Denver plans to open its emergency warming shelter at the Denver Coliseum this Friday, but it will be a shift from how the city has offered safety from the cold in the past for unhoused or unsheltered people.
The shelter, located at 4600 N. Humboldt St., will be open 24/7 starting 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9 through 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 16. Low temperatures and snow are expected to hit Denver this weekend. People needing shelter are encouraged to walk right up.
Previously, the city would usually open emergency shelters for a few days at a time when temperatures were forecasted to drop below 20 degrees. The new 24/7 approach is part of a new pilot program from Mayor Mike Johnston’s office, prompted by proposed legislation from a group of City Councilmembers.
“Cold weather poses a serious danger to people who are unsheltered,” Johnston said in a statement Thursday. “We’ve heard City Council’s desire to stand up additional cold weather shelter when temperatures reach 32 degrees, and this pilot will allow us to determine the viability of doing so next winter.”
The bill sponsors put the ordinance on hold to work with the Mayor’s office on a pilot program expanding cold weather shelter access.
“I’m thrilled to see it go forward,” said Councilmember Sarah Parady, who co-sponsored the bill along with Councilmembers Shontel Lewis, Paul Kashmann and Council President Jamie Torres. “We will be working closely with city agencies to assess what emergency sheltering parameters – hours, locations, and so on – work best to get people inside at the appropriate 32 degree threshold.”
The expanded program could see even more people seeking emergency shelter this weekend as hundreds of new immigrant families time out of city hotel shelters, many with nowhere to go.
Johnston vetoed a second bill last week that would have banned encampment sweeps during freezing temps. The proposal was narrowly approved by City Council.
Johnston said it would practically overturn the voter-approved urban camping ban for four months of the year, while some city staff and Councilmembers in opposition worried about the logistics of implementing such a policy.
Other Councilmembers, activists and healthcare experts pushing for the bill said that forcing people to relocate in freezing temperatures raises the risk of frostbite, amputations and death in cold weather.
Parady said that people experiencing homelessness might be more likely to head to cold weather shelters in freezing weather if they knew their belongings would be where they left them when they return to the streets.
“Despite his veto of the second bill addressing shelter removals in freezing weather, I hope the mayor will keep his word and refrain from removing tents when the temperature is freezing,” Parady said. “Without assurances that their tent, sleeping bag, and other possessions will remain where they left them in the morning, people will be less likely to utilize this option.”
