You may have been one of the almost 500 people who took the time to fill out a
survey asking how laws against acts of survival in public space have affected
you. We now have compiled some of the results of these 431 collected surveys
from 12 Colorado cities...with more on the way. Here is what people have
reported:

70% of those surveyed were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for sleeping, with 25%
being ticketed and 14% being arrested.

64% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for sitting or lying down, with 15% being
ticketed and 7% being arrested.

35% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for panhandling, with 11% ticketed and 7%
arrested.

50% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for loitering, with 14% ticketed and 6%
arrested.53% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for drinking alcohol or smoking weed, with
26% ticketed and 16% arrested.

24% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for sleeping in a vehicle, with 5% ticketed
and 2% arrested.

48% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for standing up for another person, with
10% ticketed and 8% arrested.

52% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for “appearing homeless,” with 7% ticketed
and 3% arrested

23% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for urinating privately in public, with10%
ticketed and 4% arrested.

43% were harassed, ticketed, or arrested for park curfew, with 19% ticketed and 8%
arrested.

When asked, “Do police ever harass you without having any legal reason?” 
79% said  yes.

When asked, “Have you encountered private security guards hassling people, ordering
people away or otherwise policing public sidewalks or parks?” 
78% said yes.

When asked, “Have police or city employees ever taken your belongings?” 
42% said yes.

These findings show plain as day that people who are homeless in Colorado are being
treated as criminals for performing basic acts that any person must do to survive. Our
basic human rights to sleep, sit, store belongings, use a restroom, and ask for help are
being violated. What kind of world do we live in where it is ok that 70% of us are being
harassed, ticketed, or arrested for sleeping!
    In Colorado we are working to prepare a Homeless Bill of Rights that will protect
people’s basic rights to do what is necessary to survive, even when the only place you
have to do so is public. We are working along side California, Oregon, and Washington
in this movement. It will not be easy but it is necessary!
     We need you to get involved and stand up for your rights!

-Come to Homeless Bill of Rights meetings every Wednesday at 2:30pm at the
American Friends Service Committee room in the Court House Square Apt building
(901 W 14th Ave - 14th and Santa Fe - across from King Soopers).
-Share how these laws criminalizing surviving in public space have affected your life by
writing, doing a video interview, or attending public meetings to speak on these issues.-Create art about the criminalization of homelessness.
-Spread the word to friends about the Colorado Homeless Bill of Rights campaign.
-Use your own ideas to carry out actions that support the Homeless Bill of Rights
campaign and the work to end the criminalization of homelessness in Colorado.
Contact us:
 Denverhomelessoutloud.org - info@denverhomelessoutloud.org - 720-940-5291

Dr. Itty, specialist in Bitty Municipal Development

Ever heard of Walsenburg, Colorado? That's ok, neither has this computer's spell-check. But this little town halfway between Pueblo and Trinidad is light years ahead of Denver in making way for more ecologically minded building practices. They just legalized tiny homes! Google "Walsenburg Tiny Houses" to find out more.

But even though Denver is way behind of the times, DHOL's Tiny Home Working Group is continuing to design and build. We are very excited to now be working with Architecture for Humanity to design even better homes. We are still looking for more volunteers, materials and LAND, LAND, LAND. We are also looking for partners - land owners, neighbors and stakeholders that want to see tiny homes be built in Denver.

Do you care about housing homeless people? Do you think Tiny Homes are cute and adorable? Do you know that communities around the country are finding them to be a cheap and wonderful way to get people off the streets and into life-saving shelter?
Do you have extra building materials? Screws? Lumber? Doors? Windows? Beetle Kill Pine?
Are you interested in sustainable building? 
Do you own a hammer? A drill? A nail gun? A pocket knife? 
Do you know how to use them? Are you a licensed architect or roofer or construction foreman or forewoman? Can you pull nails out of recycled wood?
Have you never swung a hammer in your life but would like to paint and design stuff?
Can you rub linseed oil into a piece of wood?
Can you pick up stuff and organize it?
Do you have a backyard or driveway or parking space or any 10 x 20 foot space that you would like to see a cute environmentally friendly house be put on? 
Are you an artist?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then we could use your help.

Call 732-778-8906 and ask for Marcus

Despite vocal opposition from residents, a civic association leader, and a city council
representative--and with no input from the women who will use it--the Denver Women’s
Emergency Shelter will relocate to the north Denver neighborhood of Globeville by
January 2015. 

The shelter will be run by Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Denver, through a contract with the city. Catholic Charities already manages a number of Denver area facilities serving people experiencing homelessness, including the Samaritan House.

Women will make the 2 1/2-mile trip to and from the shelter on buses departing from the
Samaritan House each evening and returning there in the morning. Because of the
distance, as well as neighbors’ concerns, they won’t be able to travel on their own to the
shelter as they do now at Elati. They will receive an evening meal and a sack breakfast.
Their “beds” would continue to be mats on the floor, rather than the cots many guests
had been hoping for.

At a meeting at the church on Oct 13th, many residents expressed strong opposition to
the shelter being located in their neighborhood. The meeting was attended by about 60
neighbors, District 9 City Council representative Judy Montero, four regular Elati shelter
guests, and several homeless advocates. It was facilitated by staff of Denver’s Road
Home, Catholic Charities, and the Denver Foundation.

Community members claimed there were already too many shelters in that area,
expressed their fears that the shelter would increase crime and violence, and asked
why their community, which struggles financially, was chosen rather than a wealthier
community such as Cherry Creek or Highlands Ranch.

“We don’t want you here,” said Globeville Civic Association president Dave Oletski.
“This is the poorest neighborhood in Denver. We are the least able to stand up to you.”
Residents also stated that “You made a terrible mistake picking this neighborhood,”
“There will be hell to pay if you do it,” and “I’m ashamed that I was raised a Catholic.”The neighborhood is home to an adult inpatient rehab program on North Broadway run
by the Salvation Army, in which up to 98 men sleep there and up to 28 women are
housed elsewhere. Catholic Charities also runs a transitional housing program for 15
formerly homeless veterans on Pennsylvania Street.

Several residents insisted that Globeville was a compassionate community that wished
no harm to homeless people, but “We are surrounded by treatment facilities"…"We
have a problem of drug deals and home invasions going on"…"It’s fair for us to ask
about crime.”

Residents asked what would prevent the women guests from leaving the shelter in the
night and roaming around the neighborhood, or from not getting on the bus in the
morning. They suggested that having the shelter there put their children at risk. Denver
Catholic Charities CEO Larry Smith said that a "one-strike" policy would be enforced in
which any woman who does not get on the bus in the morning will not be allowed back.
Residents also asked about drug and alcohol use. Smith explained that the facility is a
“wet” shelter, which means guests will not be breathalized and can stay there as long as
they are not significantly intoxicated. He said all women would be vetted before getting
on the bus to ensure they were appropriate for the shelter and able to manage their own
behavior.

The women from the Elati shelter who attended the meeting spoke out in an effort to
correct what they saw as Globeville residents’ misperceptions about homeless women.
“I understand your fears,” said Loretta. “I grew up in a poor neighborhood myself and I
know the problems you experience, including high crime rates. But we are just poor
women with nowhere to go, and we need this shelter. Many of us are old and sick.”
“We would never hurt you. We are afraid of being hurt ourselves,” added Karen. “We
are economic refugees,” said Mary. “We’re lost in a world that doesn’t want us.”
Carmen, who had her hand up many times, was not called on to speak. About two
hours into the meeting, the women left when they could no longer endure the animosity
they felt directed against them.

Globeville residents and Montero expressed anger and frustration that the city and
Catholic Charities had not talked to them about the plan until it was a “done deal.”
“The decision’s already been made,” said Montero. “You control the agenda and the
ground rules for this meeting. That’s not fair.”“You’ve been holding planning sessions for 18 months and you never came to us,” said Oletski. “How can we trust you now?” 

Smith said they were unable to go to the community until they got the approval of the archbishop, which they just obtained.  Smith, who ran the meeting, said that there’s a huge need for the shelter, since the current one is about to close. Referring to the mission of the Catholic Church to “reach out and help the poor,” Smith said that “the issue is not whether, but how and where we help (the women).” Smith and Denver’s Road Home staffer Chris Conner explained that the city has been searching for over a year for a new location for the shelter, with several potential locations falling through due to building shortcomings, competition
from other users, distance from downtown, and other factors.

Globeville, along with its sister communities Swansea and Elyria, has long wrestled with
problems of poverty, industrial pollution, and two major Interstate highways (I-70 and I-
25) running through the neighborhood and preventing residents from forming a cohesive
community. A $2 billion Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) proposal to
enlarge a stretch of the I-70 east of the I-25 includes a plan to build the part passing
through this area underground, and to put a landscaped cover on top. While there is
disagreement over how this project would affect the north Denver area, many believe it
could unify and strengthen these communities.

They are also hopeful that the 77-acre Asarco tract of land completing pollution
remediation will spawn industrial development and jobs. “We finally have a chance to
uplift this neighborhood,” said Oletski. “We have so much work to do. We don’t need
this.”
At several residents’ insistence, a non-binding vote of those present was taken, in which
25 people opposed the shelter in their neighborhood, and 15 supported it. Smith and the
other leaders committed to holding additional meetings with Globeville residents in the
coming weeks.
Asked how the shelter got around zoning rules, Smith explained that under a “rights of
use” permit, a building can be used as a shelter for up to 120 days per year. Smith said
he is seeking buildings in two other Catholic parishes, in order to rotate the shelter
among the three for year-round coverage without requiring a zoning variance.
“We are still aiming for a permanent year-round shelter,” Smith said, “but for that
everyone must agree, which is very difficult.”

The True Hero's of the Night


After the four women and I left the Globeville meeting, we stood outside and talked. One
woman we spoke with was Cathy Vannerson, Director of Archdiocesan Housing.
Vannerson told the women it must have taken a lot to hear people say the things they
said against having homeless women in their neighborhood, and to not respond in
anger. She said she considered them “true heroes” and “the bravest people I’ve met.”

I totally agree with Vannerson. In the car on the way up, knowing they would be facing
some hostility, the women agreed to remain calm and to act respectfully toward
everyone, no matter what. They understood that, right or wrong, all the women who use
homeless shelters would be judged according to how they behaved.

These women knew what they were going to walk into, and yet they were willing to go
anyway, because THIS IS ABOUT THEM. They insist that they too have been left out of
the communication loop about plans that will greatly impact their lives and well-being.
They say that’s not right--that their concerns and ideas should be heard and taken
seriously by the planners. (At their request, I asked Larry Smith, CEO of Catholic Charities, to meet with all the women at the Elati shelter, and he has agreed to do so
soon.)

Since that meeting I’ve talked a lot with these four brave women. They shared how hard
it was to hear themselves portrayed in such a negative light. They say they are now
afraid to go to the Globeville shelter when it opens, fearful they may be attacked either
there or on the bus.
And yet, they sympathize with the people of Globeville, whose very real problems have
long been neglected by city officials and who feel--like the women themselves--ignored
and disrespected. They understand that, at the meeting, the neighbors were so upset
with the city and Catholic Charities about the perceived lack of communication that they
were unable to focus on what the women and other homeless advocates were trying to
tell them.

They want to keep interacting with the Globeville residents. They believe that if people
get to know them as individuals, their fears will evaporate and their stereotypes will be
replaced by real understanding.

And they wonder--as I do--what it would take to open a permanent women’s shelter--a
place that would help stabilize women’s lives, reduce their struggles, and support their
efforts to obtain permanent housing. Can it really be that NIMBY-ism (not in my back
yard)--is allowed to thwart every effort to provide shelters, housing and support centers
for people experiencing homelessness? Can it be that the self-centered desires and
preferences of those who would JUST RATHER NOT SEE homeless people around
them ALWAYS get to trump the survival needs of those who have nothing? What will it
take to replace this paradigm with one driven by economic justice?

-------------------------------

                                                              IN OUR OWN WORDS

Karen: They (Globeville residents) are looking at the small not the big picture. Those at
the meeting didn’t represent the whole community, just those who were upset and
chose to attend to complain. They weren’t allowing other voices to be heard. The
women started to sympathize but the men wouldn’t let them. It was a bunch of sexist
males blaming women for things. They were blaming homeless women for drug and
alcohol problems and home invasions. Those problems could be coming from their own
neighbors. They were more concerned about their possessions than about us women.
What if the tables were turned and they were homeless? How would they feel? They
were judging us and making assumptions that just aren’t true. Safety works both ways.
Loretta: They were scared because it was something new. The city and Catholic
Charities could have gone to the community first and listened to them. One woman who
lived there 35 years said she didn’t mind (about the shelter coming in). They were
concerned about their kids. They don’t want them to know about the homeless. It could
be their own people doing the home invasions. I want to go back and talk to them. I
want them to see that many of us are senior citizens on fixed incomes.
Carmen: They didn’t give me the opportunity to speak even though I had my hand up a
lot. We’re nothing like the way they were describing us. We’re strangers. We don’t know
them. They made us feel uncomfortable. We were scared for the first time in our lives.
We don’t want to go in there if they feel like that. Will our safety be guaranteed on the
bus and at the shelter?
Mary: We have handicapped, paralyzed, people with canes, oxygen, walkers. We’re not
people who steal, rob, or break into homes. We’re economic refugees lost in a world
that doesn’t want us. I have more to be afraid of than you do. Why are you mad at us?
We didn’t do anything to you. We’re old and just need a little help.
--------------------
After the four women and I left the Globeville meeting, we stood outside and talked. One
woman we spoke with was Cathy Vannerson, Director of Archdiocesan Housing.
Vannerson told the women it must have taken a lot to hear people say the things they
said against having homeless women in their neighborhood, and to not respond in
anger. She said she considered them “true heroes” and “the bravest people I’ve met.”
I totally agree with Vannerson. In the car on the way up, knowing they would be facing
some hostility, the women agreed to remain calm and to act respectfully toward
everyone, no matter what. They understood that, right or wrong, all the women who use
homeless shelters would be judged according to how they behaved.
These women knew what they were going to walk into, and yet they were willing to go
anyway, because THIS IS ABOUT THEM. They insist that they too have been left out of
the communication loop about plans that will greatly impact their lives and well-being.
They say that’s not right--that their concerns and ideas should be heard and taken
seriously by the planners. (At their request, I asked Larry Smith, CEO of Catholic Charities, to meet with all the women at the Elati shelter, and he has agreed to do so
soon.)
Since that meeting I’ve talked a lot with these four brave women. They shared how hard
it was to hear themselves portrayed in such a negative light. They say they are now
afraid to go to the Globeville shelter when it opens, fearful they may be attacked either
there or on the bus.
And yet, they sympathize with the people of Globeville, whose very real problems have
long been neglected by city officials and who feel--like the women themselves--ignored
and disrespected. They understand that, at the meeting, the neighbors were so upset
with the city and Catholic Charities about the perceived lack of communication that they
were unable to focus on what the women and other homeless advocates were trying to
tell them.
They want to keep interacting with the Globeville residents. They believe that if people
get to know them as individuals, their fears will evaporate and their stereotypes will be
replaced by real understanding.
And they wonder--as I do--what it would take to open a permanent women’s shelter--a
place that would help stabilize women’s lives, reduce their struggles, and support their
efforts to obtain permanent housing. Can it really be that NIMBY-ism (not in my back
yard)--is allowed to thwart every effort to provide shelters, housing and support centers
for people experiencing homelessness? Can it be that the self-centered desires and
preferences of those who would JUST RATHER NOT SEE homeless people around
them ALWAYS get to trump the survival needs of those who have nothing? What will it
take to replace this paradigm with one driven by economic justice?
-----
What do you think should be done to help women who are experiencing homelessness
in Denver? Write and let us know! (See the back page for ways to get in touch with us.)

As someone in your teens or early 20’s, maybe you’ve been sleeping outside and are
thinking about finding a safe place indoors, especially now that cold weather has
arrived. Where can you go and what can you expect there? Here’s a rundown of some
shelters, along with some other services you might want to check out.
     (Note: All places say they welcome LGBTQ individuals and, unless otherwise stated,
are wheelchair accessible. All overnight shelters also state that they provide assistance
to help young people transition to stable, secure housing situations that meet each
person’s needs--including family reunification if appropriate.)

Attention Homes provides The Source Runaway and Homeless Youth emergency
shelter program, which can accommodate up to 14 people ages 20 and under at 3080
Broadway Street in Boulder. You’re eligible whether you’re living on the streets, couch
surfing, needing some respite time from your family, or doubled up with other families.
Call 303-447-1207 any time to see if a bed is available. (You can also just show up.) If
you’re under 18, you’ll always get a bed, and usually adults will too, but when they’re full
the 18-plus people will be put on a waiting list. Once you’re a resident you can stay for
21 days. The shelter is open every day from 5pm to 8am. Attention Homes also
operates a Drop-In Center for youth ages 24 and under that’s open every afternoon
from 12:30-5pm.

In these programs you’ll have access to a full array of services, including
medical/dental/mental health care, meals, showers, laundry facilities, and education and
employment assistance. Attention Homes also has a Street Outreach Team of folks you
can talk to and get help from even before coming in for services. (Note: The facility is
not wheelchair accessible.)

The Bannock Youth Center, run by Volunteers of America, has two transitional rental
assistance housing programs for people between ages 16 and 24: Youth Transitions
and Housing For Young Mothers. (Fathers are also welcome.) Program participants
are housed in apartments throughout the community. You need income, since you’ll pay
up to 30% of your rent, with the program paying the rest. You can stay for up to 18
months, during which time you’ll attend school or work and get help achieving your
housing and other goals. (Note: This program is currently full, and the waiting list is
closed. Call 720-217-3884 to check on the status.)

The Comitis Crisis Center, operated by Mile High Behavioral Health Care, provides
the Homeless and Runaway Youth Shelter program for young people ages 12
through 17 at 2178 Victor Street in Aurora. The program has two parts. Safe Place
provides a place where a youth needing a break from a difficult family situation can stay
for 24 hours. You can call ahead or just walk in. Often a guest will transition from Safe
Place to the Basic Care Program--a 21-day program with family reunification as the
goal. To get into this program, call the 24-hour crisis line 303-341-9160. A phone
assessment will be conducted--generally with the youth’s guardian--to see if the person
is appropriate for this program.

Urban Peak’s Overnight Shelter, located at 1630 S. Acoma Street, hosts up to 50
young people ages 15-20 who are experiencing homelessness. The shelter provides
three meals a day and snacks, and offers recreational activities, counseling and
referrals as needed. A medical clinic is open three times a week. Urban Peak also offers
a housing program through which many guests end up moving into their own
apartments. (There’s a long waiting list for these apartments.) To check on bed
availability, call the 24-hour line 303-974-2908. Those 18 and over may occasionally
experience a waiting list, but if you're under 18 they’ll fit you in.

Urban Peak also offers a Drop-in Center at 2100 Stout Street for young people ages
15-24 experiencing homelessness. You can get breakfast there Monday through Friday
from 8-10am. Drop-in hours are from 10:30 to noon, and there’s a BBQ every Tuesday
from 4-5:30pm. Come here to get out of the elements, hang out in a safe and friendly
environment, do your laundry, take a shower, use a locker, and--especially--find a
listening ear and support in getting your needs met. Education (including GED classes)
and employment assistance are also available. Out on the streets you may run into
some of the friendly, helpful folks on Urban Peak’s Street Outreach Team. For more
information about the Drop-In Center call 303-974-2928.

                                                             Other Services
While they don’t offer overnight shelter, you might want to check out these other
services: 
Sox Place, at 2017 Lawrence Street, provides a safe, warm and supportive drop-in
center environment where street youth from age 1 to their early 30’s can hang out. Their
website says this is the place for “the gutter punk, the train rider, the homeless youth, you who just need something to eat, you who just need a safe place to crash, whether
you’ve been on the street for one day or one decade...” Come and have a hot meal,
watch movies, play video games and pool, or just sit and talk. Sox Place is open
Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 4pm and Saturdays from 11am-2pm. For more
information call 303-296-3412.

While not specifically for youth, The Harm Reduction Action Center, at its new home
at 231 E Colfax Avenue, works to educate, empower, and advocate for the health and
dignity of Denver’s injection drug users, in accordance with harm reduction principles.
Among its goals are reducing the spread of communicable diseases and eliminating
fatal overdoses. They offer education and support, as well as clean syringes, syringe
disposal, HIV/HCV testing, syringe exemption cards, and referrals. The Drop-in Center
is open Monday through Friday from 9am to noon.

Prax(us) is a grassroots community organization dedicated to ending the exploitation of
youth and young adults, including its most severe forms, domestic human trafficking
(sex and labor). Prax(us) runs a drop-in center for youth and young adults ages 13-29 at
1029 Santa Fe Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm. Here you can get
all kinds of useful things--including food and snacks, conversation, socks, hygiene
supplies, HIV and Hep C testing, and items that provide protection when engaging in
sex and drug use. They also hold Monday Nights Are Righteous! every Monday from 6-
8pm, also for people ages 13-29, at 1660 Sherman Street (The Central Presbyterian
Church). Come share a meal while your peers provide trainings on such topics as Know
Your Rights, Selling Sex Safely, Squatting 101, Clean Vein Care, Do’s and Don’ts of
Dumpster Diving, and Street Life Safety. Prax(us) also engages in street outreach
Monday through Saturday in and around the Denver Metro area.

Out on the streets, you hear a lot of home remedies for toothaches--everything from salt
water to garlic to cloves to ice--you use what you can get your hands on. Go to a
dentist? Good luck with that! The few dentists that treat folks without money or dental
insurance--including the Stout Street Clinic, the Rescue Mission, the Denver Health
clinics -- have long waiting lists and/or long lines you must stand in to be seen. So pass
the garlic and suck it up...

And as for getting chompers to replace the ones that fell out because you couldn’t afford
dental care...you must be kidding!
But wait! Did you know that Colorado Medicaid now covers dental treatment for
ADULTS? Yes indeed! Preventive care (like cleanings and x-rays) came on board in
April, and a host of other procedures--including extractions, root canals, crowns, root
planing, scaling, and even PARTIAL AND COMPLETE DENTURES--were added in
July. There’s a $1,000 maximum benefit per calendar year--but dentures don’t count
toward that limit! And neither do emergency room visits for dental procedures.

According to the 2003 Florida Dental Care Study, which followed the dental history of
over 800 people for four years, people with incomes below the poverty line lost three
times as many teeth during the study period as those with higher incomes. By adding
dental care to Medicaid benefits Colorado is aiming to make the playing field a bit more
level. It’s about time!

So first of all, if you aren’t enrolled in Medicaid--go sign up!! You can do that in many
places around town--at St Francis, the Stout Street Clinic, Father Woody’s, The
Gathering Place, Senior Support Services, or at the Denver Health enrollment office at
723 Delaware Street. Or you can call the Denver Health Enrollment Specialists at 303-
436-7892 for help with this.

Next you need to make an appointment with a dentist who accepts new Medicaid
patients. That’s the tricky part, since many dentists do not. But more dentists should be
signing up now that the Medicaid has boosted the dental procedures reimbursement
rates--which had been abysmally low.

How to find a dentist who takes Medicaid? You can call 1-855-225-1729 (TTY 711) for
referrals to dentists who accept Medicaid and to make an appointment. If you have
access to a computer and a phone, you can also do a google search of Denver dentists
who accept Medicaid--mine yielded pages of names. (I’d give you my dentist’s number--
she’s awesome--but she might not appreciate the flood of calls, so sorry...).  

Now here is a corny joke from my dad.  What time should you go to the dentist? 
 2:30 (Tooth hurty..  get it?)