The Salvation Army will cease managing operations at three of Denver’s hotel-turned-homeless shelters after fulfilling its current contracts with the city, according to a statement from the group on Thursday.

Those contracts run through 2025.

Citing the need to ensure “financial stability,” officials from the organization said the decision affects The Aspen and Stone Creek shelters, both located on Quebec Avenue in northeast Denver, and the Tamarac Family Shelter just off Hampden Avenue and I-25.

The Salvation Army has been a pivotal part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s efforts to end homelessness in the city, Johnston spokesperson Jon Ewing told The Denver Gazette, adding that the organization stepped up to help solve one of the city’s biggest challenges.

Officials said The Salvation Army will continue to operate the Lambuth Family Center, a short-term family shelter; the Connection Center, which provides access to Salvation Army and community resources and services; the Harbor Light Center, a place for men recovering from addiction or looking to prevent a relapse; and the Crossroads Center, a 24/7 emergency shelter serving at least 250 men daily in partnership with the City.

Ewing emphasized that the three hotel shelters will not close. Instead, new service providers will take over in 2026, he said.

City officials confirmed that The Salvation Army applied to continue operations at two of the shelters — The Aspen and Tamarac — but were not selected.

“Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) has completed its scheduled procurement process for the All in Mile High (AIMH) non-congregate shelters and micro communities and is now negotiating contracts with selected providers,” said HOST spokesperson Derek Woodbury. “In compliance with procurement rules, we cannot announce 2026 operators until the process concludes in early October. We can confirm, however, that The Salvation Army will not operate AIMH non-congregate shelters in 2026.”

Ewing described the city’s parting with The Salvation Army on those contracts as amicable.

The announcement comes after months of criticism by the Denver City Council and several high-profile crime incidents, including an alleged sexual assault on a female shelter resident by a Salvation Army employee.

In July, an 11-year-old girl fell six stories from the Tamarac Family Shelter, suffering serious injuries.

Salvation Army officials said they have “shouldered” more than $5 million in shelter operating costs, with expenses for operations outpacing the funding the city set.

Johnston has touted gains against homelessness, which he promised to end in his first term as mayor. His campaign has cost the city more than anticipated.

The city had been on track to spend more than $155 million on the crisis, the bulk of the money spent on converting former hotels into temporary shelters and building “micro-communities” — several areas that would house people in “tiny homes.” As it turned out, that $155 million had been $65 million more than what the mayor said his campaign would cost.

In June, Denver released its annual point-in-time count — a nationwide, yearly, unduplicated count of the homeless population conducted on a single night in January.

The count showed that the city’s homeless population grew to 7,327 last year, while the number of individuals who sleep on the street fell from 1,273 in 2024 to 785 in 2025.

“So, we’ve seen another rise in overall homelessness, but there are two really strong indicators that suggest it (homelessness) could be plateauing, and we could start to see a decrease in future years,” Cole Chandler, the Denver senior advisor for homelessness resolution, told reporters at a recent media roundtable, noting the decline in the number of newly-homeless individuals.

Chandler added that the city is “not planning” to add additional beds in 2025 but instead will focus resources on “throughput” and moving individuals in shelters toward more permanent housing.

While the city has no plans to close the three affected shelters, only a change in operators, the decision to end The Salvation Army’s contracts may impact shelter employees.

Salvation Army officials estimate approximately 240 staff members may be affected.

“We’re working with HOST on a smooth transfer of services  — and that includes employees,” Salvation Army Communications and Marketing Director Jennifer Forker told The Denver Gazette.

Services such as job placement assistance and emotional care will be provided, and those who meet current eligibility requirements will receive a severance package.

“I feel for the individuals who may lose their jobs and their livelihood as a result of this,” said former Salvation Army case manager David Walsh, who worked at The Aspen. “I definitely look forward to seeing how the All In Mile High program can advance in a more productive manner with a new organization that may be better suited for providing the services that were being provided — whether it be case management, program assistance, or wrap-around services.”

The Salvation Army said it is committed to working closely with the city and the new agency or agencies that will assume responsibility for the shelter services to ensure a smooth transition for clients and staff.

“I would certainly hope it would be a smooth transition,” Walsh added. “If I were the one running the transition, my first approach would be to try and retain as many of the people who work there as possible, so that you have individuals in there who know the population and know how the day-to-day operations run.”

Major Nesan Kistan, Intermountain Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army, said the organization is “not closing the door on need,” but rather it is “pivoting with purpose” to better focus energy and resources.

“This is not the end of our service to this community,” Kistan said in a statement. “It’s a necessary step toward a continued, sustainable and impactful future.”