Homelessness in Colorado

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Colorado[]

Homeless man sleeping in 3° C (37°F) weather at the Colorado Supreme Court Building

To be homeless means that an individual or even a family is living in a place not meant for human habitation, in an emergency shelter, in transitional housing or are exiting an institution where they temporarily resided. Homelessness is a growing problem in the State of Colorado and is considered the most important social determinants of health (State of Colorado). Every individual deserves to live in good conditions and have their own home based on rights for housing. Some people do not realize that homelessness is very difficult for many individuals to escape with the continuous increase in costs for housing in Colorado along with mental health treatments and other factors. When people are forced to live without stable shelter they are then exposed to a number of risk factors that affect physical and mental health (State of Colorado). Although it is difficult to pin point any one cause of homelessness, there is a complicated combination of societal and individual causes. With the hard work of community organizations along with some helpful state initiatives, one would believe that homelessness can be escaped and even prevented.

While he was Mayor of Denver, Colorado, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper made dealing with the issues that underlie homelessness a top priority on his agenda, speaking heavily on the issue during his first "State of the City" address in 2003. While Denver's homeless population is much lower than other major cities, the homeless residents have often suffered when without shelter during the cold winters. In 2006, officials said that this number had risen over the past few years.^[1]

Some findings of the factors contributing to homelessness involve many issues. Among them was factual data about the number of residents that have moved to Colorado since 2011, totaling nearly 650 thousand.^[2] This influx of residents has caused a shortage in affordable housing and contributed to the price of homeownership and renting to increase yearly. The costs have become so expensive that a person has to make nearly four times the states minimum wage to afford a medium-priced rental. This model is unsustainable per the^[3] which describes rent as being considered affordable if it is less than thirty percent of total monthly income. Another factor, is the perception that most people are homeless due to their own actions. While this may be true for a rare few, the majority are reluctant to seek services that could help better their situation due to fear of discrimination. Research conducted by,^[4] shows that the homeless population are perceived as less than human and are not worthy of support or assistance, often they face contempt and prejudice amongst fellow homeless and the community. This is contributing to the perpetuation of chronic homelessness as people are too afraid to seek assistance and support. A third factor identified, is in how the cities are handling this demographic. There have been 350 "anti-homeless” ordinances enacted, which criminalize daily survival necessities of the homeless, but criminalizing these behaviors fails to mitigate the root causes, and maintains conditions that keep people homeless.^[5] While the cities have enacted these ordinances to combat hazards associated with the homeless such as fires, trash, crime and tent cities, it creates a revolving door of street to jail, jail to street.

Research has also indicated a vast shortage in shelter capabilities and resources. The number of homeless people, which in 2018 was nearly eleven thousand, consisted of families, veterans and chronically homeless.^[6] According to,^[7] Denver, the state's capitol, can shelter less than ten percent of its homeless population, and other cities advertise their lack of shelters and resources in an effort to deter people from going to those cities. This means that people are forced to seek shelter wherever available and is usually in violation of one of the city ordinances, like the no camping ban. During the winter months shelters are on a first-come, first-served basis, and people are often waiting for hours in the cold for the doors to open. This is especially challenging for those trying to work because if they are not in line at a certain time, they will likely not get shelter that evening. There are simply not enough shelters or resources to handle the entire homeless demographic, and too many limitations on getting into a shelter for the evening. This creates another burden on resources, accountable care organizations (ACO's) conducted research and found that housing needs had to be addressed before a person could effectively engage in medical treatment, and by addressing this issue first, medical cost were reduced by 53%.^[8] Therefore, addressing housing needs can reduce medical treatment and further strain on resources. The research conducted has given great insight into the immense challenges the state and its homeless residents face. There are numerous factors contributing to homelessness, both individually and partially because of the cities themselves. The lack of shelters and strain on resources, contributes to the limited progress of addressing this issue. In order to make a significant impact, the state can adopt multiple new methods that were proven effective in other places to help curb the demographic much faster

In April 2012,^[9] Denver enacted the Urban Camping Ban due to the occupy Denver protest and the number of homeless on the 16th Street Mall. The ordinance was developed because businesses and individuals in Denver complained to the Mayor's office and City Council that the number of people who were sleeping in front of their business doorways and this was disruptive and made it uncomfortable for individuals to enter their businesses. In addition, Occupy Denver had taken over public space near the capital building in Denver and it became a homeless compound consisting of tents and other structures. The pressure to clean up Denver by businesses and other individuals on the Councilman Albus Brooks sponsored the legislation. Mayor Michael Hancock and City Council passed the urban camping ban which prohibited individuals from sleeping in public places with a blanket over them or something between them and the ground. Those who enact these laws often state it is the tool needed to encourage those who are not accessing services to find ways to address the issues that caused them to be homeless. The Civil Liberties Union wrote a strong letter in opposition to the Denver ordinance.

The number of homeless peoples increased from 2016 to 2017 by 1,121^[10] Colorado was ranked 7th in 2017 for largest homeless veteran count as well as 8th in the country out of 48 major metropolitan cities for homeless individuals.^[11] The Right to Rest Act was introduced to Colorado (as well as Oregeon and California) that would change the way the city treated unsheltered citizens. This piece of legislature called the Right to Rest Act was introduced in 2015 and attempted to offer homeless rights to sleep on public property like parks and sidewalks.^[12] The bill was postponed indefinitely on March 14, 2018, as the local government argued many effects from the piece of legislature would impact local law enforcement and funds such as city maintenance and enforcement relief.^[13]

Many in the homeless population of Colorado have mental health issues that directly relate to their homelessness. There is a shortage in Denver of mental health services for homeless people. The most common mental health issues among the homeless include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.^[14] Therapy sessions, psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and prescription drugs are the most common mental health treatment options for the public. However, the homeless are unable to afford them. There are organizations who strive to help the homeless by providing food, shelter, and clothes, but there are currently not many organizations focused only on improving the mental health in the homeless community of Denver. Housing the homeless has been proven to help reduce homelessness, but that does not solve the mental health issue that a lot of homeless people possess. If organizations adopt a new program to house the homeless, get them counseling, and then help them get a job and food on the table, this will enhance their quality of life and their recovery process. Thee effects of mental health and the number of homeless people with mental health issues would be drastically diminished through programs of this nature. Organizations currently use government funding, grants from private companies, and donations. New and more dynamic services for the homeless affected by mental health could be paid for in the same way. Those that oppose more dynamic mental health services for the homeless often rely on their own opinions rather than on facts such as "the more help the homeless get, the more likely they are to get back on their feet and succeed".^[15]

The homeless population over the last four years within the state of Colorado has remained fairly constant. However, this does not mean that this is not an issue that needs to be addressed. This is because while the overall population has remained stagnant the number of people who are choosing to be unsheltered is actually increasing steadily. Why the homeless population total has remained constant within the midst of such a drastic economic boom can be seen within the data taken during the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. According to HUD's PIT Count (2018)^[16] there are 10,857 people who are currently homeless within the state of Colorado. This report also breaks down several aspects of the homeless population to include the biggest demographics that are currently homeless. The biggest portion of homeless people can be categorized as those with mental illnesses. These 2,171 people make up roughly 20 percent of the total population. According to Bharadwaj, Pai, and Suziedelyte (2017)^[17] people are less likely to report that they have a mental health issue when compared to other medical conditions that may be ailing them. This stigma and fear of reporting is leading to many people deciding not to try and fight there disease on their own rather than seeking help.

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