The real reason for the growing homeless population in Denver and the front range. (Aurora: transplants, real estate)

[Indigo Cardinal]

Something to consider is also 'hidden costs'--you might get an apartment in Aurora for cheaper than downtown Denver, but what are you paying in transportation fees to get to your job? Two friends of mine (married couple) had actually thought that one out when looking for a place--the apartment in Denver itself was more expensive, but it was within walking distance of both their jobs. So they were able to keep their one (somewhat older car) and leave it in the garage most of the time until they needed to go somewhere (usually a friend's house) that lightrail/bus/walking didn't cover. And I could see transportation being a *major* factor for those in lower-paying jobs. For example, a janitor who cleans the Wells Fargo building downtown might not be able to afford to live there, so he has to work out where to live plus how much will it cost him to get to work. Can he afford to keep a cheap car running reliably enough to make it downtown? Parking? Or if he does lightrail/bus, how much will that run him from where he lives, and is the transportation schedule compatible with his work hours (since a lot of cleaning services work after-hours).

Somewhat tangent to this--I did have a friend, who in the worst part of the recession, was offering a mid-shift job clear all the way across town. She couldn't take it because her car had broken down, and being unemployed meant she didn't have the money to fix it. She looked into the bus schedule, and the last bus to serve that area left 11 p.m., and her shift wouldn't have been ending until 1 a.m. So she'd either have to wait until 6 a.m. for the morning bus and wouldn't get home until 8 a.m. (not an option as her partner had to leave for their job at 4 a.m. in the morning, and they had three girls under the age of 10 at the time), or hope whomever she worked for would let her leave at 11 p.m. instead. Needless to say....leaving at 11 p.m. wasn't an option.

What amenities are included in the rent, and what's not? (It's almost standard across the board what is and isn't nowadays.) What will your energy bill cost in Denver vs. what would it cost in Aurora? If you need child care, how much more will you be paying to have somebody watch your child while you commute back and forth, vs. being able to go 'round the corner and pick them up? Is child care even an option the hours you might need to work (see my friend's example above.)

I don't know if situations like this are a major factor in the homelessness issue, but if the rents are too high in an area, people who work lower-paying jobs in that area may be caught in a vicious cycle of "can't afford to live there, can't afford to go to work".

[SkyDog77]

Is this really the "real reason"? Do you have studies to back you up? If not it's just another opinion on the internet.

[Timmyy]

This is quite old but I am willing to bet it is still happening.

Article Published: Monday, December 22, 2003
Minnesota homeless' bus tickets irk mayor
Scores have taken free, one-way ride to Colo.

By Deborah Sherman
9News


While Denver's new Commission on Homelessness struggles to find
shelter for what it calls a record number of people living on cold
city streets, another state is trying to solve its problem, in part,
by busing its homeless here.

Over the past four years, two counties in Minnesota have given free,
one-way bus tickets to some 4,500 homeless people. At least 63 of
those people have taken a Greyhound to Colorado.

Mayor John Hickenlooper said Minnesota is playing a kind of shell
game. "Who's got the homeless person?" Hickenlooper said. "It's
crazy."

Hickenlooper and his commission members learned about the Minnesota
program, called "A Bus Ticket Forward," from 9News.

Commission chairwoman Roxane White said the group will investigate.



"Denver never has and never would use such a program," White said.
"Homeless people are part of our community. We should be embracing
them and finding them a home and providing for the stranger in our
midst, not sending them away."

Ramsey and Hennepin counties in Minnesota estimated they've spent more
than $370,000 in the past four years providing free bus tickets to the
homeless.

"That is more money than we need to keep a shelter open for the next
four months," White said.

A new temporary shelter for 120 men in Denver this winter will cost
$80,000.

The chairman of the Hennepin County Commission said the program helps
homeless people who find themselves in Minnesota without family or
friends.

"We think the bus ticket forward program is a humane way to help folks
maybe have a better chance somewhere else," said Commissioner Mike
Opat.

Opat said it's a "flat mischaracterization" of his county's efforts to
suggest its homeless policy is solely based on bus tickets.

"We're not a travel agency and we're not pushing people out of the
state," Opat said. "We're not going to just give them a bus ticket and
say, 'Here, now you are Denver's problem.' We are going to make sure
they have a family, a job offer, something at the end of the line
before we put them on a bus."

Statistics from Hennepin County show Colorado was 13th on the list of
48 destination states for the homeless. Most - 761 - went to Illinois.
Other Minnesota counties do not keep track of the number of bus
tickets issued or their destinations.

At least 6 percent of Minnesota's funding for the bus tickets is
federal.

"If they're using your tax money and my tax money to ship people into
our state from their state, I find that beyond disappointing. That
seems to me unacceptable," Hickenlooper said.

Minnesota caseworkers say some homeless people request the financial
assistance to return to where they came from. But when shelter space
runs low, caseworkers can also suggest they leave the state.

"There are times that county staff will suggest a bus ticket when all
the shelters are full or the family has used up all of their shelter
days," said Nancy Cincotta, financial assistance manager of Ramsey
County.

Minnesota started its program 30 years ago after noticing that as much
as 60 percent of its homeless population was from out of state.
Recently, counties there have faced cuts in public assistance
programs. Opat says hundreds of homeless every night are sleeping on
floors, costing $4 a person a night.

"It's cheaper for us to send them back where they came from," Cincotta
said.

But the situation is no better in Denver. The mayor's commission
reports 9,725 are homeless here.

"Our shelters are full, too," Hickenlooper said. "It's easier to take
your problems and shuffle them off on someone else. But the way I was
raised, that's no way to address your problems."

[Vision67]

How much is a bus ticket from Denver to Phoenix?

If I was homeless I'd rather be in a warmer place.

[AmFest]

Thanks for the humor.

[flamadiddle]

I'm not sure why there are so many homeless here, but it's definitely an image problem for your city. When I drive/walk around the fringes of downtown, I'm amazed at that masses of homeless people wandering the streets. It's weird, I've never seen anything like it before. I parked over by Park Ave. and Curtis today and I felt like I wandered into the Zombie Apocalypse.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

parked over by Park Ave. and Curtis today and I felt like I wandered into the Zombie Apocalypse.

The largest shelter in Denver is one block away.
https://www.denverrescuemission.org/

[mamkling]

I do not recommend living downtown unless you make a lot of money or have a roommate. I have to find a roommate as soon as my lease is up and yes I have never seen so much homeless. If you go to the library downtown it is as much as a library as it is a homeless shelter. I'm moving at least a half hour away from the city. Is Boulder or surrounding counties cheaper?

[Lafleur]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

I'm not sure why there are so many homeless here, but it's definitely an image problem for your city. When I drive/walk around the fringes of downtown, I'm amazed at that masses of homeless people wandering the streets. It's weird, I've never seen anything like it before. I parked over by Park Ave. and Curtis today and I felt like I wandered into the Zombie Apocalypse.

Having grown up in Metro Detroit, it's not even as bad there in terms of how many homeless people are just hanging out around town, even out in some of the suburbs.

[JohnnyDenver]

See article in this week's Aurora Sentinel about the homeless issue. Good read, good analysis.