DENVER — As hot temperatures continues to bear down on Denver, the city is trying a new approach to get people off the streets — expanding cooling center hours and opening some locations even before an official heat advisory kicks in.
But for outreach workers like Amy Beck, who has done street-level homeless outreach in Denver since 2020, the extended hours only go so far.
"Unfortunately, I can close my windows and run my air conditioner, and I'm not exposed to this all day, like some people in Denver, especially our unhoused community," said Beck, founder of Together Denver. "This year, it's been especially challenging because people are really miserable out on the streets right now. They are suffering because of this heat."
Denver7's Veronica Acosta brought concerns to city officials in the video below:
What changed this weekend
Denver Mayor's Office spokesperson Jon Ewing said the city typically relies on National Weather Service heat advisories to decide when to activate cooling centers. But this week, the city got ahead of the forecast.
"We're in general communication with National Weather. They said we're probably going to issue a heat advisory based on the temperatures," Ewing said. "So in that case, because we're expanding hours this weekend, wanted to give our staff a heads up and do it a little bit early."
That meant some cooling centers opened Thursday and Friday, even though the advisory hadn't officially been issued yet. Ewing said the city is also trying to address a separate problem: cooling centers, even when open, have been underused.
Weather News
Denver activates cooling centers through Sunday amid extreme heat
"Some folks — we've talked a little bit about cooling centers over the last few weeks — they're still being underutilized, actually somewhat heavily underutilized in some spots," Ewing said. The city added outreach workers to hand out water and point people toward open rec centers and libraries, hoping better awareness translates into more people actually coming inside.
Hours were also extended at specific locations criticized last weekend for closing too early. Ewing said the Carla Madison Recreation Center will stay open until 8 p.m., and the Denver Central Library until 7 p.m. — both had previously closed around 4 or 5 p.m. on weekends.
"When it's going to be 100 degrees at 4 p.m., we wanted to add a little bit of extra protection," Ewing said.
Advocates say people are asking for more than a few extra hours
Beck said Together Denver held a community meal last weekend at the DoubleTree by the Aspen at 4040 Quebec St., where outreach workers listened to concerns from people living on the streets and handed out gear meant to ease the discomfort of the heat.
What she heard, she said, was a consistent request: somewhere to go that isn't temporary.
"They were asking to come inside, and they were saying that they were staying at libraries, and it wasn't enough," Beck said. "It's really miserable to be in a car overnight with your children when these are the temperatures that we're having during the day. Families were asking for help to get off of the street. Individuals were asking for somewhere to go."
Beck said people she spoke with described headaches and nausea tied to the heat. She's pushing the mayor's office for a 24/7 shelter option — not just extended weekend hours during advisories, but a consistent, air-conditioned space available at any time.
"I think people are aware that heat illnesses can become cumulative," Beck said. "We're asking for 24/7 shelters for people to go to and be able to rest and not be enforced upon during these temperatures, where they can practice some self-care and focus on their health."
Denver7 asked a city spokesperson about the idea of a 24/7 shelter. The response: expanding that resource would mean pulling funding from other areas. Told of that response, Beck pushed back.
"I think it's just a humane response to people that are suffering out on our streets," Beck said. "Yes, they may have to shuffle some pots, and I'd love to have that conversation with them, because I think that there are inexpensive solutions that could really help our unhoused community. They're not sharing that with me — they're sharing that with you. So I would like them to come to the table."
The city's case against a 24/7 cooling center
Ewing said the city hasn't seen the appetite — in terms of what would actually get used — to fund a shelter open every day of the year.
"We could open hot weather shelters 365 days a year," Ewing said. "We could do that, and they would be utilized by very few people most days of the year, and we would have fewer resources to put toward everything else."
Ewing said the city generally has shelter beds available within Denver's broader system even during hot weather, and argued that pouring resources into a standing, low-use shelter would come at the cost of programs aimed at longer-term housing stability.
"If you spend all of your time and money on one night temporary shelter, you straight up have less time to focus on getting that person into housing, getting that person into a spot where they're much more likely to stay for a prolonged period of time and stabilize," Ewing said. "Everything is a trade-off."
The decision on cooling center hours involves several city agencies, Ewing said, including the mayor's office, the Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver Human Services, Facilities Management, the library system and Denver Parks and Recreation.
Where things stand
Beck called this weekend's expanded hours "a step in the right direction," but said it fits a pattern she's grown used to from the mayor's office.
"We do sometimes get a few crumbs, and we do get a few things that help the unhoused community, but our bigger asks are ignored often," Beck said. "This is another situation where our bigger asks are being ignored — and it's our bigger asks that focus on the health and care of our unhoused community."
For now, the city says it will keep monitoring conditions and adjusting outreach and hours as the heat continues, while advocates like Beck continue pressing for a standing shelter option they say hasn't gotten a real hearing at City Hall.
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