Denver councilwoman calls for more accountability at City's shelters

Denver City Councilwoman Shontel Lewis is asking for more accountability from service providers working at city shelters. Providers like the Salvation Army, who work with the City of Denver to operate shelters for the homeless. The Aspen Shelter, which is known as the former DoubleTree hotel in District 8, has seen a couple of shootings in the last few weeks, including a double homicide.

Councilwoman Lewis wants to see quantitative and qualitative data from The Aspen Shelter located on 4040 Quebec St.

The shelter has been the center of a couple shootings just in the month of March.

On March 15, 2024, a double homicide at that shelter ended with the life of two people.

According to CBS News Colorado Investigator Brian Maass, the first three months after the hotel became a homeless shelter the number of calls to police and first responders went up 2,900%.

"What is disappointing is that tragedy had to strike in order for folks to listen to what I've been saying for eight months," said Lewis.

The councilwoman says more data needs to be collected at this shelter in real time.

"We need to make sure we are collecting data and hearing directly from the residents to make sure  that they have the resources that they need and that we can do so proactively by working with organizations like b-konnected," said Lewis.

The Salvation Army says though they are not currently working with the organization, but are conducting internal surveys at this shelter.

"Regarding evaluations and surveys, we will operate at the directive of the City's Department of Housing Stability. We already conduct internal surveys with our guests at each of our sites and allow them to submit feedback anonymously," said Laura Wilson, a spokesperson for the organization.

The City is now working with the Salvation Army to increase security measures at the Aspen Shelter and wherever it is necessary across Denver City shelters, this comes after months of plea for change from leaders like City Councilwoman Shontel Lewis.

In a statement to CBS News Colorado, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing Stability sent the following statement:

"The safety and wellbeing of our staff, our partner organization's staff, residents, and community is a top priority.  From the beginning of the initiative, all sites have been staffed 24/7 by each site's service provider. To immediately address safety and security issues at the former DoubleTree, the city, in partnership with service providers, has enacted a seven-point action plan."

That action plan includes long-term solutions and immediate actions to support the city's continued efforts surrounding homelessness.

Seven-point plan:

Management: Cole Chandler has been appointed as Senior Advisor and Deputy Director of All In Mile High, which is Mayor Johnston's new initiative to move 2,000 people indoors from unsheltered homelessness by the end of the year.

In this role, Chandler is taking a hands-on leadership role at the former DoubleTree Hotel in partnership with The Salvation Army.

This means, Chandler will be responsible for oversight of all unsheltered response and outreach efforts including ensuring contracted outcomes at the at All In Mile High sites.  The City is hoping this shift will help prioritize an organizational structure that can sustain the long-term success of the efforts surrounding unsheltered homelessness.

Safety: They also look to increase city staff, provider staff and contract security guards on site effective immediately. In regards to safety, they look to secure all entrances and exits at this site. Moreover, the city is working on installing a badging system, which would mean residents and staff would have a photo ID card to access the site.

Additional exterior and interior cameras have also been added at this site, including an increase of Denver Police presence and patrols on site.

Evaluation: Staff also looks to perform weekly check-ins with each resident, something councilwoman Lewis has been adamant about.

As part of the ongoing process, the city will continue to evaluate operations at all city facilities.

"Different locations require different security measures, and some of the steps being taken at the DoubleTree are already established at other sites."

During Wednesday's City Council committee meeting, staff announced extra security measures will be going into effect also at the Tamarac Family Shelter. Two security guards will patrol the site 24/7 to help ensure safety and to deter any trespassing by non-guests.

The situation seems to be better at other shelters in the city, according to Lewis, shelters like the Tamarac Family Shelter on Hampden Ave.

Case Management: On Wednesday the safety committee passed an $8 million contract with the Salvation Army to provide services for the Tamarac Family Shelter where more than 200 residents have been connected to either employment or employment services.

"I would say for this site we have both a shelter operations team support and a programs team support and we coordinate with this program at least weekly," said Midori Higa, the Director of Homelessness Resolution Programs for the City and County of Denver.

"If they replicate that across the board, not only will that maintain its' success, but that will have success across Denver," said Lewis.

Mental Health Support: Trauma counseling has been provided to residents at the Aspen Shelter on Quebec St.

The Salvation Army also met with Mayor Johnston's office on March 13th and 14th and agreed the city of Denver would take over all security measures at the Aspen shelter. Cole Chandler, the Mayor's Senior Adviser for Homelessness Resolution, stepped in to help expedite the provider's Comprehensive Safety Plan, which included but is not limited to security cameras, 24/7 on-site security guards, and metal detectors. The organization expressed that they are grateful the City of Denver responded so quickly to support their staff and hotel guests, and they look forward to their continued partnership on this pilot project.

"I am actually really excited to hear that our shelters are providing the services that we've been advocating for, for eight months and I am excited to see for that to be expanded through all of our sites, specifically in District 8," said Lewis.

Services Councilwoman Lewis expects to see in the coming months.

City council is still set to vote on the $8 million contract with the Salvation Army.