Denver City Council adds $4.5 million to fund the Salvation Army contract

CBS News

25-06-2025

The Denver City Council has added another $4.5 million to fund the Salvation Army contract, bringing the new total more than $19 million. The Crossroads Center shelter is located at 29th Street and Arkins Court.
CBS
While many council members acknowledged the safety concerns at the shelter, there was mixed reaction from former tenants, city council members and advocates.
The council ultimately felt it was better to keep the shelter open.
Councilmember Chris Hinds told CBS Colorado, if the shelter closed, at least 300 people would have nowhere to go.
Despite that, many people were still upset. That includes former Crossroads Center resident Ana Miller.
"Just angry," Miller said.
Miller can't understand why city council extended the Salvation Army's contract for the shelter despite complaints about unlivable conditions.
"Just years and years of hearing people tell me about Crossroads -- my experience," Miller explained. "I really would like the city to find somebody new to run that place."
Miller isn't alone. A former case manager, David Walsh, says resident deaths, poor security and discoveries of weapons left him uneasy.
"It was more focused on getting housed, getting housed, getting housed and not making sure that what happens after they are housed," Walsh said.
Walsh adds that he believes actions taken by the mayor's office, "really was a joke. They're more focused on staff than residents it seemed," he said.
Hinds heard the concerns and says the city will hold providers accountable through investigations and oversight.
"And likely additional requirements to make sure that they have proper staffing, that they have the funding in place, and that they actually allocate that funding the way we are expecting them to allocate that funding," Hinds added.
In a statement, the Salvation Army said in part it's working on new procedures to improve the lives of the residents in its shelters, and, "many of these improvements, which include enhanced security protocols, have already been implemented."
Its all far from over. The Department of Housing Stability will be issuing a request for proposals in 2026 for shelter providers at congregate (group) shelters like Crossroads.
Although skeptical, advocates say they're trying to stay hopeful.
"We need to start looking at houselessness in a way that is more of empathetic approach," Miller said