Homeless camps are a growing concern in Colorado city of Lakewood as county sees rise in unhoused numbers
By Karen Morfitt
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COLORADO (KCNC) — Aviation Park in Lakewood used to be filled with parents and their children. Recently it has transformed into a refuge for many of the Colorado city’s unhoused residents.
“What is beautiful and what made me decide to live here … is like a nightmare,” Cat Stone said.
Stone bought her condo next to the park four years ago. The balcony, she said, was the selling point.
“The part that I liked the best (was) walking out with my mug of coffee early in the morning to see those beautiful sunrises and look out on the park,” Stone said.
Now, her balcony overlooks a growing number of tents and the activity of the people living there.
“It used to be one or two occasionally, but then I don’t know what happened,” she said.
As the number of tents continues to grow, so do concerns about public health and safety.
“People are finding syringes, human excrement, condoms, Narcan boxes … just trash, trash, trash all over the place,” she said.
Stone says she has called police and filed multiple reports with the City of Lakewood.
“I got a nice letter that says, you know, it’s very difficult what we are doing, we are understaffed and overworked, and sometimes it will take up to 48 hours for us to react to one of your reports. Then a few days later I get a message that ‘This case has been closed,'” Stone said.
“Even though nothing’s really changed?” CBS Colorado reporter Karen Morfitt asked.
“Nothing,” Stone replied.
She shared her frustration with neighbors on Nextdoor and found many who echoed her concerns.
CBS Colorado requested records to find out how many 911 calls have come from Aviation Park. In roughly three months, the park generated nearly 150 calls for service — everything from burns, drugs and noise complaints to outstanding warrants.
Kerry Wrenick, the regional homeless coordinator for Jefferson County, says Lakewood is not alone. The county saw a 27% increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2024 to 2025, according to the annual Point-in-Time Count — the largest increase in the Denver metro area.
“The hidden homelessness — people don’t think about it, but when you are driving down the street and you see it day in and day out, that’s when people begin to recognize we are seeing an increase in unsheltered homelessness,” Wrenick said. “We don’t have emergency shelter options across the way to meet the needs, and we don’t have housing that’s within reach for those making minimum wage. So the visibility is becoming the prominent piece.”
She says cities across Jefferson County are now working together to bring more resources online. Lakewood, she says, is leading that effort by opening the first navigation center in the county.
“Everybody wants a solution, but the solution is hard to come by when you say, ‘Yes, but not here or there.’ I think having open and honest dialogue is going to be imperative right now,” Wrenick said.
“This is what I say to the city: whatever’s happening here is not a solution, and it’s not going to make anything any better,” Stone said.
CBS Colorado asked Lakewood police and city officials for comment about their response to the situation around Aviation Park, and what is being done to balance the needs of all residents.
The city provided a statement saying :
“We are quite aware of concerns about those who are unhoused camping in and around Aviation Park, and we also understand the impact this has on residents, the neighborhood and the community’s overall quality of life.”
“The city, including the Police Department, continues to work diligently to address the issues surrounding homelessness through a number of measures to provide a continuum of responses and services to resolve this community concern. We have a cross-departmental team that works continuously on this issue to respond as quickly and as timely as possible. However, as is the case with cities across the metro area and the country, the increase in homelessness continues to outstrip the city’s resources and ability to manage it. As a result, resolving encampments often takes longer than we or the residents would like to see. Even so, addressing homelessness remains a top priority for the city and the Police Department.”
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