 It's cold. It's an alley. It's Colorado in December. It's supposed to get down to two degrees, freakishly cold. Anything that can freeze is going to freeze, including you. I don't want to see that happen. What's got you out here? I don't have any wash to go home with. Once you get on the streets, it's really difficult to get off. What we are looking for is people that are vulnerable, people that are on the street. Scary, lonely, cold. And honestly trying to change their lives. How can this be happening? How can this be happening? I'm one of the homeless outreach officers. The homeless outreach unit has got a direct line to all of the day centers, the drop-in shelters, the overnight shelters, the mental health pieces. I want to cash in and get out. I don't want that to be the thing that keeps you on the street. We seek people out and we try and get them connected to those services. I want to get some semblance of a life back. We have an obligation and a responsibility to the homeless citizens of Denver. We take that very seriously. Get in there tonight, okay? Yeah, I think I better. I'm Officer Rob Parks. I'm one of the four homeless outreach unit officers. We specialize and deal exclusively with the homeless population throughout the city and county of Denver. I start my eleventh year in January. I'm trying to find the court clerk. I need to clear up some misdemeanor warrants for... Let me pull around right behind this car and I'll talk to you, okay? Okay. So he just flagged me down, but I'm also seeing some indications that I may be somebody that I would have talked to otherwise. We'll see where this goes. I'm trying to get into treatment, so I want to find the court clerk so that I can get him... Outstanding. Who are you trying to seek rehab through? It's through the Salvation Army. Yeah? Are you a part of their program now? Not yet. Are you staying with Salvation Army at all? No. Where are you staying right now tonight? I am on the streets. I'll probably go to one of the shelters up here. It's pretty depressing, actually. Once you get on the streets, it's really difficult to get off. You got to get a job and you got to get a place and you're drinking. It just doesn't work out. I want to see if there's anything else that I can do some follow-up with because I'm one of the homeless outreach officers. I'm the guy that gets folks connected to long-term housing, gets people into rehab centers, gets people exactly in your situation the resources that you might be looking for. How long have you been on the street? Off and on for about 15 years. 15 years? Yeah. How long have you been out here? Alcohol and drugs. My alcoholism kind of got out of hand and I lost my family and they didn't want to really deal with me anymore. Honestly, I just got out of detox. I've been kind of transient on the streets since then. Are you familiar with the Crossroads Shelter at all? A little bit. Okay, that's in 1901-29th Street. They will take you, especially if you go there tonight. It's supposed to get down to two degrees tomorrow morning. So if you're outside, there's a good chance that you're going to suffer something negative from the cold, either losing a finger or a toe or just freezing to death and I don't want to see that happen. I'm going to give you a sheet because I want you to have the information. All right, thank you. So this is one of our resource guides. So what we're looking for, Salvation Army Crossroads, it's right at Arkins and the Platte River right off of Brighton Boulevard. It's pretty well lit, heated. It's not a bad place to be at all. All right? Thank you so much. Take care of yourself. All right. Get in there tonight, okay? Yeah, I think I better. I want to get some semblance of a life back. I mean, I have a bachelor's degree and I worked as a professional for several years and that's when alcoholism kind of took over. I have a granddaughter that I haven't met yet and I miss having a connection, you know, having family in my life. We don't differentiate. We serve all comers. What we are looking for is people that are vulnerable, people that are on the street, people that are in some kind of a negative situation. We're going to see if we can't make that better today. So this is Father Woody's Haven of Hope. Father Woody's is far and away from the best resources for people that are just out in the cold and need to get inside for a minute and get something to eat. Hey guys, have you been going to Woody's for a while, I'm guessing? I've been off and on for a couple of years. Unfortunately, I find myself coming here more often than I'd like. Yeah? Why is that if you don't mind my asking? The short answer? Alcoholism. Certain of very few things, but one thing I'm certain of is that every negative thing that's ever happened to me is associated with my alcohol use. I've always been able to deal with my work and my responsibilities and whatnot. It just finally caught up with me. So are you in a house now or what's your living situation? No, I stay at the shelter when I can and I do a lot of urban camping. You know, I've immediately identified as homeless and most people have an immediate negative reaction to that. You know, even though I was an accomplished professional for 30 years of my life, now all of a sudden I'm scum. It's really hard to take. I'm trying to turn it around, but you know, it's hard when you don't have a home base. Which shelters are you taking advantage of? Mostly the rescue mission. Do you ever take advantage of any of the other drop-in centers? Like the New Lawrence Street Center or the St. Francis Center? I haven't. Are you familiar with them or do you know about them? I don't. So they've got that courtyard, that indoor area. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's their day center. Tomorrow at six in the morning, it's going to be two degrees outside. So anything that can freeze is going to freeze. So I would really encourage you as much as I can. It sounds like you know how to take care of yourself, but I would encourage you to see safe, legal, warm shelter. It's a lot worse now that the weather is changing. Scary, lonely, cold. How can this be happening? How can this be happening? Come on over to the car, because I want to make sure that your arm knows as much information as I can give you. You know that there are other places you can stay overnight, which you're already staying at the rescue mission. Crossroads is going to be another great place to be. St. Francis Center right up at Curtis and Park Avenue. St. Francis has a lot of the same services just in that different part of town. Day shelter indicates they know overnight. Correct. That's very helpful, sir. All right. So make sure you keep that and seek somewhere safe, legal, and warm tonight. I just don't want you to be out in this overnight. I don't. Thank you. I don't want to be out in it either. Well, you come to places like this and hang for as long as you can. And I keep moving. You know, I keep moving. I'll figure it out. I'm too old for this. We serve the entirety of the citizens of the city and county of Denver. We have an obligation and a responsibility to the residents of Denver. And at the same time, we have that same obligation and responsibility to the homeless citizens of Denver. So we take that very seriously because we have to look out for everybody's best interest. And so my job is to do the best that we can to mediate between all of those different factors and make sure everybody's getting a fair shake. It looks like there's one person under a blanket here, a sleeping bag. How are you doing, partner? Do you know is there anybody else here? It's just you. So I got to ask. It's cold. It's an alley. It's Colorado in December. Why are you out here in a sleeping bag in an alley in December? I don't have any wash to go homeless. What about friends, family, anybody you can couchsurf with or at least get indoors for a bit? Are you familiar with the shelter system in Denver? Yes. Have you stayed in any of the shelters recently? Yeah. What's the last place you stayed? Crossroads. It's going to get deathly cold tonight. It is going to get so cold anything that can is going to freeze, including you. And I don't want to see that happen. What would keep you out here as opposed to getting back into Crossroads tonight? It's a last resort, I guess. You're saying Crossroads the last resort? Any of the shelter. Why is that? I guess it's just the situation itself, I guess. I mean, I don't know. So is there a light at the end of the tunnel for you? Do you have something that you're trying to work towards or tell me what you've got going on? Well, my wallet was stolen, so I'm just trying to replace my driver's license and my bursary ticket. St. Francis, they can help take you down to the DMV and help fight through the process to actually get your ID because that is one of the first steps for you to get into almost any other service people want to see a photo ID. With your ID, you go a couple of blocks down, maybe you get a job that day. That's one of the biggest things that holds people up. All right, sir, take care of yourself. Probably one of the toughest questions that we face and we ask ourselves that a lot is what is the silver bullet? What's the solution to it? With a lot of the individuals, that answer is found in honest to goodness mental health care. Getting people into sustainable solutions for them. Take a look at that camp. So these are some of the most service-resistant. These are folks that, for any number of reasons, have decided that they don't want to seek shelter. So I want to talk to a couple of them and find out what it is in their mind that's keeping them out of the services and the shelters that are available in Denver. Watch your feet for needles. You and I personally have been talking for the past year, so I've come out and talk to you when you're over behind the Sears building and... Right, right, right. So what's still got you out here, though? Looks like the tree over right there is filled with nothing but scraps that needs to go, and I can't get darn right in. I want to cash in and get out. You've come out time and time again, and you're still out here. I know. So what is one thing that I might be able to do that'll start a positive change for you? Like I said, if I could just get my scrap in. Here's my concern for you. Tonight it's going to get freakishly cold. Collecting scrap, collecting light fixtures, collecting stakes out of a dumpster. I understand there's value to it, and I'm not trying to take that away. You have a lot more value than a scrap that I see that you collect. When we talk about Ron, you see immediately the issues of hoarding. I don't want that to be the thing that keeps you on the street, and it seems like right now a lot of your stuff that's outdoors is what's keeping you on the street. Right. Would you agree with that? Yeah. Even if he were to completely clean everything you just saw within a month, it's back to this situation that it's in now. Would you be willing to talk to somebody about maybe some of the issues that I may or may not be able to help you with as a person, but I might be able to put you in touch with somebody that can. Sure. Somebody from MHCD, somebody that's in the mental health field that might be able to help you identify and work through some things. Right. You'd be willing to do that? Sure. All right. Like I said, once they get into the scrap yard, things will be a lot different. Not everybody needs the same mental health care treatment. Not everybody needs mental health care treatment. Some just need basic rental assistance. Some of them need vocational training to change a career path to where they get into a viable field. My personal hope would be that we connect the right people to the right services, and it really comes down to that.