by John Claybaugh

   As long as there aren't enough beds, cots, and mats in Denver to provide sleeping arrangements for every homeless individual (to say nothing of the fact that most of the shelters feel inhumane and don't offer a good night's sleep) it is, in my opinion, inhumane, immoral, unconstitutional, ineffective, and just plain mean for the city and county of Denver or any other jurisdiction to keep ordinances and laws on the books that allow police officers to wake otherwise innocent people in the middle of the night just to tell them to move along. 
In reality, there is nowhere that a person experiencing homelessness can move along to that would be considered a legal location.

    Also, walk into any day shelter, soup kitchen, or other service provider location (especially if it's raining, snowing, freezing, or above 95°) and you will likely have a difficult time finding an available chair in which to sit.  This is one of the reasons people experiencing homelessness are found in public spaces all over town. 

    Another reason is the simple fact that humans need to rest from time to time as they travel from one location to another.  When you see someone with a suitcase or backpack sitting on the mall or some other bench it's not because they are planning to rob the convenience store. 

They simply want their feet to stop hurting.

The ultimate answer to homelessness is homes.

    However, until there are enough low income homes to go around the only sensible thing to do is to not criminalize my friends as they sleep, eat, and otherwise exist in public space.

by Jan Liughtfoot

    When a small amount of people has a disposable income, they think all others live by their standards._ So they figure if they the top 50 million Americans can afford to save, or exhaust their ample income on world trips, others of paltry take-home pay must also be squandering their wages. They have no other way to understand the lifestyles of the citizens in the USA._ It is human nature to assume others have as many resources as we do.   According to official reports, when our federal government developed the “poverty level” 52 years ago, on which all subsequent assistance has been based, the only item counted was the lowest cost at which food could be obtained. And that measure, updated for inflation, continues to be used as the basis for determining a citizens’ “need” for various kinds of government-provided assistance. 

     The US Department of Labor has done that. They have added together all the items people must pay for to live, from rent to a driver’s license, to determine the “cost of living.” But the minimal cost of food, rather than this “cost of living” figure, is what is used to calculate the “threshold of poverty,” on which the needs of our citizens is based.   Too few US officials accurately assess what it costs different individuals to live. For example, nurses and plumbers need licenses to work, and transportation, and auto repairs to get to work. It costs them more to work than factory workers. They and other workers could be at 300% of the official poverty level (based on the cost of food only), and still be in real poverty._ Nurses, teachers and even cops are often paid less than the true cost of living. And the owned-by-the-elite media safeguards the officials’ deliberate perjury by refusing to cover the real truth. As a result, around 270 million Americans, out of a population of 320 million--who are in, and suffer from “ real” poverty--remain uncounted.

    The homeless can hardly afford to spend $600 a month on rent. They are lucky to get $60 a day, perhaps from panhandling or doing day labor, to get a motel room, with nothing left for food or anything else.
Gordon M. Fisher tells us in his official report in 1992, using his polite officially accepted words:
      “In October 1989, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress released a staff study discussing current poverty measurement procedures and suggesting that the poverty thresholds be raised in real terms to reflect the major changes in consumption patterns and relative prices that have occurred in the United States since the mid-1950s.” (The Development of the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds and Their Subsequent History as the official U.S. Poverty Measure, by Gordon M. Fisher, May 1992). 

But this failed to occur--and still has not happened.

    The popular wisdom, then and now, is that we cannot solve poverty. Yet over 2,000 year ago, a wise man called Christ was asked "How much do we give those poor of cash?" _This man of wisdom, no matter what you believe he was or wasn't, simply replied what is still true (but untried) today: " You give the poor their full need!" 

    Instead, some confused US leaders say we should take 20% of the meager income from the elderly and the disabled to pay for the past Republican wars--despite the fact that for many people this subsidy does not pay the rent or medical co-pays. 

    Meanwhile other governmental leaders call for an increase in Social Security payments. But neither side has actually talked to us poor in order to figure out the amount required to cover the real cost of living.

    I was a hungry child when the US poverty level was created between 1963 and 1965. It was created by one woman, a mathematician named Mollie Orshansky. Until then the government estimated there were only 40 million Americans _mired in poverty. Ms Orchansky was a research analyst in the Social Security Administration and had bosses to satisfy. Some other mid-ranked official in the Social Security said this count missed a lot of basics such as rent, repairs, medical co-pays which I recall did exist in the 1960s, utilities, taxes, clothes, and gifts for loved ones.

    It was not the fault of Ms Orshansky, the person paid to create a bogus poverty level, that her numbers were low. She had many bosses to report to. They gave her the parameters her numbers had to fall in. Others in the Social Security office reportedly said the formula was flawed and would soon have to be reworked, in order to be accurate. There was no reworking. Not within five years, as people expected, nor in five decades. Logic tells us that the top US officials sought and got an undersized number reflecting a radically deficient poverty count.

    If one assumes the government bosses were not incompetent, then one of the reasonable conclusions to be reached is that these results--deflating the level of lack in the US--were deliberate on the part of our government. The 1960 measurement seemed to be an intentionally bogus finding--one which neither our government nor the media wanted to correct. It is likely that they didn’t want the people of the US and the world to see that what was advertised as the richest country in the world hosted one of the the greatest rates of human financial deficiency.

    It’s my belief then and now, after over 3+ decades of working for no pay with the poor and homeless, that our government--from the time of Presidents JFK and Johnson until now--has been unwilling to consider _all of life’s basics when counting the poor and their needs. If the number of poor were say 4 to 5 times the current estimation, people would be rioting in the streets, demanding fair wages and other economic moves to address their problems. 

    Until the true needs are exposed poverty cannot be corrected. We need to insist that accurate accounting is used to determine what it costs to survive and thrive be used to determine who is poor and needing help.  Today the press owned by a dozen or so billionaires refuses to carry the words of the poor, or their unpaid advocates, who care about those in poverty. So the fact that the US poverty level is based upon the cost of food alone is deftly hidden.

    Today, there are an estimated less than 5,000 Americans a year, out of 320 million Americans, whose words we see repeatedly in print. Senators, civic and religious leaders, CEO’s _are quoted each week or month. Not factory or cashier store workers. Nor are the opinions of single mothers or fathers--working for rickety/disheartening wages, and trying to cook meals using inadequate food stamp allotments--printed by the cream of the crop press. And most of the opinions printed by the media are distorting the truth, saying the poor are magically using their food stamps to buy luxury cruises.

    The news does not print the reality of the programs being broken either by design or by wrongful application. In terms of housing, the reality is that--as a result of HUD federal housing funds being cut by hundreds of millions of dollars--when filling out an application for subsidized housing, you are on a three year wait list. 

    And in terms of cuts in food benefits, the reality is that over 200 million Americans are down to eating oatmeal, pasta, or black eyed beans (without the ham hocks) in the last half of the month, or they cannot pay a handful of their back bills. If _our government were accurately identifying those needing help with food, and providing them an adequate amount of help, we would not be seeing the current high rates of people of all ages using church food pantries and soup kitchens.

   If the government accurately measured and responded to real needs, no one would be homeless. No one would be dying for lack of heat or cooling. Health would be better. There would be no expensive jails for the homeless.  Everyone, whether working for a living or on disability or social security, or even receiving welfare, deserves to have their basic needs met. When you count the lack of such basics, as water, rent, furniture, communications, repairs, transportation, and taxes, there are 270 million or more who are without the essentials of life. That leaves about 50 million with disposable income, who can buy $2,000 to $9,000 trips, a big 40 foot boat, smart phones, _technical equipment etc.
    If poverty were eliminated, everyone could save up to buy a high end item._ We only need to apply a simple phrase from over 2000 years ago, and pay all workers, all disabled, elderly and welfare parents the real need.

    This is a crime of the mind that takes away from peoples human civil rights to be able to sit in public places without being summed up to deviant activities that others may choose and be considered a criminal to do so.

This abuse of power needs to stop.

    If you are doing things you shouldn't be then that is different yet everyone deserves to be treated as an individual that operates within their own mindset and not summed up to others choices that aren't yours.  This is very unhealthy and is total disregard to humanity.

    Everybody deserves the right to use the bathroom.  Deal with the individuals that are doing things that abuse this right which aren't for the purpose of what it is for and don't sum everyone up to those choices.  This is abuse of power and violates peoples human civil rights.

    All those that have these mindsets have committed a crime of the mind which is infringed upon all others that is a total injustice.  These are the people that shouldn't be allowed to make decisions or in the positions that they are in if they abuse the power that they are given and act with this type of mindset.

    To not be treated as an individual goes against peoples civil rights.  We have the right to be able to be in a public place if we aren't doing things we shouldn't.  To assume everyone makes the same choices in a public place that aren't favorable is chosen ignorance which shouldn't be tolerated nor honored.  Homelessness comes with many variables and isn't a crime.

    Go to third world countries and all over the world and put people in prison because they are poor or gone through hardships operates on totalitarian tactics and is a total abuse of power until to the tables might be turned and these people may experience it with that mindset would come to a halt overnight.

    Homelessness isn't a crime. Poverty isn't a crime. The same things people do when they are rich, they also do when they are poor.

    It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor; it matters what you do in either bracket. People who are poor and people who are rich can both abuse public places with choices that are not acceptable in them. To say that everyone makes the same choices in the same places is incriminating and goes against people’s civil rights to be an individual and not be summed up by the masses.

    People who exploit people in need or in less favorable circumstances are criminally minded and shouldn't be in positions where they can abuse the power they are given and infringe upon the lives of those who are going through whatever it is that led them to unfortunate circumstances.

    Anyone can become rich or poor in any stage in their life. Just because you may not have a certain level of status or income doesn't make you a criminal. It is a crime of the mindless to even consider this as an option to put upon humankind. In Communist countries we can see this level of thinking as acceptable, yet it is unfathomable in a country that is supposed to be for the people.

    Everyone deserves the right to rest in public places. Why bother the people who aren't bothering anyone? Stereotyping is very unhealthy and to sum everyone up to it amounts to a crime of the mindless. Chosen ignorance is a crime of the mindless.

    Your mind--not your level of wealth--determines what you do in public places. Anyone, rich or poor, who resorts to criminal activities in public places is a criminal. What people do in public places is what you should be addressing. Drinking, drugging and other deviant activities in public places are obviously not allowed. Deal with the people who are doing these types of activities in public places and don't assume everyone is making these choices by making it a crime to be in public places to stop and rest. 

    Poverty isn't a crime. Everyone deserves the right to be in a public place regardless of their race, color, or creed. People from all walks of life and every variation need to rest every now and then.  And regarding public restrooms, which hardly exist in Denver and which are badly needed…  A bathroom isn't a luxury, it is a basic common human need and necessity. Most places honor this for what it is. Not everyone makes the same choices for public usage of restrooms. Most people use the bathroom for what it is meant to be used for. Deal with the individuals who don't individually and don't assume everyone will make bad choices. 

    Don’t refuse to provide public bathrooms and justify your refusal by claiming they will be misused.  To do so totally disregards one’s right to be treated as a human with basic needs.

    Not everyone uses a bathroom for drugs or alcohol or god knows what else. With all due respect and not judging yet being real, should everyone’s needs be ignored just because of the actions of a few? To take away a person’s human rights to a bathroom is a crime. People who abuse the power they are given are criminally minded. It doesn't take being a certain race, color, nationality or income level to have civil rights.  It takes constant knowledge of them to not come up short of them.

    Bathrooms are a necessity not a luxury. Public places are for everyone no matter what.
If you are doing something that you shouldn't in them, then and only then are you committing a crime.

    Anyone who says poverty or homelessness is a crime is totally inhumane and has yet to suffer in any hardships. If that were the case a good portion of the world would be criminals. Obviously those who think this way need to take a humanities course to refresh their skills in understanding society and the many variables of living.

If poverty and homelessness are crimes then we wouldn't have space left for the real criminals who are engaging in real criminal activities, would we? People in power who think this way must be really miserable within themselves to exercise such abuse to the less fortunate just to make themselves look better. Pray for them.

How you treat people who may be suffering from less fortunate circumstances than your own may be the treatment you get if you ever find yourself in a hardship position.

By Debbie Brady

    I am an old lady living on a limited fixed income from Social Security, but when I was working and I had money I used to donate to many charities. I tended to send money to organizations that helped young people, especially LBGTQ youth as I am a transgender woman. Now that I am retired and just getting by, I still get emails and letters from charities from all over the world asking for donations to their many worthy causes. I read them with regret; I just cannot afford to contribute to them anymore.

    I have noticed one thing about all of these letters though. There are stories of refugees, disaster survivors, displaced children all over the world, but not one of them asks for donations for the displaced citizens of the United States of America. Not one.
All of these charities send billions of dollars of private donations overseas to help in some very worthy causes, while we have people in our own cities,   

   Not to mention those that die at the hands of our run-amuck police state.  These people are out there, I know. I see them every day, talk to them, work with them, many are some of my dearest friends. You see I used to be one of them. I went from making 70K a year to being destitute between 2008 and 2010. I won’t go into details here, but suffice to say that George W Bush is not one of my favorite people.

    I have been a member of Denver Homeless Out Loud for the last two and a half years; it is my way of attempting to pay it forward. One thing about homeless people I have noticed in the last five   years that I have been among them is that they are amazingly normal. They range from Mensa geniuses to morons just like the rest of the population. A small percentage of them have mental health issues, just like the rest of the population. There are some who abuse drugs or alcohol just like the rest of the population. See what I mean: amazingly normal.

    The only difference between the homeless population and everybody else that I can see is that the homeless are forced to live their lives in public, worse than living in a fishbowl. You have nowhere to poop or pee, you have to keep moving or you get hassled by cops. You need to find a place to eat and later a place to sleep. Your every minute is consumed with the effort to survive. You are hauling around everything you own every minute of the day or someone will rob you. You are looking over your shoulder constantly, you are a nervous wreck. You have a job interview the next day, so you need a place where you can clean up and stash your stuff, so you don’t have to drag everything you own to a job interview. If you manage this then you have to explain your lack of a permanent address and the hole in your employment history and of course you don’t get the job bagging groceries at Safeway.

    In many of our cities, my own included, the answer to the homeless problem is to make it illegal to perform acts of survival, such as eating, sleeping and relieving oneself, in public, even though there are no facilities available for people who are unsheltered. This just makes a bad situation worse. It is a documented fact that giving someone a place to live is less expensive than throwing them in jail or attempting to provide services to them while they are living on the street.  But that is too easy and goes against the grain of most politicians and the business tycoons who control them. The movers and shakers who run these city and state governments just want us to disappear.  They don’t care where we disappear to, as long as we are not disrupting commerce downtown.     
    
There are no big international charities working on behalf of these folks though, at least that I know of. Our only “sin” for the most part is that we fell victim to the greed of the tycoons and politicians who are currently running the show. Other than that most of us are amazingly normal folks. 
    
Americans are a generous people; we have demonstrated that all over the world in many very worthy causes over the course of our history.
I think it’s time to spend some of that generosity a little closer to home and do something for our fellow citizens in need.