Denver City Council leaders reject $3 million contract with Salvation Army for homeless services
Former case managers have spoken out about working conditions in Denver's homeless shelters. Now, city council members are rejecting a new contract with the Salvation Army.
"I'm thankful I left when I did," said one former case manager who spoke with CBS Colorado on the condition of anonymity.
That is the sentiment shared among three former case managers, after working in one of the city of Denver's homeless shelters, managed by the Salvation Army.
Each of the three former case managers chose to remain anonymous as they have since taken other jobs in a similar field.
"When I walked out and got into my truck on my last night, I broke down into tears because it just felt like the stress was off my shoulders finally," said one of the case managers.
"When I first started working there," said one female worker, "I felt really, I would say empowered, I guess, that I was able to help people."
That feeling reached a boiling point for each of them at different times. The female worker CBS Colorado spoke with resigned earlier this month after working for multiple locations over three years.
"I've worked at the Best Western, the Doubletree, Embassy," she said.
She told us that, for the most part, working with the Salvation Army felt like a toxic and unsafe working environment. When people like her spoke up about concerns with the program, she said she received pushback from members of management.
"We're being put into these positions of wanting to help people, but all we're doing is watching them suffer or making it worse for them," she said.
"My biggest thing that finally pushed me to leave was our security," said one of the former male workers.
"The security was a joke," said another. "They would not check bags, they would literally do a quick little wand."
Both men said they were working at the former Doubletree Hotel at the 4040 Quebec Street shelter. One of them lasted about six months, and the other eight months.
They said weapons, drugs, and violent offenders would keep slipping through the cracks of the facility, despite what were supposed to be security changes to the property following three homicides at the same location nearly a year ago.
"I helped teach a recovery program, and the people would tell me, 'Why would I want to get clean and sober? They let us do drugs here,'" said one of the workers. "So, we were enabling people."
"The fact that no one else has been killed via homicide in the last year is absolutely amazing," said another worker.
Less than two days after speaking with these three workers, the same facility at 4040 Quebec became the center of another crime. On March 21, Denver Police arrested 43-year-old Billy Johnson for a sex assault that happened at the shelter.
Johnson, who was a staff member there, had a history of robbery, drug and weapons possession, and felony kidnapping in 2015. One of the former workers we spoke to said she used to be Johnson's supervisor.
"Just know who you're hiring," she said. "There's a lot of people there that are not there for the right reasons. They're just going for a paycheck."
The latest incident sparked frustration from Denver City Council members this week, and, ultimately, a majority of the council voted to reject a nearly $3 million contract with the Salvation Army for homeless services. This contract was intended to help the Salvation Army continue to house more people experiencing homelessness over the next three years.
"I have said many, many, many, many times that I have deep, deep concerns regarding the Salvation Army and their ability to keep folks safe within their care," said District 8 Council Member Shontel Lewis. "To give the Salvation Army any more dollars seems very tone deaf and irresponsible."
The Denver Mayor's office released this statement in response to the council's vote and last week's incident. "Accountability is critical to serving our community well, and we are actively working with the council to address concerns and with the Salvation Army to ensure this never happens again."
In response to Billy Johnson's employment and arrest, a spokesperson for the Salvation Army released the following statement.
"The Salvation Army has been cooperating with the Denver Police Department's investigation since the moment The Salvation Army's staff made the initial report.
The Salvation Army conducts background checks on job candidates offered employment consistent with federal and Colorado law. Colorado law precludes background checking agencies from providing criminal records that go back more than seven years. Our shelter employees have gone through this background checking process. This employee cleared the background check."
In a response to the council's decision, the Salvation Army said the program has helped numerous families over the years and will continue to do so.
The Salvation Army has been running the Housing Now program since 2014. We helped 70 families obtain permanent housing in 2024. The Salvation Army also helped 38 families to avoid eviction last year through our Housing Now program. That's important to remember – that 38 families remained in their homes and 70 families became housed thanks to the Housing Now program operated by The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army is a proud partner of the city of Denver and would like to continue the Housing Now program together. If that's not possible, we will continue the program with other funding for as long as it's deemed possible.
The Salvation Army stepped up to carry a very heavy load. We provide shelter for 1,800 people every night and we provide more than 3,200 meals every day in the Denver metro area. That's every day. We serve a lot of families with young children. This is critical to remember.
We think we're doing this work well. And we're doing it from a place of deep care for our neighbors. The Salvation Army has been helping our neighbors in need in Colorado for 145 years and we will continue to do this work that we are called by God to do.
CBS Colorado also reached out to the Salvation Army to address questions as it relates to concerns raised by former employees, but they declined to comment.
"There are a lot of people that are really doing their best and are dedicated and committed to this idea, but it's a sinking ship," said one of the former employees.
These former employees said it will take a lot more restructuring and accountability to help the most vulnerable succeed out of homelessness, including training and mental health and addiction services.
"Every day we're pouring more and more money into this idea that is a brightly painted outhouse, where we can be using those resources and funds in other areas," said one employee.
A spokesperson for the city told CBS Colorado they are reviewing procedures and plan to take steps to make sure nothing like last week's incident on Quebec Street happens again, including on-site monitoring and random monthly drop-ins conducted by city agencies.
