8 AUGUST 6-12, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | creating affordable housing. The idea didn’t last long. By October of that year, the city raided the area. “The city called in 70 cops in riot gear and helicopters to arrest us all,” she recalls. “And, during the night, while we were all in jail, they came in with tow trucks and took all the homes that we built.” The attempt was not in vain, though. The group continued to advocate for the idea, with Howard eventually being part of the CVC’s start in 2017. The CVC then worked to get the tiny homes communities legalized and built into zoning. The fi rst version of Monroe in- cluded 11 homes built through volunteer labor for around $100,000, according to Howard. In his 2023 Homeless Emergency Budget estimate, Mayor Johnston had $19.6 million going toward the tiny home communities, including building the actual shelters, run- ning utilities and paying for support staff. Howard also notes the CVC’s total expenses in 2021 were $2,317,447. “When we fi rst started the village, there were four key principles that we believed in: quick, cheap, community-based and environ- mentally friendly. When we started, it was not perfect, but it was all of those things. Each of those things has worn away,” Howard says. “If it’s being done where it is a city cost and it’s being built to code and, therefore, meet- ing all of these construction standards that are racking up the insane cost, it is a better investment to be building or remodeling or vouchering in actual housing than the tiny home or micro communities.” Even so, the Monroe community is packed up and ready to operate somewhere else, directly avoiding any construction costs. CVC says the micro-community model is cheaper than hotel- and motel-based non- congregate shelters due to overhead and leasing costs. For example, hotels-turned- shelters cost around $7-9 million for 150-300 beds, with a “solid portion of those costs going towards ongoing maintenance and facilities costs,” according to CVC. Micro-communities, on the other hand, cost around $2 million for 40-60 beds, with the “vast majority of the costs going to our higher staffi ng rates on site.” Either way, the city seems to be moving away from both non-congregate shelter op- tions, according to the Department of Hous- ing Stability, which is “doubling down” on housing instead of temporary shelter models. Back in 2017, the initial Monroe village had a resident council that governed itself with a slight oversight from CVC. That idea “wasn’t perfect,” Howard says, and a middle ground between self-governance and the staff formed. That eventually made its way to complete control by CVC, with Howard claiming there is no longer any control held by residents. Instead, the CVC oversees every- thing, including guests, when someone enters or exits the community and the enforcement of “petty offenses” that are “even worse” than other homeless shelters, Howard alleges. Szewczyk says having a secure living space is a crucial part of the model: “Having a stable place to live means a person can ensure that not only they are completely safe, but surrounded by people that have their best interest in mind,” she says. But Howard argues that putting people in temporary shelters, like the tiny homes, is a “sexy” option for the mayor and the city for good headlines, but permanent housing should be the main goal. “I don’t want to belittle the fact that residents prefer it to the streets,” she says. “Most people are glad to get in, and (HAND) is constantly working with individuals who are trying to get in and trying to advocate for them to get in, because they do prefer that to the streets. But that doesn’t change the overall strategy of our use of money. People want a place with an actual bathroom.” Email the author at sage.kelley@westword. Beloved Village, at 4201 Monroe Street — one of Colorado Village Collaborative’s Tiny Home Villages. BENNITO L. KELT Y News continued from page 6
