Residents in Colorado city fear more sex offenders in neighborhood after mental health facility announced
A new mental health transitional living home has become the center of frustration and controversy for one Northglenn neighborhood.
"It's just concerning," said resident Danielle Luciano. "I found out last Wednesday, and it was a city letter that came out through. As far as I know, not all of the residents received the letter."
Luciano has a child who attends one of several schools located less than a mile away from the site of what will become transitional housing established by the state of Colorado's Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health. The state has contracted Cypress Cares to operate the facility on their behalf.
"It will house severe, mentally ill patients, as well as sex offenders. There's no other details, really, other than that," said Luciano.
One by one, multiple parents expressed their concerns with CBS News Colorado about the site's location at 11255 and 11275 Grant Drive.
"Terrified. We've got two little kids here," said Heather DeLair. "I just think that it's a terrible location to try to acclimate them back into the world.
Both parents and their children say they are under the impression that sex offenders will be living in these two buildings and worry about what it can mean for the safety of students walking home from school.
"When I heard about this facility, I got scared because I don't want to be scared to come to school," said Oakley DeLair, a 3rd grader at Stukey Elementary School.
"I felt uncomfortable, and I felt like they shouldn't make it because I walk to class in the morning," said Ricardo Russo, a 4th grader at Stukey Elementary School.
Multiple other gathering facilities for students and families, including a church and events center are close to the site.
"At this point, it looks like we'll have to move somewhere else," said Alexander Davis.
Davis says he is among residents who face such a tough decision, given his home and family are just a fence line away from the two buildings, which were once facilities for the elderly.
"My wife did have an incident where she was abused as a child and it's triggering her because her only child is a 4-year-old and we're worried about her," said Davis.
Despite concerns residents have about the state's plan, a spokesperson for the state's Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health says there has been misinformation since residents were made aware of the location:
"The homes being discussed in Northglenn are part of the state's Mental Health Transitional Living Homes program, which fill a necessary gap in the current behavioral health system to transition individuals with mental illness into an appropriate level of care. This program is the first of its kind within Colorado's behavioral health system to offer supported living to transition back into the community when no other placement has accepted them. This could be a step-down from mental health hospitals for individuals who are cleared for discharge or a step-up from the community for folks who don't quite meet the criteria for inpatient admission. These are not sex offender exclusive homes and there are no current plans to admit sex offenders into these Northglenn homes. We have worked with the city of Northglenn, including the City Manager's office and the Northglenn Police Department, and are actively following all of the ordinances Northglenn has set in place."
However, several residents brought up their frustrations about not being notified about the project sooner and its possible implications for residents' safety before the Northglenn City Council during Monday night's public comment.
"Many of our non-English speaking neighbors may not even been aware of the impending threat to their safety and their wellbeing," said one resident.
City leaders empathized with residents and shared their own frustrations with the state in not being included in the decision-making process for this location.
"Did the state make this decision without consulting neighbors, the answer to that question is absolutely yes," said Northglenn City Attorney Corey Hoffmann. "Unfortunately the city does not have the legal authority to challenge this.
A spokesperson for the state says other transitional living houses have already opened in Colorado as a part of their program, and they have not seen any issues concerning safety thus far. This latest location in Northglenn is set to open in mid-April, but council members told constituents on Monday that it could be six weeks before patients are brought in.
A spokesperson for the city of Northglenn provided the following statement:
"The City of Northglenn is concerned that we have no voice in this land use decision. Our local land use laws require notification and provide space for public comment when there is a change. Though we have no input on the change of use in this situation, we felt it was important to inform the neighborhood and offer our community an opportunity to provide feedback."
There is an upcoming community meeting set to address this mental health transitional living home on April 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Northglenn Recreation Center. Elected officials, City staff and staff from the Colorado Department of Human Services are expected to be in attendance to answer residents' questions.
Following CBS Colorado's report on Northglenn's mental health transitional living homes on Monday, the city of Northglenn shared an email sent by the Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health on January 16, 2024, which initially indicated the state's plan to house sex offenders at the site:
The email reads in part, "We have two homes opening in Northglenn in the near future and I wanted to introduce myself and hopefully connect with someone at the police department. We will be housing registered sex offenders and I wanted to gather some information on who the best contact person is at the PD for these inquiries in addition to creating a partnership with the PD in regards to these homes."
A spokesperson for the city of Northglenn says they contacted the State several times to discuss the implications of this location and says the State did not address specific questions until a meeting with city officials on February 27.
