As the neighboring city of Denver descended into a homelessness and drug crisis, a Colorado county implemented a “handout, not help” initiative that helped keep nearly all of its homeless residents off the streets.
Douglas County, less than an hour south of Denver, takes the problems of panhandling, loitering, drug dealing and street living seriously.
About 70 signs have been installed at intersections and roads where homeless people once frequented, directing people to the area. Douglas Has Heart — a webpage with resources for those in need and where people can donate directly to the Douglas County Community Foundation.
“This idea came to me from a common sense standpoint. I saw a lot of people at intersections struggling like my daughter,” said Republican Douglas County Commissioner Abe Leyden. said Fox News coverage of the campaign:
When we see someone who looks down on their luck, we feel bad to drive by and do nothing. But on the flip side, we all know stories of people who may not have spent the money they received in the most appropriate way. Maybe it's on food. Maybe it's on drugs. We don't know where it's going.
It seems that the more donations you make at a particular corner, the more people will come. People around town will start talking about “if you go to this corner, you can get money.”
Street corners that were once filled with homeless people and beggars are now completely clean.
County Data The number of homeless people living on the streets in the county fell from 43 to just six between 2022 and 2024, while the number, which includes people sleeping in their cars or local shelters, fell from 96 to 69 countywide, the report found. population Of 375,988.
In Denver, population The homeless population, just under twice that of Douglas County, jumped from 6,884 in 2022 to 9,065 in 2023.
“We expected this to happen from Denver: People would get off the light rail and get off at Longtree without paying a ticket,” Leydon said, “and the next thing they know, they're asking for a fare on the corner.”
The commissioner recounted how he first came up with the idea for the “Alms Don't Work” program while volunteering with homeless people in Longtree and an encampment “littered with liquor bottles and drug paraphernalia.”
“It was everywhere, but it was never as bad as downtown Denver. We started off in a good place,” he told Fox News.[Our smaller homeless population] It gives us an opportunity to nip this problem in the bud before it really gets widespread.”
Leydon said the effort goes beyond just putting up signs and encouraging people to donate to recognized charities instead of panhandling: The task force also engages directly with people who end up on the streets to help them.
HEART Team vehicles respond to each call regarding people sleeping on the streets and provide assistance.
“Anyone who needs services will be provided with services. Hotel vouchers will be provided and we've partnered with Ready to Work,” the commissioner said. “Anyone who needs a job will be provided with a job. Anyone who needs a bus ticket back to their family in Tennessee, we're providing that. Anyone who needs food for a night or a week will be provided with that.”
Tiffany Marsit, a navigator for the HEART team, said they continue their efforts even after people refuse help.
“In our first few interactions, we had someone who was initially resistant to services. He was in a psychological crisis,” she told Fox.[Four months later]When he was ready to re-engage with our team, we were there for him. We helped him fill out an application for Metro Regional Housing Opportunities.”
“People may not be ready now, but they may be ready in the future,” Marsit added. “They see our faces and they know we're there and that our team cares. They know that our community cares about them. It means a lot that we continue to engage with these people.”
Leydon stressed that illegal activity is “an offense for anyone” and that anyone involved in “urinating, defecating or dealing drugs on the light rail system” will be arrested, whether they are homeless or not.
Camping on the streets is also illegal, but the HEART team encourages people to go to shelters rather than writing tickets every time.
“Our goal is to encourage compliance, to use the ordinance to help unhoused people find better solutions,” said Rand Clark, another navigator. “Very few people are intentionally trying to break the law, so we're able to use this tool in a positive light. Our county ordinance may not let you sleep here, but we can tell you how we can help you find shelter where you want without breaking the law.”
Cathy Alderman, communications and public policy director for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, questioned Douglas County's approach.
“While we applaud municipalities that are addressing homelessness, we also know that some do not provide shelter or robust services and instead bus people to other cities and counties to find help. It's hard to believe that not welcoming homeless people is a true solution to the problem,” she said in a statement to Fox News.
Despite the opposition, Laydon is celebrating the virtual end of “the homelessness problem in our community.”
