Denver’s fourth managed homeless campsite opened Wednesday at the Park Hill United Methodist Church, following a long battle with some residents of the local Park Hill neighborhood.

The campsite at 5209 Montview Blvd., also called a Safe Outdoor Space, will house up to 40 residents until Dec. 31, providing them with heated tents, food donations, dental care, food stamps, COVID-19 testing, community service opportunities and services for permanent housing.

“While we wish we lived in a world where such projects aren’t needed, we are excited to welcome home our newest neighbors to our temporary Safe Outdoor Space,” said Pastor Nathan Adams with the church. “As Christians, Christ calls and expects us to put our faith into action in tangible ways that share the love of God with others.”

This newest site, in addition to a location at Regis University, replaces the first two Safe Outdoor Spaces opened in December to address Denver’s rising homeless population and increasing public health risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic hit, there were more than 4,000 homeless residents living in Denver and nearly 1,000 of them were unsheltered, according to the 2020 Point in Time report.

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The first two campsites operated until May 31 in the parking lots of Denver Community Church on Pearl Street and First Baptist Church on Grant Street. Residents of those sites have since moved to the Park Hill and Regis University sites, the latter of which holds up to 60 people at West 50th Avenue and Federal Boulevard.

“Park Hill United Methodist Church, Temple Micah and many Park Hill neighbors have provided our city with a living example that demonstrates the reality that unsheltered homelessness could be a thing of the past,” said Cole Chandler, executive director of Colorado Village Collaborative, which runs the campsites.

“By working together, we can advance life changing solutions to the housing and homelessness crisis that deliver safety, dignity and hope for the most vulnerable among us.”

The Park Hill campsite’s opening comes after several weeks of protests from some of the residents of the surrounding community. After the Safe Outdoor Space was announced, a small group of neighbors sued the church, pastor, city and Colorado Village Collaborative for a restraining order to stop the campsite from coming to the neighborhood.

The lawsuit, which was thrown out by a judge in May citing lack of jurisdiction, claimed the campsite would create a nuisance and present a danger to the community.

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Chandler has fought this claim, saying the campsites reduce the neighborhood impact of unsanctioned camps by taking in people already living in illegal camps. The Denver Police Department has also reported no uptick in safety issues in areas surrounding the campsites according to Police Chief Paul Pazen. 

The campsites are fenced off and staffed around the clock, according to Colorado Village Collaborative. They do not allow drugs or alcohol use and residents are screened to keep out all sex offenders and those convicted of violent crimes within the last five years.

Despite the very vocal opposition, not all Park Hill residents have opposed the campsite.

“I see this SOS campsite on our property at the church as an opportunity to welcome in fellow citizens of Denver who are experiencing hard times and looking to get back on that path to being stably housed,” said Park Hill resident Mark Marshall during a community meeting on May 13. “We need to stop the vilification of the homeless.”

After the lawsuit was announced, over 150 people donated to Colorado Village Collaborative to fund the expansion of Safe Outdoor Spaces, Chandler said in a statement to the court. In addition, the group received dozens of messages from neighbors asking how they could help and volunteer at the Park Hill campsite.

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“Some sentiments (from community members have) signaled exclusion, that Park Hill is not a neighborhood for everyone,” said Park Hill resident Ageno Otii during the meeting. “That’s not the Park Hill that I know and that’s not the Park Hill that I want to foster.”

Many residents are using the campsites to transition into more stable housing, data show. On May 13, the Colorado Village Collaborative reported five people had moved into tiny homes, two into permeant homes, five were on housing vouchers that can be spent on rented housing and 12 had gotten jobs or were looking for jobs.

The campsites have also provided 180 case management appointments to help residents address past legal issues that prevent them from obtaining housing and employment, according to Colorado Village Collaborative.

Mark Lopez, a resident of one of the campsites, said the program connected him to therapy and helped him get a job with the Downtown Denver Partnership doing 16th Street Mall maintenance. He’s now in the process of interviewing for more permanent housing.

“When I came to the Safe Outdoor Space, I didn’t know what to expect. … They started gradually hooking me up with people that I needed to hook up with to get me back on track,” Lopez said during the meeting. “They gave me the helping hand. The helping hand was like God touching you.”

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The Park Hill campsite will feature private security for its first 30 days of operation from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to help with the transition, Chandler said.

The campsites also provide residents with portable toilets, trash services and regular showers and laundry services.

In February, the Denver City Council approved a nearly $900,000 contract with the Colorado Village Collaborative to manage the sites and provide amenities to residents until Dec. 31. At the end of the year, the council will reevaluate the need for the campsites and vote whether or not to extend the contract.

If the contract is extended, the Regis University and Park Hill campsites would still move to new locations as the previous Capitol Hill campsites did, according to Colorado Village Collaborative. The future sites have not yet been identified.