Denver opens bidding process to run micro-communities

Details: Cole Chandler, the mayor's senior adviser for homelessness, said the city wants organizations that will provide site operation and services at micro-communities, which can include tiny home villages and safe outdoor camping sites.

By the numbers: Chandler said the request for proposals will involve between seven and 10 sites, though he tells us that number could potentially increase depending on need.

• Those sites each would host between 40 and 100 people.
• Johnston said the RFPs are structured for smaller, local community-based nonprofits.

Yes, but: Chandler said agencies outside Denver and the state will be eligible to bid.

• Currently, Colorado Village Collaborative is one of the only local nonprofits that provide assistance at these kinds of sites.

What they're saying: "We know that it's going to take a whole ecosystem of service providers to really scale this effort," Chandler said Wednesday.

• Neither Johnston nor Chandler provided cost estimates for potential contracts.

The intrigue: Johnston said the city is still working to narrow down a list of 197 potential sites to house the micro-communities and is looking at both public and private properties.

• The preliminary sites are concentrated on historically underserved areas, though Chandler tells us the city's goal is to spread them across the city.

Of note: The mayor's administration has expanded trash pickup and provided bathrooms for people experiencing homelessness, two steps Johnston said are working to connect people to housing.

• Johnston said more than 26 people living in encampments have sought out additional services, including one person who had never had housing as an adult, and a pregnant woman who got a room in a hotel.