Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on New Year’s Eve claimed his administration reached the goal of getting 1,000 homeless people out of the city’s streets.

Johnston, who made curbing homelessness his priority upon taking office in July, vowed to house 1,000 people by Dec. 31. In pursuit of that goal, his administration and Denver officials spent tens of millions of dollars to acquire hotels, buy “tiny” shelters and set up “micro-communities,” where he plans to send homeless people to.

The campaign has been expensive.  

Johnston said the campaign to move 1,000 homeless people indoors cost the city $45 million this year.

That translates to roughly $45,000 per homeless person. By comparison, the state spends roughly $9,500 on average per student.  

Denver plans to earmark $50 million to house another 1,000 homeless people in 2024, he said.

Critics said the mayor should instead prioritize substance abuse and mental illness, which, they argue, are the root causes of homelessness.  

“I am proud to announce that as of yesterday, this city succeeded in under six months moving more than 1,000 people off the streets and indoors,” Johnston said on Sunday, when he introduced the city’s first “micro-community” at 12033 E. 38th Avenue.

Johnston said his administration reached the 1,000 mark on Saturday.

As of Sunday, the city’s homeless housing dashboard showed 1,034 homeless people have transitioned into shelters. The mayor said more than 1,100 homeless people could be indoors before 2024 begins.

People’s average length of stay is 23 days, the dashboard showed. Of those who exited the shelters, four went to jail, one died, five went back to the streets and 11 who left couldn’t be tracked.     

Of the first 600 homeless people transitioned into temporary housing, one left to receive intensive care treatment outside, the dashboard showed. The dashboard does not show demographics of those who left for housing, which it temporarily did for a time last week.

Johnston insisted that his campaign is a win-win for those who received housing and for residencies and businesses near the encampments that the city shut down.

“It’s an incredibly moving, emotional day,” Johnston told The Denver Gazette. “It’s both inspiring for the lives that are being transformed and I think for the city to have a sense that we think these hard problems are solved again, if we really put our shoulder to the wheel big things are possible.”