Opinion: False fire alarms, bloody lobby: Should Denver homeless hotels have RAs like college dorms?

A resident who broke a window with his hand left a trail of blood at Fusion Studios leading from the second floor and down to the lobby.Photo byDavid Heitz

It has been a few weeks since I have published my last homeless hotel diary, which I promised a few months ago to write every weekend. Some readers have commented recently that I complain too much so I thought I would ease up on the negativity.

But writing about what goes on at Fusion is not about being negative, it’s about raising awareness of real problems. And hopefully discussing solutions. Last night we had an unsettling incident. A man busted out his apartment window and severely cut his hand. A trail of blood led from his apartment on the second floor down the stairs to the lobby below. All the furniture in the lobby was rearranged to cordon off the bloody area.

I have said it before and I will say it again: I am extremely grateful to security at Fusion Studios. When you live in a building with unstable people, whether because of addiction, mental illness or both, security is necessary. I have thought about moving out of Fusion and renting a room, but I worry about who else would live in the house (and about possibly sharing a bathroom) and the fact there would be no security. I also would miss my wraparound supports such as case management, a therapist, and a psychiatrist on site. So, what can be done to make Fusion safer?

I often compare living at Fusion Studios to life in the first-year dormitory at Augustana College, from which I graduated in 1992. I remember my first year at Augustana, several people on my floor frequently would get stinking drunk. They would pick fights and make an ass of themselves. Mind you, these were spoiled college youngsters, not traumatized formerly homeless people, but the behaviors were basically the same.

The most unpopular person on the floor: The RA

So how do colleges handle party animals in the dorms? They have resident advisers, or RAs, on every floor. RAs get free room and board in exchange for serving as the police and peacemakers for their floor. Students who violate dormitory policies are reprimanded by RAs and can be kicked out of campus housing.

I floated the idea for RAs in properties for the formerly homeless past Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Communications Director Alexis Witham. She responded that such a proposition would be expensive. “I think the RA idea is an interesting one, but I think quite difficult to fund for the Coalition as it would be a large number of floors at our many properties,” Witham wrote in an email. But she was not without ideas of her own. “I know that peer support specialists who work in other areas of the Coalition can be incredibly helpful in working with clients and residents because of the lived experience they share with those they serve. It would be great to think of other ways that those of lived experience could assist with neighbors, but I don't believe we have anything in the works right now.”

Panic buttons in rooms?

I appreciated Witham stoking the idea some more. Maybe there is a way people would do the job in exchange for free rent, although that still would be at a cost to the Coalition. And probably not many people would want to live in a homeless hotel and play peace maker, to be honest. There are very real safety risks. And the worst thing that could happen would be to put the wrong type of people in those jobs. People with lived experience seems ideal. Perhaps residents with lived experience could serve as liaisons to property management and report problems. But as my dad always used to say, nobody likes a tattletale.

Maybe they should install panic buttons in our rooms that ring down at the security desk. I used to be able to call security downstairs, but I don’t think that number works any longer. Sometimes there are major fights going on up here. You don’t dare leave your room during those dangerous times so it would be nice to be able to alert security.

Other than multiple fire alarms on some days, it has been pretty quiet the past few weeks at Fusion. I cannot complain. But I do wish more could be done to make Fusion safer. If you have any ideas about how to address mayhem at Fusion and other homeless hotels, please leave them in the comments.