Home Care In Lakewood, CO

Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), fell 0.1 percent for the two months ending in January 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index declined 6.7 percent, almost entirely due to falling gasoline prices. The food index increased 1.2 percent over the past two months. The all items less food and energy index advanced 0.1 percent, largely due to higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U was up 3.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.1 percent, while food prices increased 3.2 percent over the year. Energy prices fell 6.0 percent, almost entirely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.2 percent for the two months ending in January. Prices for food at home (grocery store prices) increased 1.5 percent, while the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.9 percent over the same period. Among grocery store components, the index for nonalcoholic beverage and beverage materials contributed most to the rise (+3.8 percent), but all six major grocery store group indexes were up over the two-month period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.2 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 6.7 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 1.0 percent over the year. An increase in the index for fruits and vegetables (+4.3 percent) drove most of the rise in the food at home index, while a decline in the prices paid for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-1.3 percent) partially offset the increase.

Energy

The energy index fell 6.7 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-16.0 percent), but price decreases for natural gas service also contributed. Prices for electricity advanced 3.4 percent over the two-month period.

From January 2023 to January 2024, energy prices fell 6.0 percent, entirely due to lower prices for gasoline (-22.0 percent). Partially offsetting the decline, the index for natural gas service and the index for electricity (+1.9 percent) rose during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.5 percent), rent of primary residence (+1.4 percent), and recreation (+1.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care services, used cars and trucks (-3.8 percent), and public transportation.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.1 percent. Components contributing most to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+7.2 percent), rent of primary residence (+5.2 percent), medical care commodities, and tuition, other school fees, and childcare (+7.9 percent). Partly offsetting the advances were declines in prices paid for apparel (-6.6 percent) and used cars and trucks (-4.7 percent).

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date. For most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000. Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, Core Based Statistical Area is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park counties in Colorado.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Every day the team at American Samaritan brings new life to old furniture.

"Our phone rings on a continuous basis we are still not able to get out to all the people that want to donate to us," Douglas Evans said.

The family-run nonprofit has an entire showroom of used items, things not everyone can always afford, but often need.

Roughly 8,000 square feet filled with sofas, lamps, dining tables, and chairs.

"For a lot of people who needed furniture larger items, they are too expensive to purchase new they maybe don't have the means to transport to their house, single mom or elderly and they can't lift a couch," Evans said.

While their focus is on filling the need for those more necessary items. The family-run shop has found a soft spot for a sort of, luxury item, the piano.

Evans' daughter Rebecca has been playing since she was four- it was while trying to find her first piano he ended up with three, and their collection began.

"83 pianos later," Rebecca Evans said.

She's now 13 and the resident piano expert.

"It's been a family journey I've been here along the way so I kind of helped build it a little bit I've just seen how it works," she added.

With so many pianos, she thought it was time to do something different and now runs their "Pianos to the People" program.

"There's children who want to want to play the piano they just can't, so we try to break that barrier for them," Evans said about the program.

They are now giving pianos to children and families who can't afford them.

"We like to put music in front of children like they did with me because it's a way to communicate it's just something that so magical," she said.

While not everyone will benefit from a free piano, they're mission to provide as much help as they can to the community continues by offering a free furniture day.

Now, so popular families line up to get inside.

"Here is a line like out to the curb 100 plus people," Douglas Evans said.

Financially he says it's a loss, but the impact to those they serve and the feeling they get to hold on to, is priceless.

The first free furniture day of the new year is Saturday 10 a.m. at the American Samaritan showroom at 8400 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215.

Karen Morfitt

Karen Morfitt is a reporter at CBS News Colorado. Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email.

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An expanded resource in Jefferson County is helping the homeless community because of a growing need. RecoveryWorks is a nonprofit organization that recently opened a new navigation center in Lakewood.

James Ginsburg is the executive director of the organization. He said according to the most recent Point in Time Count, the number of homeless people in Jefferson County is up 73% since last year, from 493 people to 854 people. Meanwhile, unsheltered homelessness increased by 65%, from 187 people to 473.

Plus, Jefferson County had the largest percentage increase of homeless in the metro region from 2022 to 2023.

That's one of the reasons why RecoveryWorks has expanded from a 1,500-square-foot space into a new 10,000-square-foot building at 8000 West Colfax Avenue.

For about two and a half years, the center provided services and respite care to unhoused people, in a much smaller space just blocks away. However, the new navigation center offers even more, including food, primary and behavioral healthcare, mental health and recovery resources, and case management.

"There is a lot of need in the community. There are not any shelters in Jefferson County," said Ginsburg. "It's really time to respond, and I think we have an opportunity to get out in front of this."

It's the only day shelter of its kind nearby and serves up to 80 people daily, and more than 300 people every year. The goal is to address homelessness at its roots and help people get into permanent housing.

"You don't need an appointment and you can receive services sort of on demand and get started on that sometimes long journey into permanent housing," said Ginsburg, who added he wants the navigation center to be a part of a regional solution to address homelessness.

Ginsburg also said the number of homeless seniors, ages 55 and up, in the county has gone up about 61% in the past two years, from 55 individuals to 145.

"So we're going in the wrong direction and we're working closely with Lakewood and the county to intervene," said Ginsburg.

"There isn't anything like this in the community, a one-stop shop we call it," said Regina Legron, who found herself homeless for years. "I've been homeless for nine years through three states, trying to get out of it."

Legron said she was a victim of identity theft, followed by other unfortunate events, that left her on the streets. Now, she works full-time as the housekeeper lead at the new navigation center.

Legron said the organization has helped her stay stable and hopeful, and she now has a place of her own.

"I just got my apartment last Friday," said Legron. "It's pretty exciting, nine years, that's how long it took."

Next year, RecoveryWorks hopes to convert the other half of the building into a 24/7 year-round shelter.

The organization is also closing on a motel on Colfax soon that will be used for bridge housing. People will be able to stay at the bridge housing, until they can find more permanent housing.

Levering revenue from the state of Colorado, RecoveryWorks and the city of Lakewood relocated and expanded the existing drop-in and medical respite center.

Ashley Portillo

Ashley Portillo is a reporter for CBS News Colorado. Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email.

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When Wendi Strom ascended to the Lakewood mayor’s seat in November 2023, she left an open seat on the Lakewood City Council. A special election where Ward 5 residents vote to fill the seat was quickly arranged, and Paula Nystrom was named the winner Jan. 30.

As of 9:45 p.m. on the night of the election, Nystrom won with 2,199 votes. Jenny O’Neill, her opponent, got 1,778 votes.

Before the final ballots went in, Lakewood had a candidate forum at Westwoods Community Church to introduce the two people vying for Strom’s vacated seat on the council.

Nystrom and O’Neill joined current council member Jacob LaBure for the forum on Jan. 28. There are two seats in every ward. LaBure is the second Ward 5 councilor. The forum took the place of the Ward 5 monthly meeting and was hosted by LaBure.

Jo Davis of Jeffco Transcript moderated the forum where Ward 5’s new councilor revealed her reason for running for Strom’s vacated seat.

Nystrom said her love of nature and the natural habitat is what drew her to the seat.

“I grew up in the Poconos. So I love the mountains. I love all outdoor activities,” Nystrom explained. “I moved to Lakewood because of the access to the parks and the foothills. I enjoy biking and hiking and running across the area and I spent a lot of time in Belmar Park and Bear Creek Lake Park.

My parents taught me respect for everyone and the environment,” Nystrom continued. “That is the foundational to me my whole life.”

Loving Lakewood drives Nystrom’s desire to see the city preserved for future generations.

“I’m campaigning for Ward 5 of Lakewood City Council because I love Lakewood and everything it represents. But I don’t like the direction it’s headed right now,” Nystrom said. “I have lived in several different states. But I’ve been here for 10 years, in Ward 5. And I want to make sure that it’s preserved for future generations. We need to ensure that Lakewood has affordable housing, and it has green spaces. And we’re not developing without a strategic plan.”

Nystrom has worked with the “Save Belmar” group that is fighting the proposed housing development at Yarrow Street.

The forum revealed so many similarities between the candidates on their viewpoints. Both candidates were concerned about housing. In the last meeting, it was revealed that there are zero affordable housing developments in the works for Lakewood for 2024.

Both candidates also said the migrants pouring into the city is a problem that’s much bigger than Lakewood. Nystrom said a fix needs to be made because climate change will cause the flow of people to continue. Lakewood needs an ongoing solution. O’Neill agreed that the issue was bigger than Lakewood and talked about forming government and nonprofit partnerships to tackle the issue.

The candidates did begin to divide when it came to development. Both agreed that stopping development was not the answer. However, Nystrom, whose background is with the Save Belmar group fighting against the proposed Yarrow Street housing project. She said that the council needs a more stringent process. Nystrom said it shouldn’t take residents paying for lawyers and protesting to affect change.

O’Neill said she comes from the development side of things. She said there needs to be more communication and transparency in the process. To O’Neill, this means bringing developers and residents to the table.

You can find out more about the election on the city of Lakewood’s website.

Jo DavisReporter/ Newsletter Writer

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Jonita Davis is a film and culture critic, author, and freelance writer. Her published books include Questioning Cultural Appropriation (2018 Enslow Publishing), Carrying On (2022 Saga Fiction), and the...

A developer has temporarily halted the approval process for a controversial apartment building in Lakewood. Kairoi Residential now wants to get community input before moving forward. The pause is expected to last two months.

Belmar Park is a jewel in Lakewood. It is on public property, but very nearby, a 412-unit apartment building is being planned by a developer on privately-owned land.

Regina Hopkins is one of those who has been protesting against the development. She explained, "it is going to be a six-story high-rise with a five-story parking lot. It's going to take over the whole landscape in this area."

Fliers are being handed out to park-goers urging opposition to the development.

Anita Springsteen, a Lakewood City Council member, introduced a resolution to try to change the development approval process saying, "I believe it's our duty to step in and say 'hey, we are asking you to follow the law and to listen to the citizens of this community.'"

Sixty-nine trees have been marked with red ribbons by protesters to show how many trees on private land could be lost. One woman chained herself to one of them.

Hopkins appealed, "These are our community's crown jewels, cherished, and we don't want to see them die."

Lakewood allows developers to pay a fee instead of having to create open spaces. It also allows projects on private property to be approved without community forums. Springsteen said she feels the process needs to be changed.

"I believe that it's wrong for one person on staff, who is not even an elected official, to be able to make decisions like that for the community," she said.

The developer, Kairoi, wrote a letter to the City Council stating in part, "we should have worked to have a community discussion because of the importance of the neighboring park."

Lakewood has a residential growth limitation, but this project is exempt because it is in what is termed a reinvestment area."

Rick Sallinger

Rick Sallinger is a reporter for CBS News Colorado. Read his latest reports or check out his bio and send him an email.

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