DENVER, CO: Marketing firm's job: to change
image of homeless
By April M. Washington
Rocky Mountain News
June 9, 2005
Denver has hired a local marketing firm to reshape the
public's image of the homeless - from one of a bedraggled
panhandler to an image reflecting the growing number of
women, children and families.
The Denver Commission to End Homelessness awarded a $60,000
contract to political consultant Eric Sondermann.
The move comes as the
commission begins to implement Mayor John Hickenlooper's plan
to raise money and resources needed to end homelessness
within 10 years.
"We want to do a professional communication job so
people have a clear understanding of what we're doing and
what it will take to change the lives of the people who are
homeless," said Deborah Ortega, executive director of
the commission. "Part of our communication is to help
people understand that these efforts will make a difference,
but it takes the resources to change people's lives."
A more realistic portrait of the Denver area's homeless
population is the growing number of children, women and
families seeking assistance, service providers said Wednesday
during a briefing to a City Council committee.
"The side the public doesn't see is that of the women
and children," said Father John Lager, director of the
Samaritan House in downtown Denver. "There are even less
services for them."
Lager said that the number of families standing in line for
the shelter's daily lottery for beds has more than doubled
from 10 per day to 25 per day in the past few years.
Last month, the commission unveiled a bold plan that calls
for sweeping changes in Denver's approach to homelessness.
The 10-year plan calls for building more than 3,000 units of
permanent and transitional housing, providing comprehensive
mental health and substance abuse services, expanding the
city's shelter system, increasing outreach and reducing
panhandling.
However, funding the plan will be a major undertaking.
Startup costs are projected at $7 million, and city officials
estimate it will cost $12 million per year to fully implement
the plan.
Hickenlooper, who has made the issue a top priority, is
pushing mayors and county commissioners from neighboring
suburbs to ask metro voters to extend the 0.1 percent stadium
sales tax that funded the construction of Invesco Field at
Mile High to pay for affordable housing, including housing
for the homeless.
"The plan the commission and mayor developed is a
long-term and comprehensive one," Sondermann said.
A theme the public may hear is that combating homelessness is
a matter of "morality and justice."
"We are our brother's keeper," Lager said.
washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5086
Copyright 2005, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.