DENVER — The City of Denver is committing that every single migrant living at a massive encampment off Speer Boulevard and Zuni Street will be given housing when police close the camp next week.
Denver is opening a new shelter and working with landlords to get migrants into apartments. In addition, the city will buy bus tickets for people wanting to continue onward to a new city.
Mayor Mike Johnston told 9NEWS on Wednesday the city is moving to close the encampment because it has grown too big, the weather is getting dangerously cold, and Denver believes it has the resources to house migrants and get them off the street.
On Wednesday, Denver police officers handed out flyers written in Spanish to hundreds of people living at the camp. They said that the camp would be decommissioned on Jan. 3.
"We’re here because we’ve completed the 14 days in a hotel," said 23-year-old Douglianes, a migrant living at the camp. "Do you think we all want to live here? No. We’re here because we don’t have work."
Next week, the City of Denver will move to clear the encampment that’s grown to hundreds of people along several blocks. Nearly all of them are migrants from Venezuela who are no longer eligible for shelter. Douglianes knows she’s at the mercy of whatever she’s told to do.
"We don’t have rights here," Douglianes said. "We came here because we want to work and help our family. In reality, we don’t have rights here. If someone were to protest to stop them from moving us from here… it’s difficult because it’s us versus them. How do you do anything if you’re not from here?"
It’s freezing. It’s loud. It’s uncomfortable. But after she was kicked out of the shelter system when her allotted time expired, she’s grateful to have anywhere to call home.
"This is like our home. I feel like it’s my home," Douglianes said. "At least you know where you will come to sleep."
Denver is paying the down payment, fees, and first month’s rent for migrants who want to move into an apartment. Johnston says the city has found success in moving migrants into apartments, because landlords are more willing to rent to them than the homeless population. So far, the mayor says more than 100 migrants from this camp have already submitted rental applications.
Johnston says Denver is on the verge of completely maxing out on every single hotel property that’s available in the city. Soon, new arrivals will have no space in hotel shelters and Denver will not be able to provide for them. At this point, we don’t know what happens when we reach that level.
"I want to sleep in a bed," Douglianes said. "That would be so much better."
The nights are cold as the wind blows hard through the growing number of tents. Soon, there’s hope they will be somewhere warm.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Next with Kyle Clark