The Denver City Council has requested a delay in voting for funding for a shelter run by the Salvation Army.

The Tamarac Family Shelter, located at 7525 E. Hampden Ave. in a repurposed Embassy Suites hotel building, was set to receive an $8 million contract with the city.

That is almost three-fourths of the amount invoiced to the city by the Salvation Army last year. The $8 million contract is only good for one year and expires on Dec. 31, 2024.

Councilwoman Sarah Parady asked for a delay of the vote ahead of the City Council’s session this afternoon. Typically, a contract only appears before the full council once and is approved on consent.

A council rule grants councilmembers the option to delay voting on a bill or resolution for one week without requiring a vote by the full council.  

Parady’s office could not be immediately reached for comment. 

The Denver Gazette also contacted other council members, including District 4 Councilwoman Diana Romero Campbell, where the Tamarac Family Shelter is located, and District 9 Councilman Darrell Watson, but did not receive a response from either.

A spokesperson for the Salvation Army said on Tuesday the weeklong delay won’t impact services at the Tamarac Shelter.

Metro Denver’s homeless crisis has worsened and become among the most acute in the nation, despite the city of Denver contracting for at least $274 million from 2021 through 2024 to keep people off the streets, according to an investigation by The Denver Gazette. 

Of that $274 million, almost half went to one provider, the Salvation Army. The venerable institution invoiced the city for $12.7 million in contracts in 2023 that generated just 17% in permanent housing outcomes for individuals receiving services.

The Denver metro region has added more homeless individuals than any other metro region in the country since 2018, according to key metrics collected by the federal government. Other metro regions, including Seattle and Houston, have had greater success during that period prioritizing permanent housing rather than the quick fix solutions critics say simply perpetuate homelessness.

A review by The Denver Gazette of homeless provider contracts, invoices, performance outcomes and federal data shows that metro Denver trails many other major metropolitan regions in tackling homelessness with permanent housing. Just two out of every 10 people exiting homeless programming in Denver in 2023 found long-term permanent housing, a rate far worse than most other areas in the nation, according to the records.

The Tamarac Family Shelter is a repurposed hotel, which have become a crucial strategy in Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s plan to house 2,000 people by the end of the year. The city has provided money for or purchased five former hotel sites to serve as homeless shelters. Oftentimes, the money is funneled to an organizations, such as the Salvation Army, to operate the hotel-turned-shelters.

So far, the city said it has tracked 1,512 people who have moved into shelters since the program started in Johnston’s first week as mayor under what the administration dubbed as the “All in Mile High” program.

Of the 1,512 people, the city claimed 449 have found permanent housing. Meanwhile, nine people have died and 136 are back on the streets. Furthermore, the city does not know the fate of 49 people, according to its latest data.

Senior investigative reporter Christopher Osher and investigative reporter Jenny Deam contributed to this story.