Alarm sounded for homeless

Coalition declaring state of emergency as numbers swell

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 17, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Preston Gannaway / The Rocky

Homeless men huddle inside a bus outside the Denver Rescue Mission before being taken to an emergency shelter Tuesday. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will cite the floundering economy today in declaring a state of emergency for the homeless.

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A local advocacy group will declare a state of emergency for the homeless in Colorado today - the first time it has ever felt compelled to do so.

The culprit, the group says, is the struggling economy.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will release data showing a large increase in homeless within the state - including a 16 percent increase in patient visits at the Stout Street Clinic. Coalition spokeswoman B.J. Iacino said the clinic served 12,000 people.

"Our president has been working on homelessness for 23 years and said, for the first time, we're facing significant risk of death on our streets due to lack of affordability of housing," Iacino said. "We think things will get worse before they get better."

Iacino said shelters are being swamped with first-time homeless and that 60 percent of the homeless are families with children.

She said the pressures began to squeeze those at the margins about a year ago, but the problem has accelerated in the past six months.

Colorado's jobless rate is at 5.7 percent - the highest level in four years. In October 2007, the state's jobless rate was 3.9 percent.

Foreclosures in November, while down 17 percent from November 2007, are still presenting a problem for those who work with the homeless and there are fears the drop could be a temporary lull, according to recent comments made by James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

Mayor John Hickenlooper, who enacted a 10-year plan to end homelessness in Denver three years ago, said last week that the current economic crisis poses significant challenges to the problem - though he cited the fact that the city has added more than 1,200 housing units and given eviction notice assistance to almost 1,000 families since 2005.

Iacino said it will take a massive effort to combat the homeless problem as the state enters the new year and she said she is concerned about cuts as state and local government tackle their budgets.

"We shouldn't make cuts on the backs of those who can least afford it," she said. "We hope to make some recommendations for city, state and federal policy makers."

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