Regarding the application for a homeless shelter at 2000 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland:
This is a classic example of the government pushing a “solution” that makes them feel good, but ignoring not only the negative impact on their electorate, but also the evidence that these facilities will not help the homeless they are targeting.
This location and plan would do a disservice to law-abiding residents and businesses, as well as to the homeless. Among my concerns, I consider two to be particularly important.
First, it is about the physical safety of residents and businesses.
In my neighborhood, half a mile from the proposed site, many homeless people already hang out in nearby parks and camp out for multiple nights, even after multiple calls to the police for non-emergency cases. There are countless stories of homeless people banging on our doors in the middle of the night, screaming and yelling, staring through and over our fences, and doing perverted things.
Second, it does not seem clear whether the emergency shelters are effective.
This is especially true of this city’s efforts, and that’s evident from statistics from the Loveland Homeless Task Force and the Homeward Alliance website. In 2023, when the South Railroad tent camp opened, “home outcomes” measured by HMIS immediately dropped to zero. There were four months with zero “home outcomes” – that is, “individuals who moved to another household or moved into a new apartment while participating in a housing program,” as defined by the Homeward Alliance.
The Homeward Alliance website features graphs showing the number of enrollments per month in homeless programs as well as the number of housing outcomes measured by the Homeless Management Information System. Using these two data points, we can quantify the underperformance of Loveland’s homeless shelter operation.
Prior to the opening of the South Railroad Waiting Area, during the period January 2023 to March 2023, there was an average of 6.01% of monthly returnees.
From the opening of the South Railroad shelter to the opening of St. Valentine’s (Catholic Charities Housing Project) in April 2023 through November 2023, there was an average of 0.99% of monthly returnees. Four out of eight months saw no returnees at all.
St. Valentine’s opened in December 2023 and was scheduled to reach capacity in March 2024. During that time, average home scores increased to a monthly average of 18.62%.
This would be remarkable if it were not followed by a decline in home results of more than 81% between March 2024 and April 2024.
The remaining published data from April 2024 to May 2024, when the South Railroad shelter was still in operation, showed an average monthly home occupancy rate of only 4%, a worse performance than before the tent shelter was constructed.
Based on these numbers, it appears that the South Railroad shelter had a negative impact on “outcomes at home.” Why would the proposed new shelter location be any different?
Another indication of the city’s poor performance is the high expenditure per home game.
Leah Johnson said at a community meeting I attended recently that we spent $2.3 million on the South Railroad tent facility. From April 2023, when the shelter opened, to May 2024, there were only 23 home results, excluding St. Valentine’s results. So if we include just the start-up costs, we spent $100,000 per home result.
According to several news outlets, the Valentine’s Day celebration cost $18.6 million. If we add up all the home results from opening to capacity, the city achieved 83 home results. That means the average spend per home result for this strategy was $224,096 per home result.
Combined, start-up costs for the South Railroad Shelter and St. Valentine were $20.9 million. From the opening of the South Railroad Shelter through May 2024, average spending per shelter was $197,169.
According to Google, the average income for a Loveland resident in 2022 was $41,625, while a household earned $81,989. So for each housing result, we’re spending 2.4 times the annual income of a typical Loveland family.
Why should Loveland, with such a terrible track record, become home to a regional homeless shelter?
Loveland’s residents, businesses and homeless deserve better outcomes. We deserve a better plan and a better location.
If you agree, please sign the petition at Change.Org/LovelandShelter.
Nate Seitz and his wife live in Loveland. Nate is an Army veteran, started and sold his small business, and now works in Loveland and surrounding towns.
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