Homeless

Lakewood Shifts Blame to RecoveryWorks

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on June 7, 2026Posted in Entrenched Bureaucracy, Homeless, TransparencyTagged Homeless, navigation center, permit hearing, Planning Commission, REcoveryWorks, unhoused, volunteers of america

Lakewood blamed RecoveryWorks for previous problems at the city homeless shelter. Shifting the blame made it easier to get a Special Use Permit for the shelter on June 3, 2026. Instead of taking responsibility for the problems they created, city staff said crime and people overflow were caused by RecoveryWorks. RecoveryWorks was managing the property as Lakewood’s handpicked, sole-sourced contractor.

The special use permit was approved, which allows Lakewood to continue shelter use with a new operator. Most of the online comments were in favor of granting the permit. However, Lakewood had three misinformation narratives throughout the permit hearing that show they are not acting in good faith:

Shifting the blame
Dismissing crime rates
Claiming no permit was needed

911 Calls Show Deteriorating Conditions Around Navigation Center

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on June 3, 2026Posted in Business, Homeless, TransparencyTagged 911, business support, Homeless, navigation center, permit, safety

Why hasn’t Lakewood done a safety analysis to show there is no substantial harm in giving the Navigation Center a special use permit? Lakewood is not protecting the current residents and business interests, which is just as important as serving regional homeless. The desire to do good is only half the equation. Demonstrating this use will not substantially impair nearby properties is the other half.

The map above shows the number of 911 calls made to the highlighted address since September 2023. This map is incomplete where property addresses did not match Lakewood database. You can see the high number of calls made to the Navigation Center property compared to other properties in the half-mile radius.

Special Use Hearing on June 3 For Navigation Center

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on May 27, 2026Posted in Homeless, TransparencyTagged grants, hearing, Homeless, Lakewood, Lakewood CO, local news, navigation center, Planning Commission, special use permit, unhoused

The Lakewood Planning Commission is anticipated to approve a Special Use Permit for the Navigation Center on June 3, 2026. Lakewood staff have already made a presentation in favor of the permit. There are no neutral reports or equal opportunities for opposing viewpoints. While public comment is allowed, the way Lakewood interprets the Planning Commission rules means evidence needs to be presented AT THIS HEARING.

Every public comment that was made in previous City Council meetings is meaningless unless repeated at the hearing. Testimony at the hearing that presents problems with the special use could result in the permit being denied.

Lakewood Made 30-Year Commitment on Navigation Center

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on May 19, 2026Posted in HomelessTagged Accountability, budget, DOLA, grants, hidden terms, Homeless, navigation center, restricted, shelter, transparency, unhoused, use covenant

Lakewood purchased 8000 W Colfax Avenue to use as an emergency shelter and Navigation Center using a grant from the state to fund the property purchase and renovation. As a condition to getting the grant, Lakewood committed the property to shelter use for 30 years. No public discussion about this condition occurred when City Council authorized the purchase. At an annual operating cost of $3,000,000, that’s a $90,000,000 commitment that was not disclosed to the public. That makes the Center severely underfunded, with declining neighborhood support, and may be one reason for the proposed city sales tax hike.

Observations from the Navigation Center Neighborhood Meeting

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on May 1, 2026Posted in Homeless, TransparencyTagged community input, Homeless, lenore herskovitz, navigation center, shelter, transparency, unhoused

By Lenore Herskovitz

On April 28, 2026 a neighborhood meeting was held at the Navigation Center at 8000 W. Colfax to explain and discuss the Special Use Permit required for the facility to operate as an overnight shelter. Presently the Navigation Center is performing this service for individuals under a Temporary Permit. The meeting was well-attended by a diverse group. Some had been notified because of their proximity to the facility, others through social media or word of mouth. Young and old residents were present to ask questions and voice their concerns to the City’s representatives Chris Conner, Manager of Lakewood’s Housing and Thriving Communities Division and Paul Rice, the Director of the Planning Department. Chris had been more directly involved with the project so he led the presentation and discussion. There were handouts that provided information about the Navigation Center and the Special Use Process.
Initially many of the comments came from angry residents who felt they should have been notified much sooner. The Navigation Center was already opened and had people living there before there was community outreach. Prior to that, engagement regarding who would operate the shelter consisted of City Staff, representatives from the West Colfax Community Association, non-competing area nonprofits, Jefferson County and command-level staff from Lakewood Police. So basically by the time this neighborhood meeting was being held the Navigation Center was operational.

City Officials Celebrate Navigation Center Reopening

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on March 31, 2026Posted in Homeless, TransparencyTagged Colfax, Colorado, Grand Opening, Homeless, housing, jeffco, Lakewood, navigation center, news, unhoused, VOA

The City of Lakewood will host a media event on Friday, April 3, 2026, to mark the grand reopening of its Navigation Center. City officials are expected to participate in photo opportunities, give interviews, and serve lunch to individuals receiving services and staff. But while the city celebrates, key questions remain unanswered and more neighborhood problems are anticipated.

Homelessness Increasing With Increased Spending

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on March 22, 2026Posted in HomelessTagged Aviation Park, DoBetterDNVR, encampments, Homeless, housing first, spending

Increased homelessness is causing neighbors to be concerned while Lakewood continues to increase spending, suggesting that spending on homelessness only draws more homeless to Lakewood. This situation is well documented in San Francisco, Denver and Lakewood. Helping people become self-reliant is secondary to paying for housing – the same failed strategy employed in these other cities.

Lakewood Still Dodging Hearing on Shelter Permit

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on January 21, 2026Posted in Homeless, TransparencyTagged 8000 W Colfax, DOLA, Homeless, navigation center, permit, referendum, shelter, special use permit

In another example of Lakewood manipulating the rules, there appears to be no intention to get a special use permit to operate the newly renovated Navigation Center.

Under 2025 zoning rules, a homeless shelter requires a special use permit. Such permit requires a public hearing. The Navigation Center “extreme weather” shelter bypassed this requirement through the “emergency” ordinance, even though there was plenty of time to anticipate winter.

Winter comes every year after all.

In the 2026 zoning ordinance, Lakewood removed the requirement for a special use permit.

Navigation Center Emergency Deal Closes

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on January 14, 2026Posted in Homeless, TransparencyTagged emergency, Homeless, lease, navigation center, REcoveryWorks, shelter, volunteers of america

Lakewood passed another “emergency” ordinance, December 8, 2025, once again showing an inability – or purposeful unwillingness – to properly plan for the Navigation Center. The latest “emergency” was a lease that was months in the making. Lakewood used “emergency” and non-profit non-city meetings to skirt public input. The new lease and the property sale both rely on new zoning to keep the public in the dark and do spot zoning for favored projects. No one has addressed how the Center will be affected by the potential repeal of the new zoning nor has the declining neighborhood been addressed. During the January 8 meeting, a resident publicly complained about how the Navigation Center was negatively impacting his business.

Councilor Supports Taxpayer Funds for Migrants

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on September 17, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged affordable-housing, Homeless, migrant, Prop 123, taxpayer

Councilor Supports Taxpayer Funds for Migrants Recent comments by Isabel Cruz show that Lakewood Council may still support using taxpayer dollars for migrant housing. Lakewood Councilor Isabel Cruz is a Policy Director for the non-profit Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. As a spokesperson for the Initiative [not Lakewood], Cruz defended Medicaid coverage for undocumented immigrants saying, “…providing coverage to undocumented immigrants benefits everyone and keeps costs down.” She made several additional comments in a Denver 7 article titled “Feds investigate Colorado’s spending on health care for undocumented immigrants” According to the article, she said, ““When we help cover people, we help stabilize our health care system and our safety net health care providers, and we also make sure that we keep costs down for everyone,” said Cruz.” The same sentiment could be applied to housing, where Cruz is currently voting on new policies for “affordable housing” through Lakewood’s zoning code. Cruz’s statements were not made regarding official Lakewood policy. However, this is the same mentality displayed over and over again by Council Members and staff when migrant support comes up – all programs in Lakewood are open to migrants. This question is key to understanding why Lakewood is changing zoning and adopting radical housing strategies that have not been implemented citywide anywhere in Colorado. Lakewood leadership is aggressively pursuing funding support for homeless – including migrants. Colorado Engaged has previously explained how Colorado Prop 123 funding “reallocates TABOR refunds to support government-managed, taxpayer-subsidized housing and homelessness initiatives.” The plans for migrants in Lakewood has been shrouded in mystery. Lakewood says they are not a sanctuary city but they act like one by: Lakewood does not coordinate with ICE Lakewood already “lessens deportation fears” to encourage migrants to live in Lakewood in a policy buried in the Strategic Housing Plan, rather than a standalone policy Council has made clear that Lakewood will not ask for identification to receive shelter or services Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom supported new migrants becoming “proud workers and residents of Colorado” by approving a letter from the Metro Mayors Caucusthat the city charged an outrageous fee to obtain. Council voted in January 2024 to “be a good neighbor.” Councilor Cruz has not returned a request for comment. Like many others, she has an automatic response saying, in part: “If your email requires a personal response, I will do my best to reply promptly but if you don’t hear from me, please feel free to reach back out. Since council is designed as a part-time job and most of us have additional full-time jobs to support ourselves and our families, I appreciate your patience in advance with my response.”