Formerly homeless man says Denver will be next San Francisco if leaders don't change course
Denver's population has shrunk over the last two years, but one demographic continues to grow - the homeless.
There were nearly 5,000 people unsheltered in Denver last year - the most ever - even as the city spent more money than ever to address homelessness - $250 million.
Some of the state's top leaders are hoping to change the trajectory. They heard about a different kind of homeless strategy from an expert with lived experience.
While most major cities - including Denver - have addressed homelessness as a housing crisis, Tom Wolf will tell you it is primarily a drug crisis.
He ought to know. He lived on the streets of San Francisco for six months after becoming addicted to painkillers following surgery.
"It eventually spiraled into heroin, homelessness, fentanyl, and near death. I lost my wife, my kids, my job, my money, everything that was of value to me I had lost," he said.
He would be dead, he says, if he hadn't been arrested, "I'm blessed."
He says he was in jail long enough to get sober and get help from the Salvation Army, where he now works as a recovery advocate, "I've tried to turn my negative experience into something positive to give back to the community. It's part of my living amends to my family and to my community in recovery, and it gives me great strength to be able to go out there and share my story."
He tells his story to not only drug addicts, through street outreach, but policymakers. This week he met with business leaders from an organization called Colorado Concern as well as Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman.
Wolf says he wants to save cities like Denver from becoming the next San Francisco, where homeless encampments have taken over entire city blocks and drug use is rampant, "Denver still has an opportunity to pivot to some more pragmatic solutions."
He says San Francisco's downfall is the result of good-intentioned policies that have failed the people they're meant to save; policies that regard the decriminalization of drugs as humane and preconditions to housing, like sobriety, as heartless.
"Two-thirds of those overdose deaths this year in San Francisco happened inside at a fixed address, and many inside permanent supportive housing. Compassion comes in many forms. Accountability is one of those forms of compassion. I'm not saying that we need put everyone in jail but accountability has to be a piece of this," he said.
While Denver isn't San Francisco, Wolf says, it's headed in that direction.
"You can build all the tiny homes that you want but if you continue with this policy of allowing people to use drugs openly, having tent encampments just on sidewalks, you're just inviting more people to come. We're at this crisis level with homelessness and drugs where we can no longer debate about which way is the best way," he said. "The answer should just be 'yes' to just about everything, which includes arresting people, which includes holding fentanyl dealers accountable, which includes mandated treatment for those that need it, which includes funding just drug treatment and detox, and yes that includes permanent housing too."
Five years sober this month and back with his wife and kids, Wolf is here to sound an alarm.
"And there's so many people out here on the street right now whose lives aren't over and they deserve another chance but we as community have to show them another way," he said.