by Walkerasurus

Guess what... the homeless in Denver are getting organized. Expect some change.

   Case in point. On Friday April 24th, People Working Against Poverty (PRAP) sponsored a town hall entitled THE STATE OF THE UNHOUSED at the RedLine art gallery. Upwards of 300 people attended the four-hour event. To get an idea of the scope and breadth of the event you only need to look at the organizations that are predominantly comprised of homeless and formerly homeless individuals that ran the event. These  include Denver Homeless Out Loud, Right to Dream (Portland), The Homeless Advisory Council, and Cities of Refuge. Also involved were other organizations that advocate for homeless rights, including Prax(us), Bayaud Enterprises, Boycott the Urban Camping Ban, Denver Food Rescue, and El Centro Humanitario.

    Something to note about the event was the absence of large institutionalized (“big box”) service providers in the organization of the event. (Certainly members of these organizations were in attendance as participants but they were not “at the helm.”) The homeless community in Denver did this one on their own. They even attracted established homeless advocates from other states, in town for a national meeting, who wanted to take part. The result was rather striking: engagement, involvement and a sense of hope that comes from a community learning to empower itself. You could literally feel it. This was the voice of the homeless community in Denver getting organized.

Denver... expect some change.

   When you consider some of these organizations were at the same time sponsoring a national convening of homeless advocacy groups from across the nation--these guys are on it!

    The State of the Unhoused event included food (of course), music and art as people gathered and mixed to start off the event. The focus of the event (the six working groups) was introduced, and the facilitators of each working group presented a brief overview of their topic. These topics included food, employment, housing, transportation, anti-criminalization, and hygiene. Then the event broke out into these working groups to discuss various issues that concern the homeless community and suggest solutions. 

    In the breakout groups, people were eager to participate, share and listen to each other as the various topics were addressed. At the end, spokespeople reported back to the whole group.

    Just a few of the many issues discussed were: wage theft; employment discrimination against people with a criminal background; combating the stigma against homelessness; establishing a safe, legal camping zone; the lack of affordable housing; diversity of needs among those experiencing homelessness; the need for public restrooms, showers, laundry and storage facilities; ways to provide wholesome, nutritious food while avoiding food waste; RTD’s discrimination against homeless people; and making public transit affordable for all.

    I was impressed by how well facilitated this large event was. Too often at larger events you get that ole “top-down” facilitation style that can often disenfranchise many of the participants. This was not the case at the State of The Unhoused event, where the voice of Denver's homeless community was the centerpiece of the work, activities and spirit of the event. (as was the purpose I presume).

    This event was not the endpoint. Rather, it was a start for further work and further organizing. At the end of the Town Hall Marco Nunez, director of El Centro Humanitario de los Trabajadores and an experienced community organizer, introduced participants to some basic organizing principles and concepts. As a follow-up to this initial event, on May 15th at El Centro, Marco and others presented Organizing 101, an introductory training for all who want to work together on issues of homelessness. 

    The forethought and presence of mind demonstrated by these events is evidence of how serious and committed the homeless community is about getting organized to protect their rights. As the homeless community continues to grow and as needed services become scarcer, the importance of organizing and working together for the benefit of all becomes more acute.”

    They are seeing to it that their voices are heard and are working towards getting their rights protected and their needs met.

by Punky

    On April 15, 2015, under the big gold dome in Denver, HB15-1264: The Right to Rest Act was heard before the House  State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

     We first assembled in Lincoln Park to eat food, prepare, and rally. After hearing from many bill supporters, we headed into the Capitol Building around 10 AM. We were not informed that there was a hearing before ours, so we waited around for a couple hours and listened closely for our cue. Finally--12:45pm--we anxiously shuffled into hearing room 271. 

    Right to Rest bill sponsor, Representative Jovan Melton, introduced the Right to Rest Act, the legislation that is to restore our basic rights to survive in public space: 
We had various wonderful, supportive testifiers, one of whom was Nicole Sisneros. With her heart on her sleeve she shared her exasperating experiences of being criminalized for her unhoused status--countless times. Nicole conveyed: “At one point I spent 21 days in jail for camping and trespassing because I couldn't afford to pay the fine”--an embittering struggle that many of us unhoused folks in Colorado have had to deal with.

    Opposition testifier, Regina Huerter, the executive director of Denver's Crime Prevention and Control Commission, claimed that the bill would "not help the homeless." Huerter said:

     "Within the Police Department we have a total of 14 officers who are really devoted and dedicated to just this work.... All of them provide services to persons before ever issuing a ticket, and for those folks who are actually issued a ticket, we have all different kinds of services and in particular we have Recovery Court, which is specifically addressing the top utilizers of the criminal justice and human services hospital systems and getting them access to services." Ms. Huerter never addressed the issue of where people are supposed to go if they can’t or prefer not to get into services for any     number of reasons, nor, most importantly, how the existence of these services has anything to do with people’s human rights.

    The audience was quite passionate, expressing their true feelings by booing at the opposition--and showing much love by clapping for the supportive testimony. It was quite unappreciated by the committee members. They asked us to abide by the rules that prevent us from sharing our passion--unless we wanted to be escorted out of the room. 

   Since time ran out (due to our bill being heard late), the Right to Rest Act was re-scheduled for April 27th.
 
    On April 27th we gathered once more and braced ourselves for the next part of the hearing, when the final votes would be cast. In uplifting preparation, we had various beautiful words of wisdom and support from our partners who came to support us from across the country. The second part of the hearing happened to be during the first National Convening on the Criminalization of Homelessness. Representatives from over 38 grassroots organizations in 17 states convened in Denver to nationally join together our local struggles. 

    Ptery Lieght from Portland, Oregon helped break the bitterness of the chilly day with song that came from the warmth of heart. As the crowd joined in we knew that, even if we did not get the bill through that day, there were many others who shared that warmth with us--and nothing that happened could destroy our solidarity.
 
    It was time to amble back into hearing room 271. We made sure to let everyone know that we could not boo or clap. Right to Rest Sponsor Representative Joe Salazar told us that we could use "spirit fingers" to show our compassion silently. He opened the hearing by declaring:
  
    "We have seen the criminalization of human beings in American history. Jim Crow laws is a good example, and Jim Crow laws were extended to Hispanics, Mexican Americans after 1848. And we have learned that is the wrong side of history. These ordinances that you are seeing being enacted by these municipalities--that's not original--we've seen this happen before, the criminalization of disadvantaged communities."

    Once again, we had absolutely amazing supportive testifiers--people who showed such compassion, such love for our community--something that much of the opposition lacked. This point was addressed beautifully by Anna Koop of the Denver Catholic Worker: 

    When the supportive testimony spoke we showed our spirit fingers, until we were asked by the Madame Chair to stop, because it was "distracting."

    The cities of Aurora and Boulder spoke out against our bill, claiming--as had Denver in the earlier hearing--that it would not help the homeless--and that "x" amount of money has been spent to help them. Aaron Gagne, Director of Neighborhood Services for the City of Aurora, asserted that the bill would remove a tool that police officers needed to connect homeless people to services, since the officers would be afraid of being sued if they did. Rep Salazar responded by reminding the committee that this same word “tool” was used in the past to justify the oppression of people of color through Jim Crow laws. And Representative Primavera asked whether Aurora had sufficient beds to house everyone who is homeless.

    An opposition testimony that seemed ironically refreshing, was when Chris House, president of the Colorado Retail Council, actually straight up told the truth, saying that businesses did not want people sleeping or even being near their establishments.

    Right to Rest Act Sponsor, Representative Joe Salazar, asked the same question to many of the opposition: "So how does criminalizing homeless people help them?" The opposition could never give a straight answer, with both Aurora and Boulder spokespeople denying that their cities criminalized homelessness. Kathy Haddock of Boulder’s City Attorney’s office insisted that Boulder’s laws only “criminalize behavior that doesn’t allow others to use public spaces,” ignoring the fact that the behavior the city criminalizes includes sleeping and other activities conducted by people who have nowhere else to go. 

    Following the back to back testimonies of support and opposition was very emotional. The call for the committee to really show their compassion was made beautifully by Kenny White, who stated he represented “the silenced community”: 

    "To hear these ordinances that literally kick you while you're on the ground trying to get up--it's very painful to me. This is a state I love--and everywhere I go I've been messed with and criminalized, and spit on, because I'm homeless....I'm questioning whether this government has any compassion, because...........  
 (The audience "oohs" and the sponsors shake their heads and look rather devastated.).... You were elected to protect people, and the people are being let down....I can tell you, when cops are doing outreach to me, it's not the friendliest outreach ever, frickin’, it’s disgusting to think that people who are trying to solve crimes are doing the same outreach. And you think that they're going to differ between the two? They’re trained to go after criminals, they're not trained for outreach, they're not trained to help people, they're trained to throw people in jail.... The compassion is gone, it is nowhere to be found, Aurora, Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, everywhere I go, it's painful.”

    In his testimony supporting the bill, Boulder citizen Rob Smoke spoke eloquently about why statewide legislation is needed to end the criminalization of homelessness in Colorado:“There’s been no point in history...where something like home rule would trump the civil rights or human rights of individuals.... If it did occur we’d have segregated schools and lunch counters...still dotting the Southern U.S.--and we don’t because we don’t accept that human rights take a back seat to...home rule.”

    After discussing amendments for about ten minutes, it was finally time for the committee to cast their final votes. 

    Three to eight. Three committee members--Democratic Representatives Salazar, Max Tyler, and Dianne Primavera--understood the need for the Right to Rest. In explaining his “strong yes on this bill,” Representative Tyler referred to the “structural causes” of homelessness, including low wages and drastic cuts in housing, mental health and other supports at the federal, state and local levels. “We used to take care of people who needed help in this country,” he said. “We used to have enough money to do all these things and we decided not to.... We have a responsibility to take care of the people who don’t have the luck, the training and born into the right place.”

    Besides the one committee member who just said "no," there were others who had to be hypocritically patronizing, proclaiming their concern for the plight of the homeless, before voting the bill down.

    Because this bill did not pass, the people of Colorado will continue to be awakened in sleep and moved about the city with no place to legally rest. The people of Colorado will continue to be ticketed and later thrown in jail for covering up with a blanket to stay warm. The people of Colorado will continue to hear taps on their window from officers telling them they can’t sleep in their own car. And the list goes on of all the dehumanizing, destructive, costly, and ineffective forces that will continue to be used to criminalize existing in public space.

    Despite the bill's halt of its travels under the golden dome, it is important for you all to know that this is just the beginning. We will continue this fight for our rights to survive as long as they continue to squash those rights. We now have various reports and a better understanding of the bill and the legislative process--as well as a growing state and national network of solidarity around this issue.

    We will be building the movement and coming back next year even stronger! This year we had this bill in Colorado, California, and Oregon – next year it may be in even more states! We press on until we can all rest.