Hostel Residents Kicked Out Due To Dangerous Conditions
DENVER (CBS4) - Close to 100 people have nowhere to stay after being kicked out of a hostel in Denver with no notice.
The city shut down the Denver International Youth Hostel Tuesday evening, citing a slew of hazardous conditions.
The hostel, located on 16th Avenue and Washington Street houses travelers, students, job-seekers, and people who are employed. Some of the residents have lived there for months or years.
On the outside, the hostel has some visible signs of disrepair, including a broken window that someone tried to patch with tape.
Eighty-six people were either staying or living at the hostel when city employees forced them out of the building without notice.
The Denver Fire Department noted numerous serious fire code violations that included impaired or missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, exit signs and emergency egress lighting. The department also noted excessive storage of combustible material in the basement, natural gas leaks, unsafe electrical wiring and holes in the drywall.
Some hostel residents felt they had no legal recourse since they were considered "transitional."
"It's B.S.," said Phil Anthony, a displaced hostel resident. "I'm not transitional. I'm fully employed. I go to school, and I had a roof over my head."
He came home from work to find caution tape and danger signs barring access to the building.
Anthony had been living there for the past four months and paying the $115 a week rent that he could afford while pursuing a degree in electrical engineering.
"Now we don't have (anywhere) to stay," Anthony said.
Keith Herron, another displaced hostel resident, was in the same position. Herron was one of 50 hostel residents who spent the night in a temporary, emergency shelter at the Salvation Army Community Center in Denver.
He told CBS4's Melissa Garcia that he and others might now be sleeping at a homeless shelter.
"I was transported from paying rent to being treated as a transient, being treated as a homeless person," Herron said.
The rent he says he paid to the hostel owner was supposed to last him through next Tuesday.
"He took my money… And the only answers I get is, 'We're going to drop you off at a shelter,'" Herron said.
Julio Vasquez, a Major with the Salvation Army said that the non-profit organization was working with the city and other agencies to try to find housing for the dozens who were displaced without warning.
"It put a strain on our services," Vasquez said. "But our staff are doing everything possible to help them out."
CBS4's Melissa Garcia talked with the building's owner and hostel president, Dick Mitchell.
Mitchell said that he was just as surprised by the city's shut-down as the residents were, and that he had not been aware of the fire code violations.
He said that he was working to refund hostel residents for their advanced rent payments.
A Denver Human Services spokesperson said that DHS would be working to help the displaced residents with their basic needs and with temporary shelter.
The Denver Fire Department said there will be no occupancy or use of the facility until approved by the fire department and Denver Development Services.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.
