The city of Denver and partners including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have now identified every homeless veteran in the Mile High City and secured housing or a private shelter space for them, officials said Thursday.
A handful of those people, however, have not accepted the offer to come inside.
Speaking at the historic Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1 on Sante Fe Drive, Mayor Mike Johnston said the city had "ended the cycle of street homelessness for veterans in Denver."
It's a milestone partners say was reached through extensive data collection and an expansion of the city's shelter resources which now include a network of converted hotels and tiny home villages that make up Johnston's All in Mile High Initiative.
Johnston and officials with the VA announced in June that they expected to reach "functional zero" for veterans homelessness by the end of 2024. That means reaching a point where all known instances of homelessness for a certain population group are solved and resources are in place to ensure future occurrences are resolved within 30 days, the mayor's office said at the time.
But as of Thursday's news conference, 18 U.S. veterans remain unsheltered in the city, Johnston said. Of those 12, are now working with service providers and are expected to move private shelter units available through All In Mile High program, Johnston said. But six are still refusing to come indoors.
It's a sad reality that cast a shadow on what was otherwise a celebratory event. Johnston noted many veterans are dealing with severe trauma related to their experiences.
"We do occasionally contact individuals who will say, 'I don't feel comfortable being indoors in any setting right now,'" Johnston said. "We'll keep working with them, supporting them, giving them all the services they need where they are with the hope that they'll eventually choose to."
The VA and its dedicated eastern Colorado homelessness team played a key role in the city's progress this year. In a news release, city officials said that more than 100 veterans were identified and moved indoors in the city's limits since this summer.
According to Amir Farooqi the interim director of the VA Eastern Colorado health care system, the team is now in touch with 100 plus additional veterans who need support. The team has housed 732 people during the VA's 2024 fiscal year, he said.
He urged any veteran who is homeless or facing homelessness or anyone who knows a veteran who falls into those categories to contact the VA's national call center at 877-424-3838.
VFW Post 1 doubles as an art gallery. On Thursday, Johnston bought a painting for a formerly homeless Navy veteran Brian Asbeck to hang in his office at city hall.
Speaking at the press event, Asbeck described years of being homeless including living in his vehicle after moving to Denver in search of a new beginning in 2021. He credited VA and city programs and VFW Post 1 for helping him get his life back on track.
"I now find myself self-sufficient and moving forward with hope and stability," he said.