Denver Politics
On My Block · Denver Politics

City CouncilHomelessness

Denver's CARE outreach team: the contract behind it, the 9-4 vote and the targets it has to hit

A new Denverite report follows Urban Alchemy's 11-person homelessness outreach team. Our records show how the Council split on its contracts last December, and a shelter lease that runs out this year.

By Denver Politics staffUpdated

If you've seen outreach workers in black shirts with "CARE" in green letters on Colfax, they work for Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit Denver hired to connect people living outside with shelter and services. Denverite's Oct. 26 report describes the 11-member team, the territory the city assigned it, from the Capitol east to Yosemite Street, west along Colfax to Sheridan and south on Broadway to Evans, and the debate over civilian teams in homelessness response.

For residents, this is about who shows up when you call 311 about an encampment, and what the city is paying for.

What the reporting found

  • The targets: The contract requires 36,500 outreach contacts a year and at least 760 referrals to services with a 90% success rate, according to Denverite. Urban Alchemy's operations director said he hopes the metrics are revisited as the nonprofit negotiates an expansion with the city.
  • The city's view: Cole Chandler, who leads the Department of Housing Stability (HOST), said the city is "pleased with" the team's performance, and HOST told Denverite it had received no complaints about the team since it began in January.
  • The criticism: A spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center said civilian enforcement teams will not solve homelessness. Denverite also noted problems reported about Urban Alchemy in other cities, including complaints to Portland's ombudsman reported by KATU, and Austin's 2025 decision to revoke its contract, which Denverite attributed to falsified information submitted to a homelessness data system. Urban Alchemy's spokesperson called the complaints "baseless."

What our records add

The CARE contract passed 9-4. Council Resolution 25-1881 approved $3,075,625 through Dec. 31, 2028, for what the city called community ambassador services. It passed on Dec. 8, 2025 (meeting, roll call).

The Aspen shelter contract also passed 9-4. Resolution 25-1883, $30,421,129.90 for Urban Alchemy to run the Aspen non-congregate shelter at 4040 Quebec St. in District 8 through 2028, drew no votes from Alvidrez, Gilmore, Lewis and Parady (roll call). Gonzales-Gutierrez, who voted against the outreach contract, voted for this one.

Both were delayed a week first. On Dec. 1, Flynn called both out under Council rules, saying members needed time for briefings the nonprofit's team was offering that week (video at 42:15). At the Nov. 18 committee hearing, Sawyer asked about the source of funds for the outreach contract (video at 1:24:40).

The shelter lease is short. Separately from the operating contract, the Council approved a $30-a-year lease letting Urban Alchemy use the 4040 Quebec St. building, 26-0804, 12-0 on June 22, with Flynn absent. That lease ends Dec. 31, 2026, so a renewal or replacement would need to come back.

Updates to committee. Urban Alchemy briefed the Community Planning and Housing Committee on Aug. 4 (26-1138, video).

What's next

Any expansion of the CARE team, a new contract or a new lease for the Quebec Street building would come to the Council as a resolution, starting in committee. You can follow the Community Planning and Housing Committee, which meets Tuesday, Oct. 27 (agenda). For the city's winter shelter plan, see our story on the cold-weather shelter capacity question.