Frequently Asked Questions
Overview
On July 18, 2023, Mayor Johnston declared a State of Emergency with a goal to bring 1,000 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness indoors by the end of 2023.
Since then, Mayor Johnston and his administration have brought more than 2,500 people indoors, including veterans, closed 18 of the largest encampments in Denver and more than 350 blocks of downtown have been permanently closed to camping.
In 2025, the work will continue as outreach teams work to identify additional encampments and bring 2,000 additional people indoors and support another 2,000 find permanent housing through this initiative.
Micro-Communities and Hotels
What are the transitional housing options?
Housing is one of the most important solutions to addressing homelessness. When people are offered housing combined with supportive services, 77% stay housed after three years (source: Denver SIB).
AIMH prioritizes three main types of interim housing/shelter options:
- Existing rental properties made available through vouchers or rapid rehousing
- Hotels that are acquired and converted into transitional housing units
- Micro-communities such as tiny home villages. Micro-communities are land parcels about a half-acre or more in size. Each resident will have a private unit with a bed and desk where they can rest and store their belongings. In addition, each micro-community will have community spaces which include restrooms, showers, a kitchen, and gathering spaces.
Sites were vetted based on the following criteria:
- Proximity to transit
- Access to utilities
- Meets basic zoning and permitting criteria
- Meets basic environmental criteria
- Distance from schools
- Equitable distribution across the city
How many people are housed in each site?
The number of people at each site depends on various factors including site size, criteria for residents at each location, staff availability and units available. Some hotels may hold up to 400 people, while some micro-communities can have approximately 40-120 residents.
Yes. Most cats and dogs are allowed. However, guidelines may vary by location, as policy is set by the service provider.
How long do you expect people to live in these units?
A person will typically reside in a unit until they become eligible through individualized case management for permanent housing. The typical length of stay for an individual is 6 – 12 months, but some individuals may reside in a micro-community or converted hotel for shorter or longer durations than that.
The goal is to help provide a pathway to a new chapter. This starts by bringing people indoors and providing services that will support them on their way to permanent housing.
Are there any sobriety requirements?
Sobriety is not required, but services are provided on site for individuals suffering from behavioral health and substance use challenges.
What does security look like at All In communities?
Communities are each staffed 24/7. Different locations require different security measures, ranging from cameras to security staff, and all have only point of exit and entry. Guests are expected to follow all laws and community rules at each site.
What is the process for a person experiencing homelessness to get selected and placed into new housing? Are there restrictions or qualifications?
Outreach teams work with individuals living in on the streets to identify their needs and match them with the appropriate resource available to their needs and affinity group. Those teams continue to engage with those individuals and provide services that will set them up for success until move-in day, when city staff help individuals move into an AIMH community. On move-in day, individuals complete an intake process that includes an orientation and overview of community rules and expectations.
Through the All in Mile High initiative, more than 3,000 people, including veterans, have been moved indoors.
Support Services
What types of support services does the City and County of Denver offer to persons experiencing homelessness?
Denver's model prioritizes on-site wrap-around services such as mental and physical health care, peer navigation, workforce training, behavioral health and substance use support, and more. These services are available to every resident on site.
Through Roads to Recovery, a mayoral initiative under the All in Mile High citywide goal, we will support individuals who are not in AIMH sites and are dealing with mental health and substance use disorders. Teams divert individuals from the criminal justice system into a city-coordinated network of intervention, treatment and rehabilitation services.
Who are the services providers?
The City and County of Denver sourced and selected service providers through a Request for Proposals (RFP).
Currently, the city has service agreements with the Salvation Army, Bayaud Enterprises, the Gathering Place, St. Francis Center, Colorado Village Collaborative and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
Any additional service provider agreements will need to go through City Council approval and will be public.
How many unhoused community members have unmet mental health and substance misuse needs?
Through Roads to Recovery, a mayoral initiative under the All in Mile High citywide goal, the city in partnership with a provider network supports individuals who are not in AIMH sites and are dealing with mental health and substance use disorders. Teams divert individuals from the criminal justice system into a city-coordinated network of intervention, treatment and rehabilitation services.
Encampments
What should I do if I see an encampment?
To report an encampment in the City and County of Denver, we encourage you to text "Encampment" to HEY311 from your phone. Alternatively, you can go to denvergov.org/report or call 311
What makes this process different from the “sweeps” we saw before?
A sweep breaks up encampments by removing its residents from one area, only for them to move to another location on the street and without a plan.
Our encampment resolution efforts aim to get people inside and connected to services, improving their health and safety, while permanently closing encampments. The City and County of Denver will continue to enforce the urban camping ban. This means encampments have to be cleared when they pose significant public health and safety risks, right-of-way violations or trespassing.
We know people are safer living indoors than on the streets. Denver will continue to prioritize the health and safety of individuals living in encampments, as well as the surrounding neighbors.
Once encampment residents are housed in temporary or permanent shelter, what is the Mayor’s plan to ensure those camps remain closed, and are not repopulated?
Denver is working closely with local businesses and the Department of Safety to ensure encampments remain closed. This means Denver will not allow structures like tents in these areas. Through active communication with community members and patrol, the city intends to keep these areas clear of encampments moving forward.
The Clean and Safe Downtown initiative is another tool that uses community collaboration to keep our city safe and vibrant. We want Denver to be the best place in the country to live, work and play. People can report concerns like camping with the Clean and Safe app.
And as always, to report an encampment in the City and County of Denver, we encourage you to text "Encampment" to HEY311 from your phone. Alternatively, you can go to denvergov.org/report or call 311
Homelessness
How many people are experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Denver?
At the time Mayor Johnston took office, there were approximately 5,818 people experiencing homelessness in Denver. Of the total number of people experiencing homelessness, 1,423 were living unsheltered, a number that had nearly tripled since 2019. Since July 2023, our efforts have brought more than 2,500 people out of street homelessness, created hundreds of jobs, established 8 new interim housing sites, reduced crime and restored vibrancy to our historic downtown.
In 2024, the Point In Time Count revealed an 11% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, including an 83% reduction in unsheltered homelessness for families. The Metro Denver Homelessness Initiative will release the 2025 numbers later this spring.
What is the Mayor’s plan for those who do not want to move into emergency, transitional, or permanent housing, and would prefer to stay on the street?
The vast majority of people offered this type of housing have accepted it. However, some people remain outside and Denver Police continue to enforce federal, state and local laws in order to promote health and safety across our city on a daily basis.
Through Roads to Recovery, a mayoral initiative under the All in Mile High citywide goal, we will support individuals who are not in AIMH sites and are dealing with mental health and substance use disorders. Teams divert individuals from the criminal justice system into a city-coordinated network of intervention, treatment and rehabilitation services.
Funding
What is the budget for the Mayor’s homelessness strategy?
In 2024, All in Mile High leveraged one‐time federal ARPA funding to invest in the infrastructure needed to address street homelessness compassionately and effectively for years to come. With this infrastructure now established, in 2025, the costs for All in Mile High were only $57.5 million, one of the lowest carrying costs for homelessness resolution in the country.
Will the sites have an impact on my taxes?
No. Current city resources and support from the business community, foundations, philanthropic organizations, the state and private citizens will be leveraged to support this initiative.
Affordable Housing
How is the Mayor planning to create a larger supply of affordable housing?
Every working family deserves the opportunity to live and grow in Denver. That is why affordable housing is a part of the Mayor’s longer term strategy in addressing homelessness and making Denver both a great and good city.
Our commitment is to ensure that all Denverites can continue to call this city home and have set a citywide goal to create 3,000 affordable units and develop innovative solutions to close the affordability gap.