Aurora homeless encampments getting bigger, official says

A homeless encampment in Aurora.Photo byMike Coffman

Aurora, Colo. -- Homeless encampments within the Aurora city limits are getting larger, said Emma Knight, the city’s assistant homelessness director. But that doesn't mean there are more of them, she said.

Knight made her remarks Thursday during the City Council’s public safety committee meeting. “Camps are getting larger; I think people are congregating at camps together so we’re looking at that and how we can manage that a little better.”

Knight said said the city received 421 calls in August regarding homeless encampments, which is more than usual. “We had more abatements in August this time than in the past few previous months by about 20 which means more people were moving around which means they might be more visible at the same time as they are moving to different parts of the city.”

Homeless frown upon Comitis

Knight said 175 camps were cleared in August. Nobody accepted an offer of shelter at Comitis, Knight said.

“People don’t want to go to congregate shelters, or at least they don’t want to go to Comitis,” Knight said. “Specifically, they have to sleep on a mat on the floor and only a three-day stay is allowed, not much time to stay. They don’t like packing and moving their stuff quite as much. People also list safety concerns a lot when they go to Comitis.”

On the other side, 22 people accepted shelter at the city’s pallet communities, according to Knight. She said the pallet shelters are far more attractive to encampment dwellers. People are allowed to stay there 30 days, 10 times as long as at Comitis. Still, case workers say most people experiencing homelessness cannot find stable housing within 30 days.

Unknown faces

Council member Steve Sundberg said he has been seeing several unfamiliar faces at homeless encampments. He said he has driven the same corridors and shopped at the same stores for many years.

“They are just invading parking lots and the fronts of businesses, creating problems,” Sundberg said, wondering if most ride the RTD to Aurora from Denver. Knight said she will begin having her staff members ask encampment dwellers why they chose Aurora.

New police chief speaks

Todd Chamberlain, the city’s new police chief, said he would like to see data collected regarding who is riding the light rail to Aurora and whether they are residents. He said RTD stations can bring in certain populations of people. Some may get services in one area but feel more comfortable staying in another, he said, and ride the rails back and forth.

Sundberg said bus stops should be designed in ways that do not encourage loitering. City Manager Jason Batchelor said the city is in discussions with RTD about that. Sundberg said the bus stops on Colfax have become open air drug dens. Batchelor said the city and RTD have had discussions about adding more lighting.