DENVER — An uptick in homeless individuals has business owners and neighbors questioning what's happening on South Broadway in Denver.
People in the area told Denver7 businesses are fed up, and some are even closing down.
The mayor's office has previously told Denver7 homegrown businesses are a top priority for Mayor Mike Johnston. However Vivi Gloriod, a Colorado real estate agent, seems to think the recent bus drop offs of unhoused individuals contradicts that.
"Broadway is my favorite street in the whole state of Colorado. I absolutely love Broadway. I love the restaurants, I love the bars, I love the music scene. It's just a really fun, fun street. It is, unfortunately, over the past few years, gotten not as fun. We have become the dumping ground," Gloriod said.
Denver7 took those concerns to the city who said Denver leaders recently closed down warming shelters and offered free bus passes to homeless individuals to go to different places in the city that offer services.
"Outreach workers and city employees also spent the last several weeks working to connect individuals in shelter with longer-term support. Around a dozen people opted to access services at the location you mention and city employees doubled back on Monday to ensure their transition was smooth and that there are no barriers to accessing resources. We will continue this process if needed," Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, said.
The location being talked about is the Ross Broadway Branch Library, and right next to it is an alleyway that serves as a back entrance to homes like Caroline Garcia's.
"I think my immediate concern is that our small library is not a shelter, and it's, it's a it's a place where our community, including children and, you know, other vulnerable parts of our community, go to get resources," Garcia said.
She's heartbroken by some of the things her daughter has had to see like the open use of drugs, makeshift weapons, their trash sprayed across the parking lot and their car got keyed.
Garcia said her daughter now makes sure she remembers to set the alarm as part of her bedtime routine.
"It's pretty dismaying sometimes that we have really rallied and been very open and transparent about what it is that we need, the support that we need, and still maintaining a very clear agenda of of sympathy," Garcia said. "We really are empathetic people, and we want help, but we also want to feel safe. So I don't understand where the disconnect is."
Across the alleyway at Gloriod's business, it's the same. Gloriod's property insurance has doubled, vandalism is a constant and someone stole thousands of dollars of eyeglasses from her husband's neighboring optical store.
"I know Mike [Johnston]. Mike's been in my house for dinner, and I would tell Mike that he has not cleaned up our streets. It has not gotten better, and we need to do better," Gloriod said.
The city said, in part, that behavior like this won't be tolerated and reducing nonviolent crime this year is on of their main goals.
"We’ll always do everything in our power to ensure businesses don’t encounter undue burdens and that people experiencing homelessness receive support," Ewing said.
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