An advocacy group in Denver, Housekeys Action Network, is calling for the entire budget of the Department of Public Safety’s Street Engagement Team (SET) to be reallocated. The group accuses SET of merely moving homeless individuals along without connecting them to services. Councilmember Sarah Parady also supports moving the budget to the Department of Housing Stability. Ana Miller, a formerly homeless individual, criticized SET for not offering enough resources to those they encounter.
Despite efforts by Mayor Johnston to address homelessness, the population of unhoused individuals in Denver only decreased by 150, while the overall population of homeless people increased by 721. Johnston attributes this increase to rising home prices. Additionally, the Denver Basic Income Project, a program that has shown promising results in helping the homeless population, did not receive funding in the proposed budget.
The Denver Basic Income Project offers participants varying amounts of money over a year, and a majority of those who participated found housing through the program. The Mayor’s administration decided to not fund the project for 2025 due to what they described as “limited results” in the first year. Denver City Council has until Nov. 4 to make any budget amendments, with a final review scheduled for Nov. 12. Despite the proposed slightly increased budget of $1.76 billion, there are ongoing debates regarding fund allocation for homeless services and programs like the Denver Basic Income Project.
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