Homeless News

The Overland neighborhood is set to witness the second-to-launch micro-community, dubbed La Paz this week as a long-term shelter for people sleeping in homeless encampments in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

The 60 tiny homes manufactured by Oakwood Homes are set to welcome 47 people from a homeless encampment.

A nonprofit organization, Colorado Village Collaborative will run the project as it has used tiny homes as the possible solution to bring people indoors from unsheltered homelessness. The staff was also hired before the launch of the project to train them so that they can help people tomorrow.

Senior Director of Homelessness Programs Cuica Montoya, with the Colorado Village Collaborative, said, “They’ve been out at the encampment meeting with folks. We really value those connections, so that people know that we’re just human beings. We’re here to help support you along your way.”

Three meals a day will be provided by the Salvation Army to the residents while the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will bring in a mobile clinic each week to offer wraparound services. The on-site staff will also provide the services.

The residents will get peer counseling and case management services daily. The tiny homes contain a pallet bed, a desk, and a window. There’s also an adjacent community room having a restroom, showers, kitchen, and laundry.

These tiny homes will house people temporarily and have the goal of moving people from encampments to permanent homes. But the question is how?

A resident named Randy Cain while sipping coffee revealed him feeling disrespected. He talked about drug use and public urination among the homeless people and he is only waiting to collect the evidence regarding this so that he can sue the city over this project.

Another resident named Douglas Danger, who stayed there for more than 35 years listened to what the Mayor was saying and gave his criticism.

Danger said, “I’m not afraid of much. I’ll stick my hand in a bucket of spiders. Not a problem. But I had to get out of there because I was afraid. I saw three guys, three people openly shooting up. I mean, where I could tell that’s exactly what they were doing. I saw a guy defecate, literally poop just right out in the open, no concern for anything. Another guy was playing on the train tracks.”

Danger feels that it’s unfair not to share the homelessness solution across the city council districts. He revealed that the Mayor promised to get them a homelessness solution but nobody is sharing as promised.

District 8 Council Member Shontel Lewis’s community had the most shelter beds and she is hoping that it will encourage the other communities as well.

Danger feels that the Overland site was a bad pick. Johnston after having dozens of community meetings regarding the creation of new shelters views the city’s progress as exemplary.

The number of residents La Paz can accommodate at present is only half. Johnston put micro communities along with tiny homes at the center of his homelessness strategy. Since Johnston took office, the city has sheltered 1293 people so far out of which, many also secured permanent housing.