Lakewood focuses on resources for those experiencing homelessness

The city of Lakewood opened its first emergency warming shelter in response to the cold Wednesday and while it only saw 11 people, expected Thursday to be busy.

"I think once people realize where the facility is, we may see that number grow," said Adam Paul, Mayor of Lakewood.

The temporary shelter opened Wednesday night at the Whitlock Recreation center. It has the capacity to serve 50 people and is open from 7PM to 7AM.   

According to the city, the shelter is designed to  supplement other shelters already available in Lakewood known as the Severe Weather Shelter Network and the support provided through vouchers for short-term sheltering at lodging facilities.

The issue is that Lakewood is the only city within Jefferson County to have the emergency shelter, and the number of other options available are few and far between.

"For many years it's been the assumption that that's a problem that only exists in the city of Denver, but we have quite a few neighbors experiencing homelessness and a shelter facility would be much better than opening up a church or a room in a rec center," said Reverend Ben Hensley, Pastor at the Lakewood United Methodist Church.

During the December snowstorm, Hensley opened his doors to keep those on the streets warm. 

When January's storm hit, his church teamed up with Saint Bernadette's Catholic Church in Lakewood to open another shelter. Each time they helped upwards of 30 people.

"We learned really fast that while it was well intended and we thank god that they were able to do that, it wasn't the best setup," said Adam Paul, Lakewood mayor. 

Paul says Lakewood had to step up.

"I am very proud of the city of Lakewood," Hensley said. "What they're doing is meeting a gap that currently exists here in Jefferson County for folks experiencing more chronic forms of homelessness."

According to an annual report from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Jefferson County is up 11% from 2020 to 2022 but the number of people surveyed, who said they were homeless for the first time, was up 257% in just two years.

"I do know that the steps that the city took today will make a huge impact on the accessibility for a warm place to sleep on deadly nights like last night and tonight will be," Hensley said. "What's happening these few nights is just an emergency response to cold weather but what's really going to solve homelessness in Jefferson County and everywhere quite frankly is housing."

"I've said this for years, Jefferson County, all the cities in the county, we come together and share an animal shelter, but we've really struggled finding sheltering for human beings and the good news is that's changing," Paul said. "We have some long-term plans for a couple navigation centers which will be housed within the county one north and one in central Jefferson County."

Those plans, Paul says are around three years out.

In the meantime, Jefferson County is hoping to secure a portion of COVID relief funding through the state to fund more solutions.

It has developed a comprehensive plan, released Thursday that outlines goals to help its most vulnerable community members.

To see the plan, click here: https://bit.ly/3ZcoeZK

Lakewood says it will activate this short-term shelter when weather conditions pose a significant threat to the health and safety of vulnerable residents. Additional information about the shelter is available at https://bit.ly/3Z0xrVu.