The Navigation Center in Lakewood is closed for renovations to make it suitable for a permanent shelter. When this building was purchased, it was supposed to be a resource center that, if feasible and approved for permit, would be used as a shelter. That story changed immediately upon purchase and it started operating as an emergency shelter while facilities were tested and renovations evaluated. The scope of the renovations increased, the plumbing difficulties increased, and the need for a full-time shelter accelerated. Lakewood residents have not yet had a meeting to share public comment or approval on the shelter. Lakewood’s City Manager continues to operate the shelter on an “emergency” basis rather than go through the special use permit process. Lakewood assures residents that they will have time to be heard – later, when it’s irrelevant, because the building was purchased and the renovations will be complete. This is similar to the public comment planned for the purchase of Emory Elementary on behalf of the Action Center. Residents will be heard – later. The following article has a thorough update, including an update on MountainView Flats. That purchase was also funded with ARPA grants that are no longer expected to continue. Homeless navigation center in Colorado closes amid renovations, with goal of creating full-time shelter By Andrew Haubner at cbsnews.com RecoveryWorks in Lakewood has been a central gathering point for the area’s homeless population in need of resources. The navigation center, which sits on the corner of W Colfax Avenue and Allison Street, provides services such as behavioral health aid, medical help or just a hot meal. But, for the next six months, the center is closed as RecoveryWorks renovates the space. The hope, executive director James Ginsburg says, is a 103-bed, full-time overnight shelter to help get people off the street and provide a more consistent and reliable resource to add in the transition from homelessness to housing. RecoveryWorks is operating out of MountainView Flats, a transitionary or “bridge” housing community in Lakewood. Registered Nurse Shawn Marzan and his street medical team at STRIDE Community Health Center have set up shop in one of the rooms, planning their day and being a medical resource for those that live there. “If [people are] in a centralized location where we know where they’re gonna be, you can provide them medical, you can provide them behavioral health,” Marzan told CBS Colorado. “You can provide not just the medical piece but the social piece too.” Read the rest of the article at cbsnews.com
