It’s been a long time coming, but after several false starts, Denver’s first sanctioned homeless camp is set to open on Monday.

During the past week, 22 grey, silver and neon-yellow wheelchair-accessible Cabela ice fishing tents have been installed in a fenced off area adjacent to the First Baptist Church at 1373 Grant St., just south of the State Capitol. 

The camp will become a temporary home for up to 30 women, people identifying as women and their daughters – who must be over 18 years old – for up to six months, officials said. 

And the camp won’t be alone for long.  A second camp – that will welcome anyone needing a safe place to live – will be opening later this month at the Denver Community Church at 1595 Pearl St. in the Uptown neighborhood. 

Although some residents who live near the camp have been wary, Kathleen Van Voorhis, director of Housing Justice at Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, says the camp will be safe and clean and will help the community members who are struggling.

“There is only one point of entry and we know the individuals who are registered on site. We have a strict no visitor policy and the only people allowed (in the camp) are outreach workers, medical staff and people of that nature,” Van Voorhis said. 

“We expect everyone in here to be a good neighbor and expect everyone to be just like anyone living in an apartment complex … respectful with trash and noise.”

EarthLinks, a Denver based organization fighting to help those experiencing homelessness and poverty, will have two workers on-site 24-hours a day to ensure that residents wear face masks and maintain social distancing guidelines at all times, while enforcing the no drugs, no violence and no visitor policies. 

“They’re going to walk sort of the entire radius to make sure the neighborhood is doing well and making sure there isn’t any camping happening around the site, while also enforcing our rules and regulations,” Van Voorhis said. 

Anyone that violates the drug, alcohol or violence policies will be asked to leave immediately, said Kathleen Croman, the executive director for EarthLinks. 

EarthLinks workers will also be responsible for connecting camp residents to social workers, medical staff and other available resources.

“That is a huge piece and hopefully will offer an opportunity for people to be able to maintain and hold onto their documents that are needed information to receive support from these services,” said Croman. 

Upon arrival, each resident will be assigned a tent that includes a cot, sleeping bag, floor heater and storage bin — and a welcome basket full of items like towels, hand sanitizer and face masks. 

Multiple portable toilets and hand washing stations are on site, and Showers For All, a mobile trailer that offers showers and laundry, will make regular stops.  

Croman says they anticipate being able to feed each resident three meals a day through donations from different church congregations as well as First Baptist. 

Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds said that before he saw the camp Friday afternoon, he was optimistic, but after seeing it for himself his optimism has grown.

“I am even more excited about the safe outdoor spaces with this than I was a month or so ago with the mockup at 16th Avenue and Ogden Street,” Hinds said. “They took some feedback from that model and have incorporated it at this site.”

Van Voorhis said the first camp was designated for woman because “domestic violence has increased by 80% during COVID, and a lot of women are domestic violence survivors.” 

Hinds said the camp is a step toward the ultimate goal of surrounding those struggling with the resources needed to get off of the streets.

“Do I think this is an ideal solution? No, an ideal solution would be housing with wrapped around services, but I think this is the best of our less-than-ideal solutions,” Hinds said. 

“We have to get creative and I see this as a way to be more creative, have more options and again, this is just a test, If it works, great. But if it doesn’t, well, we’ll be smarter after learning from this.”