Outline:
A New Approach to Helping the Homeless in Denver
Denver is taking a new approach to support its homeless community with the introduction of a specialized team working on the streets. This initiative comes as a result of a $3 million contract approved by the City Council for community ambassador services, and a separate $30 million contract to operate the Aspen shelter. The organization behind this effort is Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that has already implemented similar programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Birmingham.
The team, known as the Compassionate Ambassadors Doing Respectful Engagements (CARE) program, consists of individuals who have experienced homelessness or incarceration themselves. This unique background allows them to connect more effectively with those they serve.
Mike Johnson, the director of the CARE team and an Urban Alchemy practitioner, shares his own story of overcoming adversity. “I was homeless on the streets here in downtown Denver and made a few mistakes and ended up going to Colorado Correctional Facility in 2019,” he recalls. After three years in prison, Johnson was determined to change his life and avoid being labeled solely as an ex-con.
“When Denver contracted with Urban Alchemy for community ambassador services, I was drawn to the San Francisco-based nonprofit, which employs returning citizens to transform urban communities,” Johnson explains. “I knew I had to be a part of that organization.”
Now leading the CARE program, which launched in Denver on January 1, Johnson oversees a team of 10 full-time employees, all locals with lived experience. “Whether it’s previously incarcerated or being out on the streets ourselves, it’s just a unique group of individuals with great talents and a heart to serve our community,” he says.
The CARE team responds to 311 calls for people in crisis and connects them with essential services. “We have a lot of different referrals that we can do to All-In Mile High sites for transitional living. And we have sober living, detoxes, mental health services from different areas in the city that we can connect somebody to, whatever service we’re looking for,” Johnson explains. “So we can come out, respond to that, to free our police and fire up for bigger and better calls.”
In just the first two weeks in Denver, the CARE team has placed nine people in transitional housing, three in detox, and a single mom and her two kids in a family shelter.
The team operates seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. When not responding to calls, they focus on cleaning up priority areas in the city. “You’re going to see us cleaning and picking up and cleaning up needles,” Johnson says. “So anywhere we go, we want to make it prettier and beautify it, and make it better than it was when we got there.”
In addition to their cleanup efforts, the team builds relationships with the homeless community. “The connection that we already have when we approach our friends experiencing homelessness, with the lived experience and the connection that they have, almost gives us an immediate in,” Johnson explains.
This initiative offers a second chance for both the team members and the individuals they assist. “To see them light up, to see them come in and apply for positions and go through interviews and go through trainings and just get that sense of belonging, it’s priceless to see,” Johnson says.