Restoration Christian Fellowship spotlights temporary shelter solutions for Aurora’s unhoused residents

AURORA | For over 20 years, it was Felix Gilbert’s dream to establish safe and affordable housing for Aurora’s homeless community. 

Gilbert’s “heart was with unhoused residents,” Pastor Cheryl Kelly said of the former senior pastor at Restoration Christian Fellowship. 

Part of his vision was realized Wednesday as the church hosted an open house displaying potential alternative housing solutions for the city — one day after Gilbert’s funeral service following his death in April.

The achievement was bittersweet without Gilbert’s presence, but Kelly said the church is determined to carry out his vision. Restoration is partnering with the city of Aurora and other local non-profit organizations to identify potential safe outdoor spaces for the homeless that can be set up while people work to find permanent housing.

Five different temporary housing models were on display Wednesday: Trailers where people could use the restroom and take showers, safe parking lots where people could stay in their own cars, emergency shelter tents, pallet homes and tiny homes.

“We’re trying to showcase different options for sheltering in the city of Aurora,” said Jessica Prosser, the city’s director of housing and community services.

The open house was set up to give homeless residents and other community members a first-hand look at what some of the options are and to provide feedback about what they liked best. The examples will remain on display through May 27 in the parking lot of Restoration Community Fellowship, and people can submit feedback online through the end of the month.

There are currently about 150 emergency shelter beds in the city, and an estimated homeless population of 480, Prosser said. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the demand for homelessness services has increased, she said, along with the number of complaints about homeless encampments.

Each provider at the open house emphasized that their solutions were not meant to be permanent, but instead a stepping stone so that people would not have to sleep on the streets while they tried to get housing.

“This is designed to be a rapid, scalable solution,” said Brandon Bills, a spokesperson for Pallet, a company which creates one-to-two-person shelters that can be assembled in a matter of hours. The shelters are created in a village structure, and Pallet works with local nonprofits to provide case management to help people find housing, jobs and other resources.

It does not currently have any locations in Colorado, but Bills said the organization is “hopeful to get invited to the table” in Aurora.

The Salvation Army is currently partnering with the city for a pilot program of emergency tent shelters, another potential option. The shelter will launch in July and run for 90 days. The tents will be provided by the city, which owns around 30, and the Salvation Army will provide the location and case management to try and get people into permanent housing.

“That’s what the goal is for all of these, really,” said Emma King, a homeless program liaison with the city.

Once the feedback period is over, the city will look into identifying locations, community partners and potential funding for safe housing sites, Prosser said. A proposal would ultimately need to be submitted to the Aurora City Council for approval.

Homelessness has been a point of contention for the council in recent months, particularly after Mayor Mike Coffman posed as a homeless person for a television special earlier in the year.

In a statement posted to twitter last week, he said that he supports providing temporary housing with limits but that in his view, “the reality is that the more services you provide the homeless, without any requirements placed on the change in their behaviors, the more homelessness you will get.”

He also announced on Monday that he intends to introduce an urban camping ban ordinance, which drew him significant criticism from some city council members at that evening’s study session.

“You had just said two weeks ago that people shouldn’t have emergency shelter options unless they get sober and have a job. Yet, if we have a camping ban, where are these folks going to go?” councilmember Nicole Johnston asked.

Restoration is moving forward with establishing a safe parking site on land it owns starting at the end of May. The site will have room for 20 cars, and Kelly said it has already received 30 applications through the city.

The church will provide restroom and shower facilities, and case managers will work with people at the site to help them try and find permanent housing. The goal is for people to stay at the site for six months or less, Kelly said. Ultimately, the church’s vision is to create an entire village of affordable housing on its property.

The church is partnering with the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative, a nonprofit that works with faith-based organizations to provide people with safe places to stay in their cars without having to worry about being ticketed or disturbed.

A lot of people who lose their homes for the first time choose to stay in their cars instead of a congregate shelter because they want privacy or don’t want to have to surrender their pets, said co-founder Rochelle Brogan. Many are low-wage or gig workers who are struggling to afford housing in the Denver metro area.

The safe parking model provides people with a sense of security so they don’t lose their cars and become at risk of losing their jobs and falling further into homelessness, Brogan said. By creating a community, it also gives them much-needed social support so they don’t have to navigate their ordeal in isolation.

“You need to feel like you belong,” she said.