Denver clears out encampment in Baker neighborhood
DENVER (KDVR) — On Thursday morning, Denver city crews cleared a camp off West 4th Avenue and Kalamath Street in the Baker neighborhood.
Officials estimate about 30 to 40 people were living at the encampment. Fencing was to go up at 6 a.m. when the city was to begin dismantling the camp.
FOX31 was told that many of the campers moved from a larger camp that was cleared near the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
City officials said outreach workers met with people to help connect them with housing, and it will be offered through Mayor Mike Johnston’s “All In Mile High Initiative.” So far this year, about 1,480 people have been connected to housing through the initiative, according to the city dashboard.
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The mayor’s office said a seven-day notice was given to people living at this encampment that the cleanup would happen on Thursday.
We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done to help thousands of Denverites move off the streets and into safe, stable housing, and continue to work around the clock to help more individuals move into units as they become available. Last week, we made the difficult decision to close the very large encampment near West 8th Avenue and Navajo Street due to significant public health, public safety and right-of-way concerns. Unfortunately, we were not able to provide All In Mile High transitional housing units to the people who had been living in that encampment due to the large number of people. As a result of that closure, a smaller group of unhoused residents moved south several blocks.
Earlier today, HOST outreach workers visited an encampment near 4th and Lipan to establish a by-name list. The 30 to 40 individuals on that list will be transitioned next week into All In Mile High units. As with past encampment resolutions that involve relocating people from the street to indoor solutions, this afternoon we posted the encampment with a 7-day notice of closure.”
City of Denver
According to the city, approximately 50 people living on the streets near 4th and Lipan will receive individual units and wraparound services at one of the All In Mile High communities.
In a statement, the city told FOX31’s Andrea Henderson, in part: “People are excited to have a roof over their head, a door with a lock to keep their items safe and resources where they can start a new chapter.”
The city says this total will bring the administration to more than 1,500 people who have been moved indoors since July 2023.
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