Patients of one of Colorado's first Mental Health Transitional Homes will be moving in this month despite outcry from some Northglenn residents who don't want them in their neighborhood.
Department of Human Services spokesperson Jordan Saenz confirmed that May is the target month for the move, but said that "there is no set date" because state officials are still waiting on final details like licensing and paperwork.
Four hundred Northglenn residents turned out to protest the state's decision to house some sex offenders in the home for severely ill mental health patients, which is just blocks from an elementary school.
After the emotionally-charged April 3 Northglenn City Council meeting, the state officials changed their minds on how far these homes — some of which will house sex offenders — can be away from schools and playgrounds.
The transitional home in question is comprised of two adjacent buildings located at 11255 and 11275 Grant Drive in Northglenn and can house 32 patients. The home is blocks from an elementary school and parents at the meeting were upset that children walk to and from class past a place which would house sex offenders or drug addicts.
Mental Health Transitional Living Homes are part of a new program established by the Colorado Department of Human Services to house patients leaving state hospitals who can handle independence, but are not quite ready to live on their own.
Diagnoses for those who will be housed can range from major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder, according to Saenz.
The Northglenn two-unit facility is the third location established as part of a plan to open up beds across the metro Denver area. The original plan was to mix in some sex offenders with the population, but the DHS Office of Forensic Mental Health changed its rules regarding how many feet one of these homes will be from schools. That rule used to be 750 feet, but this stipulation has now been modified to 1000 feet.
The closest school to the Northglenn facility, Stukey Elementary, is 859 feet away — which is within the new limit imposed by the State.
Also not allowed in the home are people with a recent history of escaping other treatment facilities, or with recent assaultive behaviors, behaviors which required restraints or who may require a locked facility.
As part of the agreement, white lattice-work which lined the Northglenn facility's front porch will removed and a high fence installed in the back yard.
The residents at the MHTL home will be supervised at all times, according to the Department of Human Services' Office of Forensic Mental Health.
The two homes have door alarms and security cameras.
The plan is a result of HB22-1303 , which in 2022, directed the department and the department of health care policy and financing to create, develop, or contract to add at least 125 additional beds at mental health residential facilities throughout the state for adults in need of ongoing supportive service.
Already, a similar 12-bed home in Highlands Ranch opened in September, a six-bed facility began operating in Denver in November and an eight-bed home opened in Colorado Springs earlier this month.
Nine more are on the books, including three in Lakewood, two in Pueblo, one in Westminster, and another one each for Denver and Northglenn.
Of all of the planned transitional homes, the one in Northglenn will house the most residents. That is a major concern for City Manager Heather Geyer.
In an earlier interview, Geyer told The Denver Gazette that she was frustrated with “the lack of transparency” from the state Department of Human Services, adding city leaders found out about the proposal, not from the state agency itself, but from Northglenn police.
Residents who protested the homes consider the state's decision to back down an early victory. Danielle Lucero, who led two Saturday protests following the April 3 city council meeting, said that the state’s move is a “step in the right direction,” but she said her group will be watching.
“Everyone is still on their toes and a little untrustworthy," said Lucero. "We want to keep the state accountable.”
Lucero also leads the Facebook group "Northglenn Residents Against the New Facility" which she hopes will keep people active.
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