Non-profit organization trying to make downtown Denver safer after violent week
Over the last week, CBS News Colorado has reported on 14 people who were shot in downtown Denver in three separate shootings.
One group is eyeing solutions in cities like Nashville and New Orleans -- and how they made those downtowns more welcoming for everyone.
The idea: focus on what they're calling Denver's nighttime economy.
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CBS News Colorado spoke with the leader of a group making it their mission to bring new crowds into downtown.
It's a non-profit that would love to see downtown be a hub for a variety of different groups. Right now, there are a lot of ideas and no one to bring it all together. That's what the 87 Foundation wants to see change first.
When those living in Denver or just visiting are caught up in random violence downtown, their feelings about returning change.
"I'm a little scared to be here," one woman told us after one of the shootings last week. "I love Denver, but it's really not a good experience to have."
Safety has long been an issue.
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Stephen Brackett says it's unfortunate because he knows what the area could be.
"There's just so many possibilities in this," he said.
Brackett, co-founder of the band Flobots, is also the director of the 87 Foundation. The nonprofit is on a mission to revitalize Denver's downtown, starting with more support for the city's nighttime economy.
"The reason why it's so important is also after 5 p.m. is when a lot of the municipal services also scale back," he said. "A lot of times, when you're dealing with the night time, you're dealing with one-fifth of the service and support. So when you just look at it in that way, it's not a surprise that you are seeing certain problems and issues arise during that time."
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He points to other cities that now have an office of night-time economy, the additional support leading to success in combating issues around crime.
"There's all of this data and information about best practices and right now, we're not using any of them," Brackett said.
He's already spoken with a number of business owners and after being appointed to Mayor-elect Mike Johnston's transition team has the ear of city leaders.
It's early and he says the conversation is just getting started.
"Right now, what we have are a bunch of different voices highlighting what's most important to them and we have no idea how much commonality we have and how much collective power we have," Brackett said.
He says currently, there are about 16 cities across the U.S. -- some similar in size to Denver, others much smaller, like Iowa City -- that have invested in a nighttime economy office.
