DENVER — Hundreds of unhoused people could be moved directly into permanent leased housing under a new program the city is considering.
The city began testing the Street to Lease program earlier this year as part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s ongoing efforts to fight homelessness.
During the pilot program, the city moved 12 people from a small encampment in Council District 8 directly into permanent housing.
Right now, unhoused people who accept city services are moved into temporary housing.
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The city wants to use $5 million in pandemic funding to expand the Street to Lease program.
This would allow the city to move 250 unhoused people directly into permanent housing within 30 days of outreach.
Most of the money, about $4.2 million, would be used to pay their rent and utilities for up to a year, city officials said.
“This is a program that HOST (Department of Housing Stability) has intended to deploy for some time,” said Cole Chandler, the mayor’s senior homelessness advisor.
Chandler, who appeared before the city council’s housing committee on Wednesday, said money had already been set aside for the program.
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“We’re now at a place where we’re ready to bring it forward and implement that,” said Chander.
The city plans to contract with Housing Connector, a nonprofit focused on helping people access affordable housing.
Housing Connector will help the city identify available housing units. They will also help process payments.
“They’re able to really be a strong liaison. And if there are challenges that are coming up with an individual in the housing unit, they’re able to work through those and sort through those with the landlord,” Chandler said.
Like with District 8, the city would focus on providing permanent housing to people living at smaller encampments throughout the city.
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“The goal is to spread them out in the city of Denver, but also give them options so that they can choose where they want to live,” said Will Goodale with Housing Connector.
Denver wants to move those experiencing homelessness directly into permanent housing
Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said the program appeared to be more promising than other homelessness programs the city spent money on.
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But she and others were concerned about how the city plans to pay for the program long-term, given that pandemic funding is running out and city agencies having to cut their budgets due to the immigration crisis.
“You cannot have sustainable programs without a sustainable funding source,” said Sawyer.
Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore told Chandler there was not a lot of time left to figure out how the city would pay for this program and others that depend on pandemic funding.
“The majority of those funds are one-time funds,” said Gilmore. “They’re not going to magically appear again, ever.”
Chandler said city officials were having “critical conversations” about its long-term spending plan.
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“We’re evaluating that as we look forward into the 2025, 2026 and beyond budget,” Chandler said. “I think that this is a program that is worth investing in and is worth bringing into our community.”
Gilmore also pressed Chandler about the overall spending of the mayor’s All In Mile High Homeless initiative.
“We were told by May 10 we would have the numbers around what is the All In Mile High’s true operating costs,” said Gilmore.
She asked Chandler if he could tell her the annual costs of that program.
“I mean you should know it,” said Gilmore.
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“We’re still actively working on that,” Chandler replied. “We have a presentation for [the finance and governance committee] on June 18 where we’re planning to bring those items forward,” Chandler said.
Gilmore has been seeking the spending numbers for months and said it was disappointing that she even had to ask that question in a televised committee meeting.
“This is bordering on ridiculousness now. It’s embarrassing not to be able to tell a constituent what this costs,” said Gilmore. “It was early May and now June.”
Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez said she feels hopeful about the Street to Lease program and wants to know how the city is going to get participants into a position where they can pay their own rent.
“I feel like if people are investing something in this program, they’ll get more out of the program,” said Alvidrez.
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Chandler said the city does not require people in its homelessness programs to meet with case managers.
But he said there are plenty available, about one case manager for every 20 people.
“While it’s non-compulsory, we’re working actively with individuals to help them get access to services,” said Chandler.
The city council’s housing committee advanced the city’s $5 million request on Wednesday, but some council members said they were on the fence about whether to give it final approval due to concerns about its long-term funding.
The Follow Up
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Cleveland Cavaliers (26-4, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (16-11, fifth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Friday, 9 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland will attempt to keep its five-game win streak alive when the Cavaliers take on Denver.
The Nuggets are 8-4 on their home court. Denver leads the Western Conference with 20.3 fast break points led by Christian Braun averaging 4.8.
The Cavaliers are 9-3 in road games. Cleveland ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference scoring 50.7 points per game in the paint led by Evan Mobley averaging 12.2.
The 119.8 points per game the Nuggets score are 9.6 more points than the Cavaliers give up (110.2). The Cavaliers average 16.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.2 more made shots on average than the 13.9 per game the Nuggets allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikola Jokic is averaging 30.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 1.7 steals for the Nuggets.
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Mobley is scoring 18.5 points per game and averaging 9.0 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 6-4, averaging 123.2 points, 45.8 rebounds, 33.6 assists, 9.5 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.2 points per game.
Cavaliers: 9-1, averaging 120.7 points, 44.8 rebounds, 29.2 assists, 8.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.5 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).
Cavaliers: Emoni Bates: out (knee), Isaac Okoro: out (shoulder), Dean Wade: day to day (knee).
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___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
GEORGETOWN, Colo. — The Colorado State Patrol said the “best option” is to remain in Denver amid winter weather that’s impacting roadways in the mountains.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the agency said westbound Interstate 70 is closed at Georgetown due to unsafe conditions between Georgetown and the Palmer Divide.
There is limited lodging and parking in Clear Creek County, according to CSP. The agency said the “best option is to stay in Denver.” It is unclear when the roadway will reopen.
Eastbound I-70 traffic was held at the Eisenhower Tunnel due to a crash just east of the tunnel, according to CSP. The roadway has since reopened.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
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If you find yourself in a Christmas chariot this week, perhaps a pair of Broncos will be carrying it.
Denver inside linebacker Alex Singleton and kicker Wil Lutz looked like pros over the weekend at the Colorado Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker.”
The duo made brief appearances in the ballet’s rendition of the Christmas classic on Sunday night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House downtown.
They carried out a chariot with a ballet dancer inside at the start of the Arabian Dance. Then they stood on the stage and posed for a minute before their appearance was finished.
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It lasted, Singleton told The Denver Post, maybe two minutes.
And it was nerve-wracking.
“Oh yeah,” Singleton said on Tuesday. “I didn’t know what to do. But it was kind of funny, we just stood there.”
The whole thing came about because the Broncos and the Colorado Ballet each have Dr. James Genuario on their medical staff.
That helped clear the path for Singleton, who is on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in September, to participate.
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“That was my first question: Can I do it? And he was like, ‘Yeah, you’ll be fine,’” Singleton said. “I mean, I think the dancer weighed about 80 pounds and the carriage weighed about 10. So I carry more than that every day, which is nice.”
Range of motion is no problem exactly 10 weeks post-operation for Singleton.
“I got to 152 degrees,” he said. “Regular life is normal.”
Performing in a ballet, though, is hardly normal life. Singleton and Lutz had exactly zero advanced prep work for their big debut.
“I think it started at 6:30, we showed up about 6,” Singleton said. “At intermission, before we did it, they showed us how to do it and that was it. We just had to make sure the costumes fit us. … But it was really cool. We got to watch from backstage, meet all the people. It was really cool to see how it all runs and everything.”
Singleton said he was not particularly familiar with “The Nutcracker,” Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet.
“I still don’t know the story,” he said. “We asked a couple of the dancers and they were explaining it to us. So I kind of know that it’s like a dream for the little girl where the Nutcracker comes alive, but that’s about it.”
Singleton, of course, was Denver’s leading tackler the past two years, a captain this fall and was calling Denver’s defense before tearing his ACL in Week 3 at Tampa Bay. The injury happened early in the game, but Singleton played the rest of the game with it before being told the severity of the injury that evening. He had ACL surgery on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles and then returned to spend time around the team and rehabilitate here.
Lutz has been a model of consistency in his second year kicking for the Broncos. Three days before appearing in the show he knocked home a pair of field goals against Los Angeles, including a season-long 55-yarder.
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Lutz is now 29 of 32 for field goals on the season. The only kick of less than 50 yards he’s missed was a game-sealing block by Kansas City in Week 10. Lutz has also made all 38 extra points on the year.
His 90.6% field goal rate is sixth in the NFL among kickers with more than 20 field goal attempts.
On the Colorado Ballet’s social media channels, Singleton gave himself a 7 out of 10 and Lutz an 8 of 10, with the kicker saying he was proud that he didn’t blink once.
In the locker room, at least one teammate was skeptical.
“Oh my god, I had no idea what was going on,” tight end Adam Trautman told The Post. “All they did was pick something up. Now, if they’d have danced or something, that would have been elite. But no chance they can move like that.”
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