Denver Catholic

44 APR-MAY 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC BY MAKENA CERVANTES Contributing Writer SPREADING EASTER HOPE TO THE STREETS OF DENVER W e've all had that feeling: You see someone at a stoplight with a card- board sign. Do I make eye contact or look straight ahead? Should I give money or does that feed the problem more? It seems like the number of homeless in Denver is rising. More people are at stoplights, and tent encampments are frequent downtown. Denver Mayor Michael Johnston declared a state of emergency regarding Denver home- lessness during his second day in office back in June 2023. He rolled out a plan called House1000, a strategy that uses converted hotels and "micro-communities" to move people from encampments to indoor hous- ing. Micro-communities involve tiny homes or other temporary structures on vacant properties. His goal was to literally move 1,000 people from sleeping on the streets to being in housing, even if temporary, by the end of 2023. His larger goal is to end homelessness in Denver in four years. The mayor's micro-communities have received the largest amount of pushback from neighboring residents, and of the proposed 10 communities, only one opened by the end of 2023. Still, according to their housing dash- boards, a little over 1,000 people were success- fully moved indoors. As Catholics, what is our response? Are we open to a micro-communit y or a hotel housing the homeless in our neighborhood? Are the mayor's efforts enough to end homelessness? Do we have a part we need to play? H O P E I N AC TIO N

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