DENVER — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's All In Mile High homelessness initiative surpassed its goal of sheltering another 1,000 people this year.
According to the city's dashboard, 2,169 people experiencing homelessness have moved indoors since the launch of the initiative. Of those, 37% (804 people) have been placed in permanent housing.
Johnston's administration is now looking ahead to 2025 intending to bring at least 1,000 more people into permanent housing.
"The goal is really to end street homelessness in Denver. That's what this has always been about from the very beginning," said Cole Chandler, deputy director for All In Mile High.
Chandler said all of the pieces are in place to reach the city's permanent housing goal. But advocates like Amy Beck of Together Denver are still critical of the city's plan for the future.
"What we've noticed collectively in mutual aid is that there are a lot more people that are on the outskirts of downtown now," Beck said.
She said people are simply moving further away to avoid tent sweeps. Denver7 took that concern to Mayor Johnston's team.
"We've seen some folks that are maybe on the outskirts, but they're more in groups of ones and twos here and there," said Chandler.
Beck doesn't see it that way. She wants more to be done, not just to bring people inside but also to keep them off the streets for good.
"My friends that have gone indoors are grateful to be indoors, but that's not the end of their journey. Their journey ends when they actually get into permanent housing," said Beck.
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