‘It’s not safe’: Lakewood residents push back on Denver’s growing homeless spillover
By Sage Kelley | Denver Gazette
Rising homelessness in Lakewood sparks concern over lack of resources and public safety risks.
Timothy Harris stood a block away from West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood, his items methodically packed in a cart, a tent propped up beside him.
Harris, who is homeless but originally from Mesa County, has lived in Lakewood after being in Denver for years. To him, Lakewood offers more safety and accessible open space.
"Downtown Denver is kind of scary. It's a little intimidating," Harris said. "There are shootings and crime. But, back home, people freeze or get attacked by animals. There's a difference in death, but it weighs out the same."
Chanel Lewis, a homeless woman who has been in the Denver metro area since 2002 and now lives in Lakewood, a...