Broomfield Considers Allowing Homeless to Temporarily Stay in Religious Institutions, Nonprofits on Cold Nights

By Robert Davis

When temperatures drop below 20 degrees, many unhoused families outside of Denver are at increased risk of falling ill if they can’t find refuge in a homeless shelter.

Broomfield is one such city where homeless shelters are hard to come by. But, that’s not stopping city leaders from finding creative ways of helping their growing homeless population escape the cold winter nights. 

In December, Broomfield City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would allow religious institutions and other nonprofits to become “warming stations” for unhoused families. Those families would be allowed to temporarily stay inside those facilities for up to 120 days at a time between October 1 and May 1.

In 2019, temperatures dropped below 20 degrees on 60 different occasions between October and April. 

“I’m very excited about the warming centers,” said Broomfield city council member Sharon Tessier. “My church has hosted families who happen to be without a warm place to stay overnight. I am looking forward to having more collaboration between the nonprofits because growing homelessness is such a big deal,” said Tessier

This ordinance paves the way for the Adams County Cold Weather Care Program to expand into Broomfield and will supplement lost shelter space after Westminster-based Growing Home’s Canopy shelter program closed in December 2019. 

Currently, only the Salvation Army at 1080 Birch St. has signed up to be a warming center. 

Marrty Dormish, minister of community engagement at The Refuge Christian mission center in Broomfield, said this program will help those who would rather sleep outside than be shuttled to shelters in Denver or Boulder. 

Unhoused people in Broomfield are typically offered rides to shelters by local police officers but decline because of past experiences. According to recent reporting by The Denver Post, crime in homeless shelters has risen dramatically since 2017, leading many to avoid them altogether. 

“We have a lot of contact with friends who are un-housed, and last winter we were really worried about them on a number of nights when it got really cold because they were in tents or cars,” Dormish told The Broomfield Enterprise. “We were afraid they would freeze to death or get sick.”

Warming centers would only be allowed to open on nights when the temperature drops below 20 degrees without rain or 32 degrees on snowy nights. These are the same criteria shared by Boulder and other surrounding jurisdictions. 

The hours of operation would vary based on need, but host sites will typically be open for 12 hours beginning at 7 p.m. Clients will have to leave in the morning but are welcome to come back at night if they need to.  

People interested in volunteering at one of the warming centers can find opportunities available on the  Broomfield City Council website. ■