DENVER — Three Denver City Council members are proposing an amendment to the city's 2026 budget that would allocate $9 million to create a shelter for families experiencing homelessness.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and his administration are working to close a $200 million budget gap. The City of Denver laid off 169 city workers, eliminated more than 600 open positions, and started requiring furlough days to help balance the budget.
In September, Johnston unveiled his 2026 budget proposal, which called for cuts to various services, including homelessness initiatives. The mayor adjusted his budget proposal in October, announcing his plan to use nearly $4 million in interest from a one-time COVID-19 relief fund to cover several budget requests from Denver City Council members for next year.
City Councilmembers Sarah Parady, Shontel Lewis, and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez are proposing a budget amendment to create a family shelter.
In a newsletter to constituents, Paraday said, “The city is ending the Comfort Inn lease on Quebec as an All In Mile High (AIMH) adults-only shelter. This was a family shelter with 138 rooms before that program moved to The Tamarac, so we know the exact cost of the yearly lease and operations: $9m. Whether the mayor's office chose to use the Comfort Inn itself or another building, we are confident in this cost figure. Adding this approximate number of rooms would nearly end the wait list because rooms turn over (instead of waiting on the list for 6 months, families could move into a room and out again to a more stable situation in a couple months).”
Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND) held a news conference in front of the Denver City and County Building Monday afternoon to show support for the amendment.
“The city council is hearing public comment on the budget today, and that is the whole budget for the city for 2026, and we have a proposal that is being brought forward by a number of council members for a budget amendment to move roughly $9 million to create an additional family shelter,” said HAND organizer Terese Howard. “The current situation for family shelters is that we have a total of 303 family shelter rooms for the entire city of Denver, and there's a wait list of over 250 families — not individuals, families — that are waiting just to get emergency shelter. These families are on the streets. They're in cars. They're doubled, tripled up in uncomfortable situations. They are houseless and have desperate situations.”
Howard said she appreciates the city councilmembers’ push to open more shelter space.
“We are in a budget deficit. Yes, we have to make cuts, but the cuts that are being made are being made to things like shelter," Howard said. "Literally, part of what we're asking for here is to just, even use the nine to $11 million that was being used to run the Comfort Inn that the mayor is cutting from the budget — shutting down another shelter for individuals, shutting that down — and we're just asking that at least that money be reinvested and kept in shelters, and this time open it for families, because the family situation is so incredibly dire."
Howard is encouraging Denver residents to make their voices heard on this issue.
The Denver City Council will hold a public hearing on the budget on Monday at 5 p.m. City councilmembers have until Nov. 3 to propose and vote on budget amendments.
