Denver launches storage unit program for homelessTop Stories

May 24, 2017 06:52
Denver launches storage unit program for homeless

The city has launched two programs that will provide storage units for the homeless people. The programs are an effort to make it easier for people living on the streets to access social services through safe spaces to keep their belongings.

The city has already installed ten ‘large item’ storage lockers along Lawrence Street and Park Avenue West and more 200 small and medium units are set to be installed by the St. Francis Center in next month.

The large storage units are 49 inches, 30 inches wide and 74.5 inches long, while the smaller ones are 2 x2x3 feet.

The Director of Denver Office of Housing and Opportunities for People Everywhere, Eril Soliván said: “A person living without a home currently has few options to safely store their personal belongings.”

“Those experiencing homelessness have told us that not having a place where they can safely store their belongings can be barrier to them obtaining a good job, shelter at night and good health. We listened, and we’re bringing that barrier down.”

The storage programs are part of the office and housing opportunities’ 30 short-term action items for this year, which were unveiled on Friday at the city’s third annual Denver Housing Summit.

Till now 6 people have got the permit for the 6 large storage units out of the 10 with four additional people awaiting permits. People experiencing homelessness who are accessing jobs, health services and shelter may use the units.

The units are built at a cost of $3,000 each. People will be permitted for 30 days with the option to extend the use to 60 days.

The program will be administrated by the Denver Public Works and those, who seek to use the united must provide a shelter identification and be able to demonstrate their engagement in workforce training or employment or heath services. Any misuse will lead officials to revoke permits for the units.

The second project is an expansion of the short-term storage in a joint partnership with St. Francis Center. The smaller storage space will be launched on June 1st at the St. Francis’ employment center for a 30-day period. The cost of the project is about $130,000 and has a yearly cost of roughly $99,000.

The President and CEO of Denver Rescue Mission Brad Meuli said: the mission serves about 1,000 people a day at our Lawrence Street Community Center and overnight shelter, but our guests tell us that not having a safe place to store large items can prevent people from accessing even our most basic services.”

“By providing these short-term large item storage units, this pilot project has the potential to make a significant impact not just for those we serve, but also for the neighborhood” he added.

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