"The cops are on their way," Lash told the hooligans, moments after exiting his rusty Chevy Suburban and being told to "get out of here" by the group.
"'For what?'" the vandals fired back.
"You're trespassing on private property and you're damaging property," Lash replied.
The 34-year-old Lash could not have made the same call before he started staying at a SafeLot — private parking lots where people who are living in their vehicles can stay overnight without the threat of being kicked out or bothered.
The 34-year-old Lash could not have made the same call before he started staying at a SafeLot — private parking lots where people who are living in their vehicles can stay overnight without the threat of being kicked out or bothered.
Because the safe parking areas are sanctioned and on private property, those staying there have the same right to police protection as people who are housed — so they can spend their days working or looking for jobs instead of worrying about where they're going to sleep or about being harassed or moved along.
The SafeLots are coordinated and managed by the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative (CSPI) and located on the private property of third-party hosts that agree to let their parking lots be used by the nonprofit. People hoping to stay at a CSPI SafeLot must go through a screening process and background check; then the host of the SafeLot they hope to use must sign off.
Safe parking areas, along with similar initiatives like safe outdoor spaces, were temporarily approved as an unlisted but authorized land use in Denver's zoning code at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. As Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech explained at a council meeting on June 5, "Our zoning code allows the zoning administrator to authorize uses that are not otherwise contemplated by our zoning code."
That authorization was set to expire in December 2023. But at the June 5 meeting, councilmembers voted 12 to 1 to codify the temporary use in the city's permanent zoning code. Essentially, council voted to allow safe parking areas and sanctioned encampments to continue past December.
Building on that, council may now vote to add two more safe parking areas in the city in addition to the two that already exist: at the First Baptist Church of Denver, in Capitol Hill, and the First Universalist Church of Denver, on East Hampden Avenue.
On June 7, city council's Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee voted to advance Resolution 23-0723 to a final vote in front of the full body. If passed at a council meeting on June 20, the resolution will increase the budget of the city's contract with CSPI from $150,000 to $750,000. Including the two lots in Denver, CSPI currently operates thirteen SafeLots throughout metro Denver. Still, executive director Terrell Curtis says, "We can only accommodate 20 percent of the people who call us at any given time."
Lash first stayed at a SafeLot at the Restoration Christian Fellowship Church in Aurora. A few months ago, he says, the woman running that lot recommended him to be a lot operator. He got the job and moved over to the SafeLot at First Baptist Church of Denver a few months ago. In addition to having a spot to stay for the night, Lash is paid to keep an eye on things at the SafeLot and keep the area — and porta-potty — in good shape.
Lash says he once made six figures building custom homes in Grand Lake — until an accident with a drill left him with radial neuropathy. As a result, he's unable to lift or hold more than ten pounds without his arm going numb.
Testifying at the June 5 city council meeting, Lash said it took his workers' compensation insurance "three months to get me money." Because of that, he says, he was evicted from his $500-a-month apartment. Now he's waiting for his insurance to approve a second surgery for his arm so he can get back to work at a job he has lined up to remodel a unit at an HOA in town.
In the meantime, CSPI "is a godsend," he says.
"If this [SafeLot] wasn't here, I don't know where I'd be," he told councilmembers, noting how the people he's met at the SafeLot are "good people that really just need an opportunity."
Derek Woodbury, communications director for the Denver Department of Housing Stability — which presented the proposal to amend the city's contract with CSPI and increase the budget on June 7 — says places like SafeLots are intended to get people on the right path.
"Shelter alternatives like safe parking are incredibly important to ensuring that episodes of homelessness are rare, brief and one-time occurrences," he tells Westword. "We have seen roughly one-third of guests at Denver’s existing two safe parking sites exit to permanent housing. Through this proposed contract amendment, we’re looking forward to doubling the number of safe parking sites in Denver and extending the contract term from one to 3.5 years, which will greatly support our department’s goal of reducing unsheltered homelessness by 50 percent over five years."
The SafeLots are coordinated and managed by the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative (CSPI) and located on the private property of third-party hosts that agree to let their parking lots be used by the nonprofit. People hoping to stay at a CSPI SafeLot must go through a screening process and background check; then the host of the SafeLot they hope to use must sign off.
Safe parking areas, along with similar initiatives like safe outdoor spaces, were temporarily approved as an unlisted but authorized land use in Denver's zoning code at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. As Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech explained at a council meeting on June 5, "Our zoning code allows the zoning administrator to authorize uses that are not otherwise contemplated by our zoning code."
That authorization was set to expire in December 2023. But at the June 5 meeting, councilmembers voted 12 to 1 to codify the temporary use in the city's permanent zoning code. Essentially, council voted to allow safe parking areas and sanctioned encampments to continue past December.
Building on that, council may now vote to add two more safe parking areas in the city in addition to the two that already exist: at the First Baptist Church of Denver, in Capitol Hill, and the First Universalist Church of Denver, on East Hampden Avenue.
On June 7, city council's Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee voted to advance Resolution 23-0723 to a final vote in front of the full body. If passed at a council meeting on June 20, the resolution will increase the budget of the city's contract with CSPI from $150,000 to $750,000. Including the two lots in Denver, CSPI currently operates thirteen SafeLots throughout metro Denver. Still, executive director Terrell Curtis says, "We can only accommodate 20 percent of the people who call us at any given time."
Lash first stayed at a SafeLot at the Restoration Christian Fellowship Church in Aurora. A few months ago, he says, the woman running that lot recommended him to be a lot operator. He got the job and moved over to the SafeLot at First Baptist Church of Denver a few months ago. In addition to having a spot to stay for the night, Lash is paid to keep an eye on things at the SafeLot and keep the area — and porta-potty — in good shape.
Lash says he once made six figures building custom homes in Grand Lake — until an accident with a drill left him with radial neuropathy. As a result, he's unable to lift or hold more than ten pounds without his arm going numb.
Testifying at the June 5 city council meeting, Lash said it took his workers' compensation insurance "three months to get me money." Because of that, he says, he was evicted from his $500-a-month apartment. Now he's waiting for his insurance to approve a second surgery for his arm so he can get back to work at a job he has lined up to remodel a unit at an HOA in town.
In the meantime, CSPI "is a godsend," he says.
"If this [SafeLot] wasn't here, I don't know where I'd be," he told councilmembers, noting how the people he's met at the SafeLot are "good people that really just need an opportunity."
Derek Woodbury, communications director for the Denver Department of Housing Stability — which presented the proposal to amend the city's contract with CSPI and increase the budget on June 7 — says places like SafeLots are intended to get people on the right path.
"Shelter alternatives like safe parking are incredibly important to ensuring that episodes of homelessness are rare, brief and one-time occurrences," he tells Westword. "We have seen roughly one-third of guests at Denver’s existing two safe parking sites exit to permanent housing. Through this proposed contract amendment, we’re looking forward to doubling the number of safe parking sites in Denver and extending the contract term from one to 3.5 years, which will greatly support our department’s goal of reducing unsheltered homelessness by 50 percent over five years."
Director Curtis says that if the resolution goes through, the budget increase will allow CSPI to open two new SafeLots in Denver that will accommodate at least forty more people.
Denverites who live in their cars make up a growing and often "hidden" population of homeless individuals, many of whom are still working, Curtis notes. "Most of the people that come to us are homeless for the first time," she says. "Forty percent of the people who come to us are already employed."
Many residents who fall into homelessness are in situations that prevent them from going to a shelter, she adds: "The people we're serving aren't always able to go to shelters. Sometimes they have pets; sometimes they are hetero sexual couples." According to Curtis, Denver shelters don't accommodate man/woman pairings.
Often, the simple act of "going into a shelter...compounds the stigma and shame they are feeling," which causes individuals to stay away, she says.
"Communities are beginning to recognize that what we've been doing for the past few years isn't working," Curtis says, but now "the city has really stepped up, especially in these years since COVID."
She cites the example of a retired woman who was living on a fixed income — "she's eighty; she was a college professor and a writer" — and became homeless when the building she was living in was sold, causing her rent to go up to an amount she could no longer afford. The woman decided to dedicate her income to her last asset — her car — and began living at a CSPI-managed SafeLot.
"We supported her with case-management services until she could get an apartment," Curtis remembers, adding that the woman managed to find permanent housing last fall.
Kenton Kuhn, the property chair of the church that hosts Lash's SafeLot, says he's enjoyed being able to help people get back on their feet. "Overall, it's been a very positive experience for us," he adds.
Kuhn says that they've had as many as twelve people staying at their SafeLot, though right now they're at eight. The church plans to host the safe parking area until it begins construction on the apartment high-rise members hope to eventually build in the parking lot.
Curtis says that CSPI has not yet determined where the two new SafeLot locations will be if their budget increase is approved — but the future is bright.
"There are a couple places around Denver that have potential," she says.
To learn more about CSPI or apply to stay in a SafeLot, visit the CSPI website.
Kuhn says that they've had as many as twelve people staying at their SafeLot, though right now they're at eight. The church plans to host the safe parking area until it begins construction on the apartment high-rise members hope to eventually build in the parking lot.
Curtis says that CSPI has not yet determined where the two new SafeLot locations will be if their budget increase is approved — but the future is bright.
"There are a couple places around Denver that have potential," she says.
To learn more about CSPI or apply to stay in a SafeLot, visit the CSPI website.
