Denver mayoral candidate Chris Hansen, a state legislator, on Monday unveiled what he described as an "attainable, results driven approach" to solving his city's homelessness crisis, which he said is beset by a sense of defeatism and aimlessness.
Hansen's plan centers on auditing the city's programs and veering away from what he called Denver's seemingly "aimless and defeatist" approach to homelessness.
Almost 7,000 people are homeless in metro Denver, and the debate over what caused that explosion and how to address it rages on. What’s clear is that local governments, notably Denver, have poured significant resources into the crisis, which shows no signs of abating.
While making no promises to end homelessness in his first term — as fellow mayoral aspirant Mike Johnston has — Hansen's outlined three pillars to combatting the issue: "reevaluate," "reimagine" and "reinforce."
"We all know the status quo is not working," Hansen's campaign said in a news release read. "It is clear that Denver needs a new leader to make real progress on addressing homelessness and ensuring our streets, sidewalks and public areas are clean for all Denverites to utilize."
Hansen's first step, under the "reevaluate" pillar, is an audit of existing programs. Though the city spends hundreds of millions of dollars on homelessness — $254 million in the latest city budget — Hansen said parks and sidewalks look largely the same now as they have for years, "filled with tents, cold people and pets, grocery carts and waste."
Part of the audit will demand and utilize data to determine which programs help people break the cycle of homelessness and repurpose funds to those programs, his campaign said.
Denver has seen some success utilizing "supportive" housing, which combines housing with services tailored to an individual's needs, but the problem persists, even as the city — and the state — spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year tackling the issue.
Hansen's second pillar, "reimagine," begins by saying the city needs an end goal in mind.
"Too often the city's approach to the homelessness crisis has seemed aimless and defeatist, as if there is no way to solve the problem," his campaign said. "That's wrong — the solution to homelessness is housing."
Hansen's plan cited efforts in Houston and San Antonio, TX, whose approaches have, at least in the short term, reduced homelessness. He acknowledged that solutions may take time but believes they are worth pursing as opposed to the "failed, unimaginative policies" that Denver has previously pursued.
Another part of his plan is to continue the use of outdoor spaces. Hansen said these offer an alternative to shelters, which many homeless people are wary of. He plans to work with what he calls "effective partners," such as the Colorado Village Collaborative, which runs the safe outdoor spaces.
Another part of his second pillar is focused on housing stability.
Hansen said that more than 115,000 households in Denver are at risk of losing their housing." His solution is to direct federal grant money and a larger portion of Denver's municipal homelessness budget toward shoring up housing security for those households.
Hansen also supports "preferential permitting" for affordable housing projects, which he said would mean seeing units become available on the market quicker.
His final pillar, "reinforce," focuses on three things: Public safety, keeping camps clear and a renewal of public trust. His public safety focus keys in on what he called "inherently dangerous" living conditions at encampments and expresses a desire to "quickly and efficiently" help those in encampments find stable housing and services.
Hansen said he does not support the way the city conducts its current sweeps, although he agrees that the camps can't remain. Hansen said sweeps do little to connect people with the services they need and he would rather adopt a system that sends them to expanded services.
The final step of his plan is renewing public trust. Hansen highlights what he described as years of failed policies that he said have jeopardized the "public's ability to believe that solutions are possible." By following the previous steps he outlined, Hansen believes he can restore public trust in the government's ability to meet needs.
Hansen is one of 16 other candidates on the mayoral ballot. The general election is on April 4, and a runoff will occur in June if needed.
