by John Wayne Claybaugh
The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative reports that in the Denver Metro area there are 11,160 people who do not have a place to call home. To assist these people, Denver Homeless Out Loud has a plan to create what is being called an "Urban Rest Stop." What is an Urban Rest Stop?
If we omit the word urban from this, we simply have rest stops. Growing up, as we went to my grandmother's house and other places, we would see rest areas or rest stops.
At these locations we could stop and use the rest room, get a drink, and stretch a bit. We were able to be refreshed. Urban Rest Stops are similar in that there is some refreshing involved. Anyone who spends two days living in public spaces will quickly learn of the vast lack of public places to use a toilet or shower. Furthermore, you will soon find that there are very few places where you can store your belongings while walking about town, looking for work, etc.
At the Urban Rest Stops in Seattle, there are showers, laundry facilities (which is pictured), and rest rooms available. There is also the option of storage available.
What we are speaking of here is allowing a person experiencing homelessness the ability to shower and shave at times that are convenient to him. You will hear that there are already showers available in Denver, but most facilities that have showers close their showers at or before 1pm. This doesn't allow for those who have day time or evening jobs to shower at the end of their work day.
While we haven't fully discussed the hours of operation for this facility, the plan is that the showers would be available any time the facility is open. One of my goals is to have ADA accessible showers available for men, women, and trans-gender individuals throughout the evening, hopefully as late as midnight. We would also have rest rooms available so that people experiencing homelessness will have access to appropriate facilities. The alley is not the place for those activities, but currently what other options are there? We are considering the possibility of allowing people to receive mail at the Urban Rest Stop. There are providers that offer that right now, but due to overcrowding and other issues many people experiencing homelessness don't like going to these centers. And there is also the issue of timing; there isn't much ability to check one's mail after three.
We will have laundry facilities there. There are only a handful of locations that currently provide this service. So we would have washers and dryers available for men and women to use in order to wash their clothing and bedding. We will also provide the laundry soap and other products needed for this. I spent 4 1/2 years on the streets of Denver. As I have conversations with people who are or have been homeless, one complaint is the lack of essential hygiene items. Some of the items mentioned are tooth brushes, deodorant, and razors. The Urban Rest Stop would have hygiene products available, to help alleviate this problem.
And with the storage option available, people using our facility will not have to carry their clothes away with them if they don't want. Their clothing, personal hygiene items, and other belongings could be stored on site. This project will take money. The Urban Rest Stop of Seattle reports an annual budget of $6,000,000. While we may start with a smaller facility than what they have, we will need to fund it somehow and we are looking for grants in order to create and maintain this project. Also, we will be staffing the facility with paid staff and volunteers. Our aim is to be able to hire homeless people, which will provide them with the means to improve their lives.
The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative reports that in the Denver Metro area there are 11,160 people who do not have a place to call home. To assist these people, Denver Homeless Out Loud has a plan to create what is being called an "Urban Rest Stop." What is an Urban Rest Stop?
If we omit the word urban from this, we simply have rest stops. Growing up, as we went to my grandmother's house and other places, we would see rest areas or rest stops.
At these locations we could stop and use the rest room, get a drink, and stretch a bit. We were able to be refreshed. Urban Rest Stops are similar in that there is some refreshing involved. Anyone who spends two days living in public spaces will quickly learn of the vast lack of public places to use a toilet or shower. Furthermore, you will soon find that there are very few places where you can store your belongings while walking about town, looking for work, etc.
At the Urban Rest Stops in Seattle, there are showers, laundry facilities (which is pictured), and rest rooms available. There is also the option of storage available.
What we are speaking of here is allowing a person experiencing homelessness the ability to shower and shave at times that are convenient to him. You will hear that there are already showers available in Denver, but most facilities that have showers close their showers at or before 1pm. This doesn't allow for those who have day time or evening jobs to shower at the end of their work day.
While we haven't fully discussed the hours of operation for this facility, the plan is that the showers would be available any time the facility is open. One of my goals is to have ADA accessible showers available for men, women, and trans-gender individuals throughout the evening, hopefully as late as midnight. We would also have rest rooms available so that people experiencing homelessness will have access to appropriate facilities. The alley is not the place for those activities, but currently what other options are there? We are considering the possibility of allowing people to receive mail at the Urban Rest Stop. There are providers that offer that right now, but due to overcrowding and other issues many people experiencing homelessness don't like going to these centers. And there is also the issue of timing; there isn't much ability to check one's mail after three.
We will have laundry facilities there. There are only a handful of locations that currently provide this service. So we would have washers and dryers available for men and women to use in order to wash their clothing and bedding. We will also provide the laundry soap and other products needed for this. I spent 4 1/2 years on the streets of Denver. As I have conversations with people who are or have been homeless, one complaint is the lack of essential hygiene items. Some of the items mentioned are tooth brushes, deodorant, and razors. The Urban Rest Stop would have hygiene products available, to help alleviate this problem.
And with the storage option available, people using our facility will not have to carry their clothes away with them if they don't want. Their clothing, personal hygiene items, and other belongings could be stored on site. This project will take money. The Urban Rest Stop of Seattle reports an annual budget of $6,000,000. While we may start with a smaller facility than what they have, we will need to fund it somehow and we are looking for grants in order to create and maintain this project. Also, we will be staffing the facility with paid staff and volunteers. Our aim is to be able to hire homeless people, which will provide them with the means to improve their lives.
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