Thank God For The Gathering Place here in Denver, Colorado. Being homeless is no joke. It is nothing but a struggle. It's a struggle to get clean. It's a struggle to eat. It's a struggle to wash your clothes. It's a struggle to get warm. And sometimes clean socks are so very necessary.
    I was with a home and thought that I "knew" about the Homeless Struggle. That was before I was made homeless, and then that world opened up so much more for me. And then I learned more. Experienced more. Washing became a necessity for me. You see I was always clean, and being "homeless" was no reason to change. So The Lord God led me to The Gathering Place, where I discovered a wealth of resources available to women, children, lesbians, and transgender individuals.
    The Gathering Place provides a safe place for women during the daytime. There are some beds where you can catch some shuteye after spending all night roaming the streets looking for a safe place to sleep. There is a cold breakfast served five days a week. Plus they offer a variety of classes and a computer lab for those of you that are computer savvy. There is even a safe place for families and children. 
    This place is really great – you just have to FOLLOW THE RULES. But this place is also a wealth of resources. You can stop in and receive a hot lunch or pick up a sack lunch and take it with you if crowds are not your thing. I promise that I am not getting paid for this – I just found that the people there were really helpful. They even have access to a housing program.
    Being homeless sucks, but The Gathering Place helps take the edge off of something so unbeautiful. Homelessness can affect anyone, but just because We Are Homeless does not make us inhuman. Just unfortunate for the moment. Give Humane Kindness a chance.

​    We are all taxpayers. Don’t let the fat cats tell you that they own a bigger stake in this country because they pay more in taxes. That is nonsense. Even if you have never filed a 1040 tax form, remember that poor folk pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than rich folk do. Even the poor soul who spends all day begging in front of the liquor store so he can buy his next bottle pays a larger percentage of his income in taxes than Bill Gates. In a bottle of liquor, the smallest percentage of the price is the cost of producing, bottling, and shipping the actual liquor. State and federal liquor taxes and county or city and state sales tax account for most of the retail price of the product. So, our poor soul who lives for his next bottle is a taxpaying citizen of this country and pays a much larger percentage of his income in taxes than most of the rest of us. He deserves all the rights that most of us take for granted.
    Rich folk spend a very small percentage (usually less than 1%) of their income on the goods that poor folk spend all of their income on. Most of rich folks’ income (90% or more) goes to “tax havens,” mostly offshore. The government never sees a dime of this hidden money. So, who are the major stakeholders in this country? You have to consider that there are a lot more of us than there are of them. According to my math, it’s us, the poor folk. We pay most of the taxes! If you don’t believe me, see how long it takes for the IRS to come after you when you fail to pay them what they say you owe, and don’t forget interest and penalties. They can more than double your tax bill. The collectors know that it is much easier to get thousands out of you than it is to get millions or billions out of the corporate tycoons who mostly wrote the tax laws that protect their offshore wealth.
    Every dime a poor person spends has an increasingly larger percentage of it going to some government agency in the form of taxes, especially if they buy things like cigarettes and booze, because these items, and others that polite society frowns upon, include a “sin tax.” Politicians have found that imposing a “sin tax” is very popular with voters. Of course, many of these things that society decides deserve a “sin tax” are things us poor folk use to make our lives more livable.
    I guess what I’m trying to say here, or maybe the moral of this story, is that we are all taxpaying citizens and stakeholders in this country, and it’s about time for us to start acting like it. Easy to say, I know. What can we do? Well, the first thing I would suggest is voting. Our current Congress was elected by 36.4% of eligible voters. I can’t help but wonder how different Washington, D.C. would look today if more of us had voted. I know that voting is easier for some of us than for others, especially the homeless. So, we must always work to make sure the right to vote is protected for all citizens.
    Beyond that, talk to friends, look for a group in which to voice your grievances, become allies with like-minded groups, and make your voices heard. History is rich with stories of small movements creating widespread changes. Let’s us, you and me, be the start of the next great change. 

     Freezing temps show the reality of a shortage of beds for the homeless community in Denver. Over the years, homeless individuals have routinely chosen to sleep outside, especially during warm weather months. Some people do not feel comfortable or safe in shelters due to mental illness and other reasons; others like the freedom of not having to report to a shelter at a specific time.
    Also, there are not enough beds, cots, and mats in the various shelters for every homeless person to be able to have one on any given night. In looking at the number of individuals experiencing homelessness, the “Point in Time Study” sponsored by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative reported that over 10,000 homeless individuals live in our city. In contrast, there are barely over 1,000 emergency shelter beds available. These beds are seasonally supplemented by a few hundred more in the winter months – still way below the need. So, where should a person who is experiencing homelessness sleep?
    During the recent cold weather, Denver Rescue Mission (meaning the Lawrence shelter) filled their dorm, both chapels, the hallways, and the dining room. We know this from talking to the staff of the shelter and various homeless individuals who use the shelter.
   Without going into great detail, let me say that there are 200 beds upstairs (the dorm), and just over 100 mats that the shelter uses in the chapels and hallways of its main floor.
    Once those fill up, if it is super-cold outside, the staff will allow people to sleep on the tile floor of the dining room. They don’t have mats for that space and may or may not have blankets. Last year I slept in the dining room once. I was given one or two sheets, that’s it. Thankfully, I carried a blanket with me at the time and slept on that.
    When the camping ban was voted into effect, there was talk about creating more sleeping space in the shelters. This has happened on a small scale, but it isn’t enough. And that doesn’t take into consideration the people who won’t go to shelters.
    Even with all of the documentation, it seems that politicians and other city officials want to gloss over the facts and tell the general public that the city has a handle on the problem of homelessness. While there have been improvements in some areas, there is still a lot to be done in servicing the homeless population of the Denver Metropolitan area.
    This is why Denver Homeless Out Loud exists. We aim to be a voice for the homeless community. Everyone needs to be made aware that there are not enough beds, and we need to create solutions to this ongoing situation.

     ​I am Joe Santiago, an activist, cause I want to bring awareness about the homeless situation in Denver. I want to give back to the community and pay it forward to my brothers and sisters. I’m ready to be part of the solution. I came out of the shadows of disenfranchisement, into the light of this cannabis legalization and regulation. Denver, Colorado is where I choose to call home, because here I’m free, free of oppression for being a cannabis patient. I use cannabis to ease anxiety and stress, but more than medicine, cannabis provides employment, stable housing, and the chance to be a proactive member of my community. I’m very thankful to be part of this unique movement. I’m very proud to say that as a citizen of the most desirable city in the nation. And this is due to the fact that we have the most progressive cannabis laws in the world. And let this be the standard for other states to follow. So with that being said, let’s ease the criteria to get lodging for the homeless. Let’s tax dispensaries so they can provide stable housing and employment to the homeless community. 

1

    I met a woman at the shelter named Lisa. I had been staying only a week, maybe, and she started talking to me. We had an instant connection, talked about all kinds of things. Environment, politics, religion, the homeless, too. She was openly gay; I am neither gay nor straight. Having survived an emotionally abusive marriage, I have renounced all sexual entanglements.
    Lisa was mentally unstable. Bipolar, taking a wide variety of drugs, and recently relapsed back to drinking. I can’t imagine her doctor approving of her combination of drugs and alcohol. I just don’t know. Talking to Lisa helped me adjust to life at the shelter. When it started getting colder, she gave me a coat, and, knowing I was low on cash, she would give me a few dollars from time to time.
    She wasn’t a regular, at the shelter every night. She’d been living in Denver for fifteen years and had a variety of friends, both gay and straight, and she could crash at their places occasionally. Toward the end of my three-week stay, she expressed an interest in coming with me to Idaho Springs for the winter. I was somewhat apprehensive, knowing how unstable she could be. I was unwilling to be her caregiver or enable her addictions. I told her I would be traveling the first day alone. Moving is so stressful without any other distractions. She seemed okay with this. I never saw her again. We spoke on the phone, and she promised to be there on my last night to say, “Good luck, I’ll see you soon.”
    Well, four nights went by without Lisa, and on my final night, I called her to tell her that, obviously, we would not be continuing our new friendship. Still, knowing Lisa opened my eyes to her world. Dependent on others, unable to make it on her own, unwilling to face her need for hospitalization. So I imagine it must be for others also.

2

Two other issues bothered me greatly. One was the women with dogs. There were five women with dogs, only one of which was medically needed. They all treated their dogs well, except one young lady who had a fifty-month-old puppy. I know she had a drug problem because each morning at 5:00 am she’d be out the gate to the people who spent the night on the sidewalk. She would then tie the puppy by a short leash to the fence, with no blanket to protect its feet from the cold sidewalk, while she partook of her drug of choice.
 I inquired and learned that these dogs rarely, if ever, received vet care. Most of the women obviously loved their pets, and these dogs were well-fed and warm. Doggy coats and beds on the sidewalk to keep them warm. Still, all I wanted was to take them all to a shelter, where they would hopefully end up in a better situation.
 The other issue was the pregnant women. Where do they go after the baby is born? Are they then eligible for housing, is this maybe why they got pregnant? I know that, in Connecticut, many women would have many kids to remain on welfare, not having to work while the kids were little. How many I used to see abusing fancy cars, while I had none!
 So what kind of life will this baby have? Will the mother be able to maintain a clean a safe home? Will she return to drugs and abuse? Ah, I lie awake sometimes wondering about the fates of these babies, and why birth control is not more noticeably posted everywhere.

3

    I met a young girl at the shelter; she was 20. She was so bouncy, always listening to music and dancing. It made me jealous, her youth. I can barely walk. Well, she had stolen money from her mom, $500. Her mom turned her into the police. Her step-dad wanted to drop the charges, but her mom said no. She spent two to four weeks in jail and then came to the shelter to wait until her mom thought she’d learned a lesson. So, she wasn’t to become a long-term guest.
    A few women who were there for the first time would sit at the dinner table and cry. I didn’t intrude, but I imagine they were crying because they were scared of what might be in their future. I would see one woman who spent nights in the shelter on the 16th Street Mall holding a cardboard sign – HUNGRY, HOMELESS, PLEASE HELP – and then using whatever money she got to buy her drug of choice. I saw her do this with my own eyes – she may have been homeless, but she wasn’t going hungry.
    At the shelter, we got fed breakfast and dinner everyday. In discussing the homeless with someone, I concluded that those who chose to stay on the sidewalks really wanted no rules imposed on them. The ones who came in didn’t mind what few rules there were and preferred to stay safe and warm. Also, a toilet was just a short walk away. Where did the women and men on the sidewalks defecate? I don’t know, maybe at St. Francis? That place wasn’t far, except if you had to go NOW. What then? On 16th Street there was a public toilet at Arapahoe Park. I used the toilets at Union Station, they being VERY clean. I would remain there for a while to charge my phone and write letters to my mother and read a newspaper I had found. Sometimes I would fall asleep, but generally security left me alone as I did not appear to be homeless, only waiting for a train, maybe. 

4

​    We here in Idaho Springs have our share of homeless people, only they generally take to the mountains, erect a tarp, build a fire, cook some food. Yes, it must get pretty cold up there at night, and there are few public bathrooms to wash up in. I belong to the Senior Center here now, and these next few words are taken from their monthly publication:
    "We live in a thought police state like our nemesis Mother Russia. A woman abused can be evicted because of the abuse. $631 billion for the war machine. DISPARITY. $2.1 billion for the homeless. 33% of cities make it illegal to stand around or loiter anyplace in the city. 53% make it illegal to sit or lie down in particular public places."
    I once witnessed a Vietnam vet making a stand against the security on 16th Street Mall for not allowing him to sit and rest on the side of a planter. I spoke to another young man who had been arrested a few times for loitering. He spent a couple nights in jail. Finally, a judge dismissed the charges and told him to “go away.” So, this is how some of Denver’s citizens’ tax dollars are being spent. Such a waste. Except for the young man, who got some free food and a warm place to sleep for a couple nights. Not all of the homeless beg for money. Where does their money come from? Good question, but I don’t have the answer. 

     Five hundred fifty-three thousand seven hundred forty-two: according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, there are 553,742 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States, with 35 percent of them – 192,875 human beings – living entirely without shelter. In the seven-county Denver Metropolitan area, the figure is 924: 924 human beings going unsheltered on any given night. Every one of these 924 people is criminalized by Denver’s sixteen ordinances that punish poverty and marginalize homeless people.
    These city ordinances push the homeless deeper into darkness and danger. Where do you “move on” to when you have no place to go? A back alley? A dumpster? According to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, 231 homeless people died in Denver in 2017, all of them forbidden by law to even cover themselves as they drew their last breath. This figure is up from 171 in 2016. 
    Can you imagine being harassed by police and ordered to “move on” for sharing a sandwich with a friend in a public park? Can you imagine being questioned, searched, or even threatened with arrest for protecting yourself with a plastic trash bag from a flash storm, or for ducking into a doorway to get out of the rain? Can you imagine having your personal property searched, seized and likely tossed in the trash without either a warrant or probable cause? Every day, Denver’s homeless community endures these injustices, and many more. 
    In 2012, Denver’s City Council voted 9-4 to pass the Urban Camping Ban ordinance, which makes it illegal for homeless people to sleep outside in Denver: not on the street, not in any public space, not even in an alley. The law demands that, if you’re in Denver, you keep moving, even though there is nowhere to go. Though Denver had, and still has, minimal services to mitigate homelessness, Mayor Michael Hancock was able to sell the camping ban as an act of compassion designed to help police guide the homeless toward overworked, underfunded, barely-existent services. Councilperson Susan Shepherd called the vote to pass the ban “a great injustice and tragedy that we are about to commit in the name of compassion.” 
    Six years later, the injustice and tragedy continue. Emergency shelter beds are still woefully inadequate, only able to serve a fraction of those without shelter. There are no shelters for men with children, the LGBTQ community, or people with pets. Moreover, Denver’s government has no effective agency to ascertain and address the concerns of the city’s homeless community. The 43-member Commission to End Homelessness, which first convened in 2004 and which disbanded in May 2017, was “plagued with problems” according to Westword: the commission was never consulted about the camping ban, nor was it consulted about the large-scale sweeps of homeless encampments conducted by the city in 2016. And its replacement commission, the 15-member Advisory Committee for Housing People Experiencing Homelessness, is barely getting started; the mayor only announced the formation of the committee on April 26.
    The indifference and inhumanity of Denver’s government towards homeless people and the challenges they face are amplified by the dozens of citations that Denver police issue to them every day. Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL) is working to help Denver restore its humanity. DHOL does not believe that the city government’s stance is at all reflective of the compassion and kindness of Denver’s citizenry. Denver is a city where the average monthly rent for a one bedroom apt is $1,419, just slightly less than the monthly earnings of a minimum wage worker. Denver is a city where many hundreds, perhaps thousands, are only a paycheck away from joining the homeless community. And Denver is a community that cares.

    The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution reads:

    "The right of the people to be secure in
    their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
    against unreasonable searches and
    seizures, shall not be violated, and no
   Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
   cause, supported by Oath or affirmation,
   and particularly describing the place to be
   searched, and the person or things to be
   seized."

    Tonight, hundreds of people are on the brink of becoming part of the homeless community, to which, judging by the actions of the Denver police, the Fourth Amendment does not apply.
    Did you know that while the city pads revenues by allowing, and even inviting, food vendors to ply their wares in Denver’s parks and other public spaces, it simultaneously, at these same locations, uses police harassment to discourage and debase the efforts of community and charity organizations, religious institutions, and lone good Samaritans to provide meals to the homeless and hungry?
    Denver Homeless Out Loud has declared that enough is enough and has mobilized an effort to mitigate the inhumanities and injustices borne endlessly by the homeless. Specifically, DHOL is currently working to secure the requisite signatures to put the Denver Right to Survive Initiative on the 2018 ballot. This initiative will restore homeless people’s right to rest and shelter themselves from the elements, in a non-obstructive manner, in public places. It will restore homeless people’s right to, like “every” citizen of Denver, peacefully procure, consume, and share food in public places where food is not banned. And it will restore to the homeless their illegally-stripped constitutional right to protection from illegal search and seizure of their persons and possessions.
    The Denver Right to Survive Initiative is the right thing for Denver right now, but getting it on the ballot will not be easy. If you are outraged by the challenges that homeless people must overcome just to eat a meal or snatch a few moments of rest, if you are disheartened to know that poverty is now sufficient reason to strip a person’s constitutional rights, if you believe that humans should simply be kinder to other humans, then DHOL needs your help.

Interested in helping 
with the ballot inititive?

If you are a resident of Denver City & County and a registered voter, you have the opportunity to sign a petition supporting the Denver Right to Survive Initiative for inclusion on the ballot. Take care to only sign once; duplicate signatures will not count.

Want to get more involved? Great!

Denver Homeless Out Loud, the organization sponsoring the inititive, needs signature gatherers. Signature gathereing is all-volunteer. Training is available and required but flexible enough to fit most schedules. Prospective signature gatherers are asked to commit 25 hours a month, through September.
 
Ready to get started? 
Contact Dianne Thiel at aglee668@indra.com.