Left Behind in Lockdown: COVID-19 and the Denver Unhoused Community

Presenter(s)

Lucy Briggs

Abstract or Description

The population experiencing homelessness in Denver, Colorado, increased by nearly 15% from 2018 to 2019 (MDHI, 2020). This trend, combined with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic of 2020, led to a distinct crisis nationwide among populations experiencing homelessness. As the COVID-19 virus hit Denver in the spring, the State instituted "stay-at-home" orders in an attempt to control the virus. What did a stay-at-home order look like for those without one? 

Previous research addressed several aspects of COVID-19 and homelessness: (1) Individuals experiencing homelessness are more socially vulnerable to hazards such as pandemics (Finnigan, 2020, Ritchie, 2020), (2) encampments may be safer than shelters in terms of COVID-19 spread, (Bryson, 2020, Susman, 2020), and (3) displacement of encampments have significant impacts upon the health and behavior of unhoused individuals (Westbrook & Robinson, 2020;  Langegger  & Koester, 2017). Existing literature gives a full picture of the displacement of encampments in Denver and the impacts of COVID-19 on unhoused individuals; however, it does not include thorough documentation on the intersection between these two experiences. Additionally, there is a notable lack of GIS data of encampments, shelters, services, and geographic movement. 

This thesis strives to answer the question, “How has COVID-19 impacted the locational strategies and spatial patterns of the Denver unhoused population in relation to the services of the city core?”