If Yelp had a review page for the homeless, Denver Mayor Johnston’s multi-million-dollar accommodations would soon be out of business.
Taxpayers have spent $155 million so far on Johnston’s vision for eliminating homelessness that has plagued the city since John Hickenlooper promised to solve homelessness when he was mayor 15 years ago.
City taxpayers purchased outdated hotels and created micro communities costing millions then outsourced the management worth millions more in contracts.
And yet their customers are less than satisfied, according to a Denver Gazette report spanning several months that includes interviews with those living in what is supposed to be temporary housing for the homeless.
At the old Radisson Hotel, a resident complained there was no working TV or microwave. The rooms had been ransacked by previous homeless tenants, and no guests were allowed.
His review … “nothing more than a prison.”
An amputee using a voucher for an apartment was more ambiguous:
“This place is really all about everything — all at the same time, good, evil, angels, demons, killers, victims,” he said. “Every day, I am marinating insanity.”
Then there was the young lady living with her boyfriend who had a housing voucher. In addition to Denver, she had experiences with caseworkers in Adams and Jefferson County and complained about the high turnover rate across the board.
“I don’t think that they’re picking people who care enough, who want to work.”
Someone get that woman a job application!
It would be mean and inaccurate to sum up that homeless people who are down on their luck can be a little ungrateful when they are offered free shelter, meals, and a myriad of other services.
After all, when people are programmed to believe the government will take care of their every need and they hear $155 million was spent on their behalf, some do expect the Ritz Carlton.
Read the whole report here and judge for yourself.