Ashley Anderson and Jerry Martinez sat outside the Volunteers of America Aristocrat Family Motel one recent weekday, watching traffic on West Colfax Avenue zoom by while their 1-month-old son slept inside their room.

For several weeks, Anderson and Martinez, both 28, have lived in the motel that is one of seven in Denver specifically designated for homeless families.

“It has been very hard,” Anderson said about the struggle to finally find a place to stay, after living in parks and on the streets. She has struggled with drugs, has been unemployed and lost custody of their other three children.

“I just want to get stable again,” she said.

The plight of homeless families — the largest segment of the metro area’s homeless population — is getting attention as the Denver City Council prepares for a final vote tonight on proposed legislation to prohibit people from unauthorized camping.

The bill was introduced as a way to deal with the increasing numbers of homeless people in the downtown business district, but many homeless advocates worry it could affect homeless families.

Proponents say the law will give police tools to identify people in need and help connect them to services. They say the ban is not meant to cause further difficulty for struggling homeless families but to help.

Opponents fear the proposed ordinance’s broad approach could further criminalize homelessness and unnecessarily target homeless women and children who have fewer options for emergency shelter than men.

“If you don’t have a car, then where are you going to take your family if you can’t get a motel voucher?” asked Denver Councilwoman Debbie Ortega, who opposes the bill.

Families make up about two-thirds of the Denver area’s 12,605 homeless, according to a recent study. And 303 of the 964 unsheltered homeless people counted in the Jan. 23, 2012, Point-in-Time Study were in families with children — living in their cars or on the street.

The National Center on Family Homelessness says that not since the Great Depression have so many families been without homes, estimating that about 1.6 million children in the United States will experience homelessness within the year.

The numbers are being seen in the schools. Last year, the state had 21,487 homeless students, three times the number counted in 2004.

Denver Public Schools’ Education Outreach Program this year has served a record 2,076 homeless students — an 18 percent increase from the year before.

The impact of more families seeking help also is being felt by social-service agencies.

“It is definitely stretching us,” said Revekka Balancier, spokeswoman for Denver Human Services.

The seven-county Denver area has a total of 1,574 year-round shelter beds, 890 of which are for single people — mostly men. Metrowide, 668 shelter beds are available year-round for households with children.

“It is heartbreaking when I see these little children come in here and they stand by their parents all anxious, trying to figure out where they are going to stay tonight,” said Linda Barringer of the Family Tree.

Shirley Greene, 58, had to take custody of her grandchildren because of her daughter’s frequent run-ins with the law. But over time, she couldn’t keep up with her job and watching the kids. She was laid off and soon found herself living out of her car or staying with friends.

Eventually, with help from the Family Tree, she was able to get an apartment and steady employment and to pay off debts.

“I’m not surprised about the numbers of homeless families,” she said. “When you are out there, you meet a whole lot of people who are homeless. … You just have to keep having hope.”

At the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, caseworkers see about six new homeless families every day, said Susie Street, director of family-support services.

“At one point, we had to stop seeing families because the volume was so tremendous,” Street said. “We had staff doing after-hours intake, working on Saturday and Sundays. We just couldn’t make a dent.”

Caseworkers first try to figure out the families’ needs and whether they have any family or friends to stay with. If not, they will try to help them find shelter. But by 10 o’clock every morning, emergency shelter space for families usually has been filled, she said.

The Coalition can give out motel vouchers, but sometimes caseworkers have to just tell the families to try back again the next day, Street said.

In Denver, the city has 107 emergency shelter beds for families, a number that includes motel vouchers and space in churches.

The seven motels under contract with the city are available when shelters are full or other circumstances prevent a family or woman from going to a shelter. The cost to the city is $38 a night, and recipients must prove they have been in Denver for at least 30 days, must agree to meet with a case manager and abide by motel rules, and are limited to an average of 12 motel vouchers in a 12-month period, though extenuating circumstances can lengthen some stays.

Last year, Denver issued 5,498 vouchers at a cost of $443,655. This year, it expects about the same.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, who supports the camping-ban proposal, knows first-hand the struggles of homeless families.

When he was about 10, his family briefly lived in a Colfax Avenue motel before moving in with another family.

The lease on their rental had run out. His mother, a single parent, had trouble finding a new home. Few landlords at the time wanted to rent to a single, black mother with 10 children, Hancock said.

“Options ran out, and we had to split up the family,” he said. “I was with her and the other boys, and we were in the motel. We were there for about a week. Six of us in a room. Two beds. It was very tight. But there was comfort knowing that we were there together as a family. I remember that it was very stressful for Mom.”

Hancock said the experience stuck with him, reminding him that there are many different faces of the homeless.

“Obviously, there are families with children, most of whom you don’t see either because they are doubling up or are in shelters,” he said. “And then there are those who are homeless episodically and you see them trying to seek services. And there are the more chronically homeless who by choice want to sleep outdoors.”

Hancock said, “Regardless of what the face looks like, our goal should be to try to find them and get them the services necessary to give them a safe, warm environment.”

Hancock said the ordinance is just one step in the process to help the homeless.

“We know we have a lot of work to do and a long way to go,” he said. “This journey is by no means over for us.”

Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com

21,487

Homeless students in Colorado in 2011, up from about 7,000 in 2004

1,574

Year-round shelter beds in the metro area

668

Year-round shelter beds for households with children in the metro area

Protests planned

Denver City Council’s final vote tonight on the homeless-camping ban will be met with protests by Occupy Denver and other groups seeking to “highlight the business influence pushing this ordinance,” according to a news release.

The council, which approved the bill for a final vote two weeks ago, is expected to pass the bill.

The law — which would go into effect May 30 — would prohibit anyone from unauthorized camping in Denver and establish protocol for law officers to determine whether any medical or human-services assistance is needed before making a citation or arrest.

Denver Police Chief Robert White expects few arrests or citations.

Proponents say the law would give police an extra tool to help homeless people, get them services, and make sure they have a place to stay.

Opponents say it further criminalizes homelessness and that not enough services or shelter beds are available to help all of those in need.

Occupy Denver protesters sent out an e-mail Friday, calling for a series of protests that started Saturday.

Today, protesters will begin a rally at noon outside the City and County Building leading up to the 5:30 p.m. meeting.

Jeremy P. Meyer, The Denver Post