Pushback from the community and extreme cold temperatures accelerated the city’s decision to extend its severe weather shelter usage limit from 30 days to 60.
Kurt Firnhaber, director of Boulder’s housing and human services department, said on Friday that the city and Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, which operates the severe weather shelter, have been reconsidering the policy for several weeks. Since the 30-day limit is a new one, the city always intended to evaluate its effectiveness, Firnhaber said.
Boulder Shelter Director Greg Harms said in an Thursday interview with the Camera that the goal of the 30-day limit was two-fold: to encourage people into housing and to recognize that sheltering services are limited. The Boulder Shelter has 140 available beds, due to coronavirus-related distancing requirements. The majority of those are allocated to longer-term clients enrolled in the county’s Coordinated Entry program and the rest go to those in need of emergency services.
Firnhaber agreed with Harms on Friday and acknowledged it can be a tough balance to strike.
“City Council and our homelessness services generally have tried to focus on balancing a housing-first approach and really focusing on addressing individuals’ foundational challenges to homelessness,” Firnhaber said. “And at that same time, balancing that with the health and safety of individuals who are in our community.”
By and large, the city believes the policy limiting stays to 30 days has been effective in assisting individuals into longer-term programs, but Firnhaber in a Hotline email recognized the community’s concern that 30 days isn’t enough time for some to transition into services.
Although he has a reserved spot at the shelter because he is participating in Coordinated Entry, Will Jones said that he does not fully agree with the policy limiting a person’s time using the severe weather services or the one requiring a person to go through the county’s system.
“I don’t believe that this is the situation or scenario that warrants going straight to the rulebook when you’re dealing with people who need help,” Jones said.
Before he learned about the decision to change the policy, Darren O’Connor, an advocate for the unhoused community and chair of the NAACP of Boulder County’s criminal justice committee, created a petition, urging the city and Boulder City Council to reconsider the 30-day limit.
The petition provides contact information for Mayor Sam Weaver, Mayor Pro Tem Junie Joseph and Councilmembers Mirabai Nagle, Mark Wallach, Bob Yates and Mary Young. O’Connor said he believes those six members of Boulder City Council have not been advocating for those experiencing homelessness in the same way Councilmembers Aaron Brockett, Adam Swetlik and Rachel Friend have been.
“People will die or lose fingers and toes in the coldest weather due to this policy that is on its face cruel and unusual punishment for simply being homeless,” the petition states.
Although the rule has since been amended, O’Connor intends to leave the petition active.
“Really, any limit just sets us up for another emergency where people are not getting access,” O’Connor said.
Firnhaber touched on this, too, and said it’s the challenge of the severe weather shelter system. Sometimes, he said, “it’s just very unsafe to be staying outside.”
In Boulder, where people experiencing homelessness have died from hypothermia or cold exposure, homelessness advocates often push for the city to do more, particularly on nights when the weather is well below freezing. The Boulder Police Department on Friday reported that a man, who is believed to have been unhoused, was found dead around 4:15 p.m. Thursday outside in the 2900 block of Mapleton Avenue. The cause and manner of death is still under investigation, but foul play is not suspected.
According to Mayo Clinic, risk of frostbite increases as air temperature falls below 5 degrees, even with low wind speeds. Temperatures on Thursday night dipped to an overnight low of 9 degrees and are expected to continue to drop through the weekend. The National Weather Service predicts a low of minus 2 and minus 5 degrees on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Because of the cold weather, the Boulder Shelter will this weekend remain open during the day for those who stay the night there. Additionally, Harms said the shelter allows people in from 6 to 7 a.m. for morning services, including food and a shower. Those who come in at that time will be allowed to stay for the day, but it won’t be open for people to drop in later in the morning, he said.
The only other emergency sheltering option in Boulder is The Lodge, which is much smaller and caters to cisgender women and those who identify as transgender or nonbinary. Executive Director Lisa Sweeney-Miran confirmed the shelter, in a back room at Congregation Har HaShem in Boulder, will remain open during the day over the weekend.
Jen Livovich, who runs Feet Forward, a nonprofit that does street outreach for those experiencing homelessness, will be out on Saturday, offering hot food, drinks and supplies at the Boulder Bandshell.
Otherwise, no other day services are available. Libraries and recreation centers, which typically serve as warm places for people to congregate, all have limited capacity because of the pandemic.
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February 13, 2021 at 10:06AM
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Boulder extending limit for severe weather shelter use to 60 days per season - Boulder Daily Camera
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