In the face of ongoing demand, the Denver Rescue Mission will continue to offer emergency overflow beds to the homeless.

The mission was going to stop offering the 100 overflow beds as of Saturday, but, with permission from the city, the shelter still has a total of 300 beds available.

"Losing those beds wouldn't have made sense with the camping ban," said Alexxa Gagner, spokeswoman for Denver Rescue.

Officials from Denver Human Services were not surprised by the demand.

"We anticipated it when the ban was brought forth," said Revekka Balancier, spokeswoman with Denver Human Services. "We knew more people would be seeking shelter."

The controversial camping ban, which went into effect May 29, prohibits camping in the city.

Proponents of the ban said it would give the city a better image, while opponents said it was targeting a helpless section of the population.

The ban has yielded no arrests, said Denver police spokeswoman Raquel Lopez.

Typically, the rescue mission uses emergency overflow beds in the winter; but they have also been used in the summer.

The rescue mission is zoned to allow for 200 beds, but can get a waiver from the city for emergency overflow, which happens every winter, Gagner said.

Last summer, the shelter was turning away men away because it did not have enough beds and had not enacted the emergency overflow operation.

Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409 or