Two safe-camping sites have opened in Denver this month. The first, in the parking lot at the First Baptist Church in Capitol Hill, is reserved for women and trans individuals. The second, at Denver Community Church at 16th and Pearl streets, has room for forty people; it opened on December 16.
Denver service providers began pushing their Safe Outdoor Spaces concept back in April, as homeless encampments started springing up across the city. The idea is to offer tents in protected areas to people experiencing homelessness, while also providing them with sinks, toilets and access to services. During the pandemic, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that municipalities not sweep encampments in order to to avoid spreading COVID, the need has become particularly pressing.
The city s second safe-camping site has just opened. To get a feel for the place, I spent the night of December 14 in a tent in the parking lot of the Denver Community Church at 16th and Pearl streets, before the new occupants checked in.
Denver service providers first began pushing their Safe Outdoor Spaces concept back in April, as homeless encampments began springing up across the city. The idea, which has worked in other cities, is to offer tents in protected areas to people experiencing homelessness, while also providing them with sinks, toilets and access to services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that municipalities not sweep encampments during a pandemic, in order to avoid spreading COVID. I ve covered the safe-camping proposal since spring, reporting on Mayor Michael Hancock s initial opposition, then his turnaround in July; following the ups and downs for service providers as neighbors objected to potential sites; sharing passionate commentary f