, Knight said during the work session on Nov. 18. She said the goal is to ensure vulnerable populations receive the support they need.
At the same time, city lawmakers have modified the program toward what Coffman calls a “work first” approach. While some services will be offered to anyone who is homeless, services leading toward permanent housing will require work and sobriety commitments.
Until the Navigation Center is complete and fully open, the Aurora Police Department has permanently assigned two officers to the city’s homeless outreach team to assist with closing camping on public property, primarily as a security measure, said city spokesperson Matthew Brown.
“Officers are trained in empathy, patience, de-escalation tactics and responding to calls involving suspicious people, all of which can help when interacting with someone who might be experiencing homelessness,” Brown wrote in an email.
The city currently gives 72 hours notice to homeless people camping on public property before they remove belongings and clear the camp. Camping or lingering on private property can constitute trespassing. Outreach teams offer resources to individuals before police involvement, Brown said. In some cases, APD’s Crisis Response Team may also assist in outreach efforts.
Cold-weather sheltering will continue at the Aurora Day Resource Center, with support from the Aurora Cold Weather Outreach Team. Jim Goebelbecker, Advance’s Executive Director, said the day center can hold 100 people comfortably and 150, if necessary, for cold-weather sheltering.
Knight said that cold-weather sheltering is “activated” when temperatures reach 20 degrees or below or if it’s cold and snowing.
Changes to homeless ordinances following Supreme Court ruling
In the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision of Grants Pass V. Johnson, the Aurora City Council is considering amendments to city laws regarding homelessness.
The Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places, overturning a ruling from a California-based appeals court that found such laws amount to cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking.
In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the high court found that outdoor sleeping bans don’t violate the Eighth Amendment. Some large western cities had argued that the ruling will facilitate the management of outdoor encampments in public spaces, but homeless advocates said punishing people who need a place to sleep could criminalize homelessness.
At the end of an Aurora Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Policy Committee meeting on Nov. 14, the discussion skimmed the topic of bringing the city’s policies in line with the new case-law framework.
“We can work behind the scenes on that,” Councilmember Steve Sundberg said, but he and City Attorney Pete Schulte agreed to bring it to a study session in December.
Schulte discussed the city’s ability to end certain requirements previously in place, such as the 72-hour notice or shelter options, before the city takes action. Schulte said the Supreme Court decision earlier this year changed what the city can legally do.
“We don’t have to offer shelter options,” Schulte said.
The city’s possible amendments include removing the 72-hour waiting period before authorities can intervene allowing police or other officials to force people off of public places immediately.
Criminal trespassing charges would be a possible consequence for anyone refusing an order to leave.
“We prefer we have options before we abate,” Schulte said.
Schulte told meeting members to be cautious with the language used in draft ordinances to ensure compliance with the new legal constraints.
Transitions for homeless programs going into 2025
While the city is spending large sums of money this year and next on addressing homelessness, overall, local funding of many programs is being reduced.
“Funding levels are lower this year, specifically because Marijuana Tax Revenue and COVID funding are no longer available,” city homelessness services officials said in a statement to lawmakers last week. “Additionally, a large sum of our homelessness funding will be allocated toward the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus.”
Homeless services contractor Advance signed a $2 million annual operations agreement with Aurora in September to run the Navigation center and provide other services.
Earlier this year, Aurora finalized the $26.5 million purchase of the Crowne Plaza hotel, including 13 surrounding acres, to create the campus.
City officials estimate that a total $40 million investment will be needed to transform the hotel, with funding sources coming from the city, state, area counties and federal government.
While the city has provided some direct services for homelessness for several years, many programs are funded through grants to local expert organizations.
This year, spending for operating the new Navigation center is shaking up where money for other programs goes.
The city will still allocate more than $1.1 million in funding for homeless services not part of the programs connected to the Navigation campus. About $1 million of that $2 million Advance operations contract is expected to come from marijuana tax revenues, according to Brown.
Aurora lawmakers tentatively agreed last week to fund seven grant proposals totaling $1.1 million, turning back another $500,000 in requests. Grant funding will come from federal sources and local marijuana revenues.
“We focus on families this year due to the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus being only for single adults starting in 2025, so our typical funding this year was only for family service providers,” said Knight.
The largest allocation, $300,000, will go to the Aurora Housing Authority for “rapid re-housing,” a social policy program that moves families into homes quickly using short-term rental assistance and services. Those funds also went to homelessness prevention efforts for families. Knight emphasized the program’s success, saying that 100% of families transitioned into permanent housing in the third quarter.
“The Aurora Housing Authority has the highest percentage of positive exits into housing,” Knight said, explaining that its combination of case management and financial support has proven highly effective.
An additional $200,000 will support the Housing Authority’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program, providing rental subsidies and security deposit aid for families in need.
The city’s only homeless crisis center for families, Comitis Crisis Center, is slated to receive about $238,000 in total grant funding next year.
Aurora Mental Health Care will receive additional funding for the Aurora Cold Weather Outreach Team, which finds temporary night stays for homeless people in the city during cold weather.
File Photo by Aurora Sentinel
Non-Navigation Center Grant Funding Allocation for Homeless Services in Aurora in 2025
Aurora Housing Authority
- Total Amount Recommended: $300,000
- Source: Marijuana Tax Revenue
- Use: Rapid Rehousing and Homelessness Prevention (case management, housing navigation)
Aurora Housing Authority
- Total Amount Recommended: $200,000
- Source: HUD HOME Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA)
- Use: Rental Assistance and Security Deposit Assistance
Aurora Mental Health Care
- Total Amount Recommended: $25,000
- Source: Public Safety
- Use: Aurora Cold Weather Outreach Team (ACOT)
Mile High Behavioral Healthcare (Comitis)
- Total Amount Recommended: $138,219
- Source: Emergency Solutions Grant (HUD)
- Use: Family Shelter (operations)
Bridge House – Ready to Work Program
- Total Amount Recommended: $74,870
- Source: Emergency Solutions Grant (HUD)
- Use: Rapid Rehousing and Homelessness Prevention
Family Tree
- Total Amount Recommended: $100,000
- Source: Marijuana Tax Revenue
- Use: Family Shelter (case management and operations)
Gateway Domestic Violence
• Use: Shelter (case management, housing navigation, supplies)
• Total Amount Recommended: $150,000
• Source: Marijuana Tax Revenue