Mayor Johnston's Homelessness Initiative

Mayor Johnston discussing the mission to bring 1000 unsheltered persons indoors.

Mayor Johnston sitting on the floor surrounded by advisors, discussing the mission to house 1000 unsheltered persons

Mayor Johnston at the D9 homelessness town hall August 1

Mayor Johnston stands on a stage in front of a crowd. Three banners behind him show images of Black people and say

Mayor Johnston and residents at a homelessness town hall

a large crowd of people in a rec center hall watch Mayor Johnston speak

Denver is a prosperous and beautiful city in the richest country in the world, but thousands of our residents experience homelessness daily. According to the new 2023 Point in Time count, more than 1,400 of those residents were unsheltered and living outdoors without access to the basic housing and services we all need to thrive. This problem has expanded dramatically since 2019.

The Denver Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center activated July 24, to bring together a coordinated citywide response to the homelessness crisis affecting many Denverites. The goal is to house 1,000 unsheltered individuals and permanently close encampments by the end of 2023.

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Our Approach

Mayor Mike Johnston's administration is working to deliver a safe, affordable, and vibrant Denver for every single resident. These pillars represent the four major initiatives that will build on each other to make Denver a leader on affordable housing, public safety, and economic opportunity

A yellow arrow with four colored boxes; the first purple box says encampment resolution to address homelessness, the second is blue and says affordable housing solutions, the third is red and says increased public safety, the fourth is dark blue and says revitalization of downtown.

On the first day of our administration, we set a historic and unprecedented operation in motion that demonstrates the urgency, compassion, and leadership we will bring to tackle this problem. The plan includes the following priorities:

  1. Deploy an Encampment Resolution Program
  2. Leverage Existing Housing Resources
  3. Expedite Hotel Pipeline to Bring More Options Online Quickly
  4. Scale Micro-Communities Across Denver
  5. Utilize Congregate Shelter as Needed and Support Sheltering System

Community Call to Action Opportunities

We are asking you to help us expedite the pipeline of supportive housing and shelter by partnering with the City to lease or sell parcels of land to support the addition of new micro-communities. Learn more below:

Learn How To Lease or Sell Land(PDF, 135KB)

Emergency Declaration

State Of Emergency Declaration(PDF, 638KB)

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