Denver Opens Coliseum as Warming Center for Homeless

Facing sub-zero temperatures, the City of Denver opened the Denver Coliseum at 3 p.m. yesterday, December 21, as a 24/7 warming center for the next few days.

"This facility will be available to anyone who needs it," Mayor Michael Hancock said during a press conference in the city's Emergency Operations Center. "Everyone is welcome."

The opening of the Coliseum as a temporary warming facility, with capacity for 225 guests, comes as Denver struggles to manage both the Arctic weather and the continuing large number of migrant arrivals. Hancock issued an emergency declaration about the migrant crisis on December 15.

"There will come a time, I hope, where people will understand where just like in anything, we have finite resources, and we have to make a call about the resources that we have available to us," Hancock said, noting that he's been in touch with other mayors from across the country; and that cities like Chicago, New York and Minneapolis are going through a similar struggle with the arrival of migrants. New York has seen nearly 32,000 migrants during this recent increase, a figure that might become exacerbated by the looming end of Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that has allowed U.S. immigration authorities to have more power to deny entry to migrants.

As of December 21, 1,321 migrants, most of whom are Spanish-speaking, including some from Venezuela, had arrived in Denver after coming up from border states like Texas.

Even prior to the sub-zero weather, which the National Weather Service warned could reach a wind chill of 50 below zero, the Hancock administration had transformed two Denver recreation centers into emergency shelters for migrants and a third recreation center into a reception center as a first stop for those arriving by bus at Union Station. Denver also applied for $1.5 million of reimbursement from the State of Colorado, which is now offering money to municipalities and counties that are dealing with the increased arrival of migrants.

"We anticipate applying for additional federal reimbursement in the coming weeks," said Hancock, who noted that he's had conversations with the White House about this recent migrant crisis.

Buses will pick up individuals who are interested in staying at the Coliseum from outside the Denver Rescue Mission at 2222 Lawrence Street. People walking up to the Coliseum and those getting dropped off will also be allowed in.

One important note is that the city will only allow registered service animals into the shelter, but not pets. Those with pets who come to the shelter will be able to hand their animals off to a Denver Animal Protection Officer at the Coliseum; the pets will be temporarily housed in the Denver Animal Shelter.

The city plans to keep the Coliseum open as a shelter through at least Saturday morning.

"Then we'll see how the weather pattern changes or evolves," said Britta Fisher, the executive director of the Department of Housing Stability.

Denver recreation centers and libraries will also open as warming centers during regular operating hours.

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness have questioned whether the City of Denver will sweep encampments during the dangerous weather. According to the Joint Information Center, the crisis communications center that the city reopened as the migrant arrivals started to overwhelm the city: "We will be watching the weather carefully and adjust as needed. All cleanup activities on Thursday have been delayed. Depending on conditions, trash pickup may resume on Friday, but individuals experiencing homelessness will not be asked to move by cleanup crews. All teams involved will be notifying individuals in these encampments of the incoming cold and offering to connect them to shelter."

According to Fisher, three dozen city staffers are working extended hours, until 9 p.m. each day,  to help get people staying on the streets inside, as the Arctic weather descends upon Denver on the "shortest day of the year and longest night of the year." If the Coliseum hits capacity, Fisher noted that the city and its partners "have plans to overflow to an additional location."

The sub-zero temperatures in Denver came at a solemn time for homeless individuals and advocates, who held a vigil outside the City and County Building from 5 to 7 p.m. on December 21 for the more than 260 people experiencing homelessness who died in Denver over the past year. Some of those people died from exposure to the elements.

"It's a reminder of how important our efforts are to encourage everyone to come inside," Fisher said.

Denver is still seeking help in sheltering the recently arrived migrants. The city is hiring short-term shelter assistants;  more information about those opportunities can be found here.

And the people of Denver have been generous so far, according to Hancock. "Donations of all kinds have been pouring in. It has absolutely been an incredible thing to watch," he said.

Information about where to make donations can be found here.