When it comes to homelessness, what goes up in Denver must come down in Colorado Springs. By now, that should come as no surprise. The state’s No. 1 and No. 2 cities take different paths in addressing homelessness; Denver’s abets it while the Springs’ approach is more likely to heal it.
A Gazette news report over the weekend reaffirmed that conclusion. The report offered a telling big picture in light of the latest available statistics on homelessness — up again in Denver and down in Colorado Springs — and placed it in context of the bigger, perennial debate on the subject.
Central to the debate is whether it is better to house the homeless first, no questions asked — or first to ensure they’re ready to be housed. The latter path means getting a lot of the hardcore homeless to clean up their act.
What should be clear by now is that Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s preference for the first tack, also called “housing first,” seems if anything to draw more homeless to the Mile High City. That probably is inevitable.