Denver homeless, migrants brace for cold weather weekend by seeking shelter
As temperatures dip to frigid and dangerous levels throughout the Denver metro area, those who are most vulnerable to the cold are feeling grateful they will have someplace to keep warm this weekend.
"I do have a tent, and I'm very efficient," said Michele Bell. "So, when it's warm enough, I go outside and sleep."
Michele Bell is used to braving frigid temperatures, after six months of living on the streets.
"It was mighty cold. Made me want to cry, but I was still alive," said Bell.
On Friday, however, it's all smiles as she packs up all her things outside the St. Francis Center and gets ready to stay at one of the emergency shelters offered through the city of Denver.
"It's better to have than to have not," she said. "I just hope we all get help."
"We all stick together and try to work as one, stay out of the cold weather," said Keith Stevens, who is also seeking one of the city's cold weather activation shelters. "Because it's hard to see people lose limbs out here."
As people experiencing homelessness were piling into the St. Francis Center to wait for buses to take them to two of the city's hotel shelters, the Denver Navigation Center and New Directions, people like Paul Schmidt were spending the day handing out free coffee and bagels to warm up guests.
"All they want to do is be treated like humans. Give them an opportunity," said Schmidt.
This was the eighth day of the city's cold weather activation plan, according to Jim Boberschmidt, the director of Day Center Programs at the St. Francis Center.
"We'll stay open 'til 9 p.m., folks can just come on in at any point during the day starting at 6:30 p.m. The city sends over bus transportation and starts transporting 'til 9 p.m.," said Boberschmidt.
Boberschmidt says the city's cold weather shelter activation often stretches their resources thin, as they become a source of shelter during the day while guests wait to be bused to overnight shelters.
"On cold nights like this, this is saving limbs on human bodies and quite frankly human lives," he said.
These cold nights feel foreign to some of the new arrivals who have been out on the streets like Carlos Alberto Colobon Cortez.
"Here you can feel the cold. It gets cold in Ecuador, but not like this," said Cortez in Spanish. "Thank God we have a place where we can rest."
Around-the-clock sheltering is open this weekend at the Denver Navigation Campus and New Directions beginning at 7 p.m. Friday through 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16.
Other shelters can be found at denvergov.org/findshelter with expanded capacity at front door shelters including:
- For individual men – Lawrence Street Community Center, 2222 Lawrence St.
- For individual women – Samaritan House, 2301 Lawrence St.
- For youth ages 15-20 – Urban Peak, 2100 Stout St.
