Just south of Denver’s homeless crisis, Colorado County Giving its citizens a simple message – “Handouts don’t help” – it has virtually eliminated its homeless population.
In Douglas County, there are about 70 signs with the message at intersections and streets that were once popular haunts for area beggars. Each sign directs citizens to DouglasHasHeart.org, where they can redirect their donations to the Douglas County Community Foundation. The county resorted to print media and online ads to spread the message through the community.
Republican Douglas County Commissioner Abe Layden said of the initiative, “The idea came to me from a common sense perspective — I saw a lot of people, like my daughter, confused at intersections.”
“If you see someone who their luck is badIt feels bad when you drive by and do nothing – but on the other hand we all know stories of people who maybe didn’t use all the funds they received properly. Maybe it’s going on food, maybe it’s going on medication – you don’t know where the money is going.”
Douglas County Commissioner Abe Leyden, with members of the Assistance Resource Team to Help the Homeless, holds one of the many “Handouts Don’t Help” signs displayed around the county. (Provided by Abbey Leyden)
He added, “It seems like the more you donate on those particular corners, the more people are attracted. It becomes a topic of discussion on the streets – if you go to this corner, you will get money from there.”
Layden said the intersections and street corners where homeless people once roamed are now empty.
According to the most recent point-in-time count report done by several nonprofit organizations, Douglas County saw a sharp drop in the number of people living on the streets between 2022 and 2024, falling from 43 individuals to just six. Including those sleeping in their cars and area shelters, the total number of homeless people dropped from 96 to 69, according to the count.
On that day, July 29, no beggars or camps were seen in any of the county’s five jurisdictions.
Based on its own point-in-time count, which also includes people living in shelters and on the streets, Denver counts 9,065 homeless individuals in 2023, compared to 6,884 in 2022.
“I saw him Coming from Denver — people would get off the light rail, not pay for a ticket, get off at Long Tree,” Leyden said. “Next thing you know they’re on a corner asking for money.”
A homeless camp in Denver on August 23, 2023. (Hyong Chang/The Denver Post)
Layden said he first got the idea for the “Handouts Don’t Help” concept when he was volunteering with his son in the city of Lone Tree and noticed a homeless camp at the intersection of Lincoln and I-25 that was “littered with alcohol bottles and drug paraphernalia.”
“It was everywhere, but never as bad as downtown Denver — we started from a good place,” Leyden said. “(Our small homeless population) gave us a chance to nip the problem in the bud before it became really widespread.”
Layden said Douglas County’s Homeless Engagement, Support and Resource Team — which pairs behavioral health specialists with area police officers in interactions with the homeless — will have made 250 contacts with the homeless population when the initiative begins in 2022.
The Heart Team, in five branded vehicles, visits each homeless person, providing services to help them get back on their feet.
The picture shows a Douglas County sign directing citizens’ donations to be transferred from almshouses to county treasury. (Douglas County, Colorado)
“If people need services, they’re getting them. They’re getting hotel vouchers, we’re partnering with Ready to Work,” Layden said. “If someone needs a job, they’ll get a job. If they need a bus ticket back to their family in Tennessee, we’ve got that done. If someone needs food for a night or a week, they’ll get that.”
Heart Team Navigator Tiffany Marcetto said if homeless people refuse help, her team keeps trying.
“We had one individual who was resistant to services during our first two visits. He was going through a mental health crisis. (Four months later), when he was ready to reconnect with our team we were there for him. We helped him fill out an application for a housing opportunity in the metro area,” Marcito said.
“People may not be ready today, but they might be ready in the future,” he said. “They see our face, they know we’re with them and they know our team cares about them. They know our community cares about them, our continued engagement with these guys goes a long way.”
Plus, camping is illegal in Douglas County — the Hart team said they don’t often issue tickets, but instead use it to encourage their contacts to check into area homeless shelters.
“Our goal is compliance, to use the ordinance to help homeless individuals find better solutions,” explained Rand Clark, a HEART team navigator. “Very rarely does someone want to intentionally break the law. We’re able to use that tool from a positive perspective, to say our county ordinance is that you probably can’t sleep here, so how can we help you find shelter in a place where you want to live and not break the law.”
However, Leyden said, “Illegal activity is illegal activity, no matter who you are.”
“If you’re outside urinating, defecating, dealing drugs on our light rail system, it doesn’t matter if you have a home or not — you will be arrested,” he told Fox News Digital.
So far, the Douglas County Community Fund has received $11,000 in donations, with most of the donations coming from citizens who saw their signage. The Douglas County Homeless Initiative, which includes HEART, was funded with federal American Rescue Plan funds rather than tax dollars.
Layden said the “Handouts Don’t Help” initiative “can be applied everywhere from Main Street to Wall Street.”
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“This is a behavior change that is systemic and that can prevent homelessness in every community across the country,” he said.
When asked if such an approach could curb Denver’s homeless population, Kathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Coalition for the Homeless in Colorado, was less optimistic about the prospect.
“We applaud any jurisdiction working to address the homeless problem, but since they don’t provide shelter or robust services, and we know they are sending people to other cities and counties for help, it’s hard to believe that showing distaste for homeless people is the right solution to the problem,” he wrote via email.
