DENVER — Denver’s city council will consider extending Mayor Mike Johnston’s state of emergency on homelessness during Monday’s meeting.
It will come on the same day the city’s emergency operations center will activate.
The operations center will bring together people from different agencies and departments to coordinate the city’s response to the emergency.
Under state law, Johnston’s emergency declaration, which he issued last Tuesday, cannot last beyond seven days without city council approval.
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A resolution filed by City Council President Jamie Torres asks the council to extend the mayor’s emergency declaration to August 21.
“The City faces a humanitarian crisis that requires it to take extraordinary measures to meet the immediate needs of City residents living unsheltered,” the resolution says.
Johnston says the emergency declaration was necessary to speed up state and federal resources to address what he describes as “the most significant issue” facing Denver.
“If we can get 1,000 people housed over the next six months, that would put us on an incredibly successful pace to be able to meet the whole need that is out there,” Johnston said.
Few people know better what it’s like to be homeless than Ana Gloom.
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“I was homeless on and off for 10 years,” said Gloom. “I’ve lost friends on the streets due to drugs, due to freezing to death, due to just old age and health. And I’m tired of watching it.”
Gloom is glad the city’s new mayor is prioritizing the homelessness crisis.
“I’m hoping for the best out of this because it does free up more money. It makes houselessness a bigger priority in his office at the moment, which it needed,” said Gloom, who works with Housekeys Action Network Denver.
Housekeys Action Network Denver said Johnston’s state of emergency could be good or bad.
The group said the emergency declaration should not be used to criminalize people further and should not focus exclusively on the people who live on the streets.
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Denver council to consider extending emergency declaration on homelessness
“We don’t want the city just to be like, ‘Okay, the encampments are gone, problems solved,’” said Gloom. “Rich people [will be] happy because they can’t see us anymore, but that’s not dealing with the underlying problem in the first place.”
The group also said the emergency declaration should create “real, lasting, new housing options.”
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The group said it does not consider SOS camps, tiny home villages, hotel shelters, and safe outdoor parking sites housing.
“When we ask for housing, we want housing,” said Gloom. “Those are temporary solutions in the long run. Those end and have tons of restrictions. What we want is our own homes.”
Johnston says even if the city meets its goal of getting get 1,000 people off the streets by the end of the year, the work isn’t over.
“We know that this will not this work will not be done, will not be completed, will not be over in the process of this emergency declaration,” the mayor said. “But it will be a chance for us to galvanize all the leaders in the city to take courageous action to start the work that we think can lead to dramatic outcomes.”
A 2022 Point in Time County shows about 1,300 people live on the streets of Denver each night.
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Thousands more live in shelters and other temporary housing facilities.
Cathy Alderman with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless says she’s encouraged by what she’s seen so far.
“Homelessness is an extraordinarily complex issue,” said Alderman. “I also think there’s a lot of details that we’re waiting to learn and that as we learn more about those details, we’ll really understand how this is going to be funded, what’s going to be expected of the community, and of the service providers, and how it’s actually all going to come to bear.”
Gloom, meanwhile, is taking a wait-and-see approach.
“I’m trying to keep optimism, but again, I am a firm believer of I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Gloom.
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On Sunday, fans will be treated to a head-to-head contest between two rapidly emerging offensive powerhouses, both of whom are bonafide Rookie of the Year contenders. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers found new homes with consecutive picks during last April’s NFL draft, and since then, they’ve performed exceptionally well in the pro ranks.
Nix is firmly on the radar of Raiders head coach Antonio Piece, but that’s even more true after yet another award-winning performance last week.
“He was a winner as a freshman. He was a winner as a six-year player,” Pierce noted of Nix. “All he does is win, come in the league. Won the quarterback battle there in Denver. Maybe they were keeping them tight on the leash early on, and now they’re not. He has full control that offense. You can see that Sean Payton gives him opportunities to audible and make some adjustments. He’s making throws, he’s running with his legs, he’s taking care of the football, and he’s winning. That’s all you can ask for from a rookie.”
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Nix presents a clear and present danger to the Raiders’ chances of squeezing out what would be only their third win of their massively disappointing season. Stopping the impressive rookie is proving to be another matter entirely for NFL defenses, especially one with a badly beaten-up roster like the Raiders.
“This is crazy,” Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo said via ESPN‘s Paul Gutierrez. “I’ve never seen this amount of injuries on any team I’ve been on.”
This week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton has pumped the brakes a little on the burgeoning hype exploding around Nix. That being said, you get the distinct feeling that Payton is more than comfortable unleashing Nix’s full array of talents at his disposal. Confidence is growing in Nix, and that’s been reflected in how Payton has opened up the playbook for his first-year signal-caller.
The juices are flowing, and Payton may have found an answer in dynamic second-year receiver Marvin Mims Jr. The mystical “joker” role within the Broncos offense seems to have been filled.
“I think we always gotta be saying, ‘Hey, are we doing everything we can to highlight his strengths?’ And so, yeah, I don’t know if he’s got the ‘joker’ tattoo, but he might be invited to the club,” Payton said via Andrew Mason.
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When push comes to shove, if Nix plays lights out again, an easy win might come Denver’s way, but stopping Bowers would also ensure the victory and help in the race for Rookie of the Year honors. Payton is already on high alert, but it was also tinged with a bit of football envy when he illustrated Bowers’ “joker” abilities.
“Someone had a really good vision for him and you see all the ‘Joker’ traits, means and change of direction,” Payton said of Bowers. “It can’t be a little. It’s a high-end receiving trait and he can move, he can be outside and he can run a route tree maybe different than most tight ends.”
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New York Knicks (9-7, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (9-6, fifth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Monday, 9 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets host the New York Knicks in a non-conference matchup.
The Nuggets have gone 5-3 at home. Denver ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 12.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Jokic averaging 4.4.
The Knicks are 4-5 in road games. New York ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference allowing only 112.4 points while holding opponents to 47.3% shooting.
The Nuggets are shooting 47.8% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 47.3% the Knicks allow to opponents. The Knicks average 14.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 more made shots on average than the 13.1 per game the Nuggets allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Nuggets.
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Jalen Brunson is averaging 25.1 points and 7.4 assists for the Knicks.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 118.4 points, 45.5 rebounds, 31.6 assists, 8.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.7 points per game.
Knicks: 6-4, averaging 120.3 points, 42.9 rebounds, 29.9 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.5 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: out (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).
Knicks: Precious Achiuwa: out (hamstring), Miles McBride: day to day (knee), Mitchell Robinson: out (ankle).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Could the Brooklyn Nets’ No. 1 scoring option team up with a two-time league MVP?
According to Paul Pierce, it’s possible.
On a recent episode of “Ticket & The Truth,” the former Boston Celtics star suggested a move from Brooklyn to the Denver Nuggets for Cam Thomas to provide the 2023 NBA Champions with a depth boost.
“Alright, let me put my GM hat on,” Pierce said. “I think right now, for Cam, I’d like to see him off the bench for Denver. …Because they need that spark plug off the bench.”
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He may want to take that hat off.
The Nuggets do not have an asset they’d be willing to part ways with that would entice the Nets enough to move off of a 23-year-old who’s turning in over 24 points per game. And even if Denver were to offer a king’s ransom of draft capital, as long as Nikola Jokic is healthy a Nuggets’ choice will never hold much value.
Oct 29, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets small guard Cam Thomas (24) shoots the ball against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
When reports suggested Thomas could be available in negotiations, they didn’t mean Brooklyn was looking to give him away. The return would have to warrant the transaction, and a hypothetical package consisting of Christian Braun and two first-round picks (no offense Christian) won’t be enough to entice Sean Marks.
The Nets shouldn’t look to move Thomas until a can’t-say-no deal emerges. Until then, let him continue to drop nearly 25 a night on the opposition and revisit any potential thoughts of trading the electrifying scorer at February’s deadline.
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