Homelessness and the convention

September 3, 2:14 PMDenver People ExaminerErnie Tucker

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Jennifer Erixon
(Mercy Housing Colorado)

The Democratic National Convention may have been a whirlwind of activities, but behind all the confetti, the spotlight did land on some long-term issues here – including homelessness.

Indeed, though some pre-DNC focused on the idea that homeless folks would be whisked away during the delegates' and media visit, this charge was refuted in Denver Post op-ed column "Denver won't hide the homeless," co-written by Deborah Dilley, DPD commander with District 6 which covers the downtown area; John Parvensky, president and CEO of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless; and Jamie Van Leeuwen, project manager of Mayor Hickenlooper’s 10-year Denver's Road Home program.

Indeed, according to Jennifer Erixon, president of Mercy Housing Colorado, the issue was dealt with openly.

That was why San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and others were among those who stopped on a DNC tour at a vacant structure in Capitol Hill.The building, a 1920s vintage long-term residency hotel, will be reborn next year as refurbished residences for 66 formerly homeless Denverites. Mercy Housing Colorado acquired the Aromor Apartments, 1309 Grant Street, from the Denver Housing Authority under Denver’s Road Home outreach. Plans call for the Aromor to have a full-time property manager and maintenance staff and a 24-hour desk clerk, along with staff giving one-on-one support to residents and helping them connect with needed services.

It is one more piece aimed at combating the chronic problem.

“I think a lot of good came out of the convention,” said Erixon, whose group now operates 14 properties for 900 residents in the state. “We had delegates and leaders talk about how to address this issue.”

And the timing was critical, she said, adding “I think people are more needy [now], while at the same time there are less subsidies for our work.”

For the past year and a half, Erixon has directed a regional part of the Denver-based nonprofit Mercy Housing Colorado, which overall has had a hand in supplying some 34,000 affordable homes, including 24 supportive housing properties, totaling more than 3,800 units spread throughout California, Colorado, Illinois, Washington and Wisconsin.

But even though this project is located in the heart of the city, Erixon said Mercy is reaching out to other parts of the state. It was chosen to build the next affordable housing development in Stapleton’s Forest City area, a project likely to come online in 2010. And Mercy is also planning affordable townhomes for Summit County employees in Breckenridge.

Still, the Aromor is move to end traditional homelessness. Erixon said, “through supportive housing and blended management, property managers and resident services staff work together to provide a safe, quality home that helps residents connect to the services in their community that will help them stay off the streets permanently."