DENVER — Denver is expected to stay below freezing three days in a row this week, prompting the city and several homeless shelters to work together on providing shelter to those who need it.
"It's incredibly dangerous being on the streets without appropriate shelter,” said Salvation Army, Denver Metro Social Services Director Kristen Baluyot.
The brutal weather will provide a cold punch that could also be a danger to people on the streets.
"It can result in hypothermia or death for folks so we take this very seriously,” she said.
The population of those without housing in the metro area continues to increase. So these shelters are tasked with expanding to create more space.
"What we are doing at Crossroad which is our men's shelter. We have expanded our capacity significantly. Normally our capacity is about 300 men overnight. We have an additional 80 beds or mattresses that are available,” Baluyot said.
Three hundred eighty men have access to a bed. But they can fit 540.
"Those additional men will not have a bed to sleep on, but they will at least be in a place that is warm, we have blankets, and food, and all of the things that they need to at least be more comfortable during the next few days,” Baluyot said.
Along with the Salvation Army, The Denver Rescue Mission and Catholic Charities have additional beds.
"Every night from crossroads we are busing participants to the Denver Rescue Mission because they have additional shelter space once we're maxed out or if people don't want to sleep on the floor,” Baluyot said.
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has a street outreach team picking people up to take them to shelters. It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort to help a vulnerable population in the bitter cold.
The Salvation Army says Denver Police and STAR will also be patrolling the streets to ensure everyone is somewhere safe.
Here’s a list of Denver shelters with expanded bed capacity:
- Salvation Army – 1901 29th St.
- Denver Rescue Mission – 6100 Smith Rd.
- Catholic Charities – 6240 Smith Rd.
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