Mike Coffman, a U.S. military veteran who held many government offices, and is the current mayor of Aurora, Colorado, spent a week in homeless encampments to learn from the inhabitants. As mayor, he didn’t talk about it, or hire consultants to study it; he went to see and listen to people first hand. As “Homeless Mike,” he slept “covered with a tarp as temperatures dipped into the teens." “His experience on the street led the mayor to help found the non-profit Advanced Pathways. The incentive-based program includes a 600-person transitional housing facility.” People can move from shelter, to transitional housing, to full-time jobs helping them “achieve the highest level of self-sufficiency they are capable of reaching.” The mayor continues to visit once a week, getting to know them while they get to know him, to openly talk about their challenges and future.
