HOMELESS

Originally Mission Arvada at e Rising Church was asked by the city to help provide services to a growing homeless population. Mass transportation helps people get back and forth from the city and is part of what made Arvada attractive to people experiencing homelessness.

“ e transit is right here. e parks and open space areas and restaurants and it’s a desirable place for people to be homeless and otherwise,” said Cowling. More and more people are seeking refuge here and in places like Lakewood and even Evergreen.

“For the last ve years I would say, people are coming out into the suburbs,” said Cowling.

Vernon and her boyfriend moved from Florida where crime was a problem as well. “My older son moved here and he was like Mom come on and check it out,” she explained. He lives in Broom eld where he is concerned about his mother’s situation.

“He worries about me all the time,” said Vernon. “His wife’s like, he worries about you from the moment he wakes up until he goes to sleep.”

Now with more family news, she says she is thinking about nding housing and work.

“My youngest son’s going to have a baby. I just want a normal life back.”

In the past she has worked doing housekeeping and as a 7-11 clerk, which she says was her favorite job. With the help of Evergreen Christian Outreach she now has ID again.

“ ey got my ID for me so now I can get a job. Because I lost all my birth certi cate and everything but now I’m slowly getting it all back.”

Vernon and her boyfriend, who does not come out of the shelter to talk, plan on getting to the bus in the morning to go down to Denver for services.

In Arvada homeless people collect in the area around the train station. Some are an agitation to businesses. ose with mental health problems can be intimidating and hard to shoo away. Cowling says the cost of housing and need for services leaves people on the streets who should not be is costly in other ways.

“Our economy and just the state of our situation in terms of not having enough mental health services and not having enough rehab and drug and alcohol treatment.”

Recently the mission has been under pressure to move from Olde Town due to a belief that o ering services attracts a homeless population, which has increased in recent years.

“We are trying to advocate for our clients that are experiencing homelessness, but we are also trying to work with the city and the community and make sure that our area is clean and orderly. So we’re kind of the balance.”

Clients served by the mission have to follow rules. Not all do and are banned. Not providing assistance she says would mean only more people without services, not fewer people dealing with homelessness. “Oh, no, no, no, no, absolutely not.”

On the morning after talking about their situation at the Evergreen Park and Ride lot Kari Vernon and her boyfriend slept in, unwilling to come out of their enclosure to talk. e 7:40 bus came and went. ey were still there.

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