A different perspective: Boulder residents tour day shelter, safe outdoor space

Feb. 24—Women popped their heads inside a restroom to take a quick peek at the amenities available at a day shelter in Denver while others, just north from there, spent time walking the rows of tents while visiting a safe outdoor space.

Although, it was a quick day, it provided Boulder residents a snapshot of what Denver offers its unhoused population.

About 30 people attended the regional solutions tour in Denver on Friday. The event was led by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, who worked in partnership with the Boulder Downtown Partnership and the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Jonathan Singer, senior director for policy programs for the chamber, said the tour rounds out the chamber's four roundtable events it has held during the past month. The previous forums consisted of meeting with law enforcement, civil justice advocates and people with lived experience being unhoused.

"We're going to do our best at the Boulder chamber to coalesce the common threads that most people seem to agree are a solid direction to move in and use that as a framework to influence our city, county, state and federal elected officials into forming a policy that best serves everybody," he said.

Singer said the tour gave people the chance to get out of Boulder and learn from experts in Denver who have new or different ways of working with individuals experiencing homelessness.

"I think sometimes the best way to understand a situation is to get yourself out of your environment and somewhere else where they're having similar struggles to get some perspective," he said. "The best place to look is Denver. Before someone says they have the answer, I want them to look at what other people are doing and then form a better opinion."

During the tour, the Boulder participants were split into two groups: One spent time at the St. Francis Center while the other went to the Colorado Village Collaborative, a safe outdoor space for people experiencing homelessness to live.

At the St. Francis Center, Executive Director Tom Luehrs showed Boulder residents the clothes available for clients and discussed the services provided, some of which include mental health and other health resources, storage and cell phone charging areas.

Russ Chandler, owner of Full Cycle in Boulder, who toured St. Francis Center, said he was interested in attending the event to learn what offerings Denver has that Boulder can emulate.

"We want to learn how it's working and what's working and use that as a takeaway as we put our heads together and figure out something in Boulder," he said. "Boulder does not have anything like this, and we don't have anything like the safe outdoor space."

Charlene Hoffman, CEO of Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, also attended the tour. She said the event is part of the work her organization is doing to find solutions to the growing homelessness situation in Boulder.

In a recent email, Hoffman said the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau removed references to the Boulder Creek Path from its website last summer because of the encampments by the creek.

"Visitors and residents don't feel safe, and the situation has become a big challenge, affecting one of our community's key assets," she wrote in an email. "The city of Boulder reports they are seeing an impact of the work the Save and Managed Public Places cleanup efforts are having, and the city is currently hiring additional operational staff which will allow them to broaden their geographic reach and increase the frequency of cleanups."

Boulder residents wrapped up the day at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce where they heard from Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer with Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, and Zac Schaffner, a supportive housing services manager with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

Schaffner spoke about the success Colorado program Built For Zero is having to support the state's unhoused population through investing in housing.

"Moving to this coordinated system, we can assess individuals, find out their level of acuity and quickly match them with the right resources known as the coordinated entry system," he said. "It doesn't always work that way, but that's what we're striving for."

Alderman said to really address homelessness, funding for street outreach is needed.

"We know we have to get more mental health providers on the streets working with people," she said. "Those are the most effective people to build that relationship and get folks connected with the services we need."

While mental health treatment is crucial and funding for it is lacking, that's not the full solution to homelessness, Alderman reminded everyone.

"It's housing and housing services," she said.

John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, said the day was informative and gave residents a first look at what others are doing to aid the unhoused population in their communities.

"To see these homeless service programs in action helps to dispel concerns, while providing a clear picture of what mix of strategies are critical to success," he said.