by Lauren Stevenson
“Urban camping a growing problem in Denver despite ban; city spending millions to help combat issue” Posted on the Denver News Channel Wow! Now that’s a headline! If one was to only read the headline and skip the article, you might think that our fair city is doing everything in their power to combat, or wage war against the homeless “Issue” here in Denver. They’re not.
Let me just say for the record. I for one believe that the urban camping ban is a problem. Not for the reasons you might suspect though. The urban camping ban made criminals out of the homeless in 2012 and in so doing, created discrimination towards homelessness, which as we all learned in the sixth grade, only promotes hate and fear.
Our reporter friend that gives us this story, Jaclyn Allen got a first hand look at “The dangerous combination of drugs, camping, and Homelessness”. What about the dangerous combination of drugs, camping, and college lads or, drinking, driving, and football? Is the city spending millions to help combat these “issues”?
As far as the needles found, did anyone check? Or did they assume they were used for drugs? Of course they were used for drugs, they’re homeless people. Just maybe, they were insulin needles, Diabetes is one of the major illnesses that attack the homeless, due to their diet.
I’m sorry I have to ask, where do you think these drugs are coming from? Do you honestly believe that these Homeless people are bringing pounds and pounds of meth, heroin, and crack with them from what ever state they came from? I don’t think so!
The truth is, Homeless people and anyone else for that matter, can get these drugs all too easily, right here in our shining city. That’s right; Denver has its own problems without needing to point a finger at the homeless.
The difference being, your neighbor or maybe even you, live in the brick and mortar of a home, where you can lock your door. A place surrounded by walls and we can’t see you sticking needles in your arm, smoking crack, or drinking a fifth and beating your wife. The fact is all this is real, here in Denver, Like it or not.
Like the article says “Drug use has come out of the shadows”. It’s no longer hidden in your bedroom, bathroom, or garage. Sorry!
Please don’t get me wrong I don’t condone any kind of drug abuse in any way, shape, or form. You just can’t pretend that it’s only a homeless issue.
Okay, let’s talk about something less depressing! The debris that was mentioned kind of made me chuckle, really! I can see trash along the river just like everybody else does. The thing that strikes me as funny is, DSD “spent hours clearing debris left by homeless people along the creek.” You see, Denver being the shining city that it is, we don’t ever litter here, No human being in Denver has ever littered along the Cherry Creek river, the Platte or anywhere else in this city, it just don’t happen!
Pillows, Luggage, and, STARBUCKS cups? That seems a little unlikely to me. I can’t even afford seven eleven, let alone Starbucks coffee. I wonder if the pillows and luggage were actually trash or did Denver Sheriffs department just throw away all the personal property that this homeless person owned. That would fall under Seizure and/or destruction of personal property: Unreasonable search and seizure.
That’s a Constitutional right In case you don’t know about it. It’s called the forth amendment.
So, why is The Denver News Channel article trying to imply that the citations issued for smoking pot were all given to the homeless? Out of this “480 citations issued” how many of them were really issued to the homeless? And how many were issued to your sons and daughters? All I’m asking is that we be fair about this.
"(They are) urinating in the fountain and defecating on the trail. These are things I haven't seen until this year, where I have come across human waste,"
After removing all the porta-pots from off the Platte river, Keeping other public restrooms locked, and insuring that it is as difficult as possible to use a restroom anywhere in Denver. How does this come as a surprise to anyone? Oh yeah, if your not a homeless person, you’re just not aware of the issues.
The Team at Denver Homeless Out Loud has just finished a report on “Downtown Public Toilet Inventory” Yea Really! It was sent to Denver City Council Members.
It serves the purpose of cataloging the “lack of” basic human and personal care facilities in the downtown area. You can find this report at:
http://durablog.me.pn/wordpress/category/reports/
“Even though Denver has a camping ban, there has to be a balance between public safety and people's rights.” Emphasis Mine: Cmdr. Tony Lopez DPD
Wait a minute, stop the presses, Did he say “balance between Public Safety and People’s rights”? I thought this article was about Sleeping, eating, and taking a dump. I don’t want to sleep I HAVE to sleep, I don’t want to eat I HAVE to eat, I don’t want to sh*%. Well, you get the point.
I don’t see how sleeping in any way infringes upon public safety, I’m asleep. Eating outside isn’t a public safety issue either. Have you ever heard of picnics? As far as using fountains to urinate in, Open up some restrooms, install some clean porta-pots on the river, or even a bottle and a safe place to dispose of it. Seattle and Oregon both have some pretty nice restrooms for the homeless.
"I know people get really frustrated because they don't believe or see us down here, but we're down here quite often,"
Officer Ligea Craven, Denver Police Department's homeless outreach team.
Seems I should know Officer Craven, I’ve been on the streets for almost two (2) years now, and have never been approached by any officers identifying themselves as a “homeless outreach team”! In all fairness I have been asked, told, and ordered to “move along” by several Denver police officers that I don’t think were trying to reach out to me.
It's a problem that's grown so serious that the Denver City Council recently approved nearly $2 million and 10 new officers to deal with the homelessness issue downtown.
Oh Wait! I was at that city council meeting. The story goes something like this.
It wasn’t going to be for more arrests of the homeless. It was going to be for a police presents downtown, in Lodo, And in the Ball park Neighborhood, you remember them, their the people that love the homeless and just want to help. And only about half of the $1.8 Million is going to DPD the other half is going to the sheriffs department for arrests and detention. So much for, no arrests.
But that’s not even why I started this little letter, “Denver's Road Home said since the 2012 ordinance, they have made space for an additional 600 shelter beds”. Sounds like there are an additional 600 beds, besides the Whatever Number there was before these additional beds. So, at best, someone from the Denver Road Home, wants us to believe there are at least approximately six hundred and ONE beds, readily available, somewhere in our fair city. Well, I wrote Denver Road Home and asked them about this.
Here is the response: “Please note that the article cites this increase since the ordinance went into effect in 2012—so it is not reporting an immediate increase within the last month or anything._ After the ordinance shelter capacity at Denver Rescue Mission and Crossroads both increased, and we brought Women’s Emergency Shelter online as well”._
“Capacity is increased seasonally during the colder 6 months of the year (typically Oct-Apr) so shelter capacity is not stagnant across a 12 month period”.
So don’t go out this evening talking about how there are 601 beds in Denver for “Those People” because there’s not. And even if there were 601 beds, There are far more homeless people than beds.
Let me just say for the record. I for one believe that the urban camping ban is a problem. Not for the reasons you might suspect though. The urban camping ban made criminals out of the homeless in 2012 and in so doing, created discrimination towards homelessness, which as we all learned in the sixth grade, only promotes hate and fear.
Our reporter friend that gives us this story, Jaclyn Allen got a first hand look at “The dangerous combination of drugs, camping, and Homelessness”. What about the dangerous combination of drugs, camping, and college lads or, drinking, driving, and football? Is the city spending millions to help combat these “issues”?
As far as the needles found, did anyone check? Or did they assume they were used for drugs? Of course they were used for drugs, they’re homeless people. Just maybe, they were insulin needles, Diabetes is one of the major illnesses that attack the homeless, due to their diet.
I’m sorry I have to ask, where do you think these drugs are coming from? Do you honestly believe that these Homeless people are bringing pounds and pounds of meth, heroin, and crack with them from what ever state they came from? I don’t think so!
The truth is, Homeless people and anyone else for that matter, can get these drugs all too easily, right here in our shining city. That’s right; Denver has its own problems without needing to point a finger at the homeless.
The difference being, your neighbor or maybe even you, live in the brick and mortar of a home, where you can lock your door. A place surrounded by walls and we can’t see you sticking needles in your arm, smoking crack, or drinking a fifth and beating your wife. The fact is all this is real, here in Denver, Like it or not.
Like the article says “Drug use has come out of the shadows”. It’s no longer hidden in your bedroom, bathroom, or garage. Sorry!
Please don’t get me wrong I don’t condone any kind of drug abuse in any way, shape, or form. You just can’t pretend that it’s only a homeless issue.
Okay, let’s talk about something less depressing! The debris that was mentioned kind of made me chuckle, really! I can see trash along the river just like everybody else does. The thing that strikes me as funny is, DSD “spent hours clearing debris left by homeless people along the creek.” You see, Denver being the shining city that it is, we don’t ever litter here, No human being in Denver has ever littered along the Cherry Creek river, the Platte or anywhere else in this city, it just don’t happen!
Pillows, Luggage, and, STARBUCKS cups? That seems a little unlikely to me. I can’t even afford seven eleven, let alone Starbucks coffee. I wonder if the pillows and luggage were actually trash or did Denver Sheriffs department just throw away all the personal property that this homeless person owned. That would fall under Seizure and/or destruction of personal property: Unreasonable search and seizure.
That’s a Constitutional right In case you don’t know about it. It’s called the forth amendment.
So, why is The Denver News Channel article trying to imply that the citations issued for smoking pot were all given to the homeless? Out of this “480 citations issued” how many of them were really issued to the homeless? And how many were issued to your sons and daughters? All I’m asking is that we be fair about this.
"(They are) urinating in the fountain and defecating on the trail. These are things I haven't seen until this year, where I have come across human waste,"
After removing all the porta-pots from off the Platte river, Keeping other public restrooms locked, and insuring that it is as difficult as possible to use a restroom anywhere in Denver. How does this come as a surprise to anyone? Oh yeah, if your not a homeless person, you’re just not aware of the issues.
The Team at Denver Homeless Out Loud has just finished a report on “Downtown Public Toilet Inventory” Yea Really! It was sent to Denver City Council Members.
It serves the purpose of cataloging the “lack of” basic human and personal care facilities in the downtown area. You can find this report at:
http://durablog.me.pn/wordpress/category/reports/
“Even though Denver has a camping ban, there has to be a balance between public safety and people's rights.” Emphasis Mine: Cmdr. Tony Lopez DPD
Wait a minute, stop the presses, Did he say “balance between Public Safety and People’s rights”? I thought this article was about Sleeping, eating, and taking a dump. I don’t want to sleep I HAVE to sleep, I don’t want to eat I HAVE to eat, I don’t want to sh*%. Well, you get the point.
I don’t see how sleeping in any way infringes upon public safety, I’m asleep. Eating outside isn’t a public safety issue either. Have you ever heard of picnics? As far as using fountains to urinate in, Open up some restrooms, install some clean porta-pots on the river, or even a bottle and a safe place to dispose of it. Seattle and Oregon both have some pretty nice restrooms for the homeless.
"I know people get really frustrated because they don't believe or see us down here, but we're down here quite often,"
Officer Ligea Craven, Denver Police Department's homeless outreach team.
Seems I should know Officer Craven, I’ve been on the streets for almost two (2) years now, and have never been approached by any officers identifying themselves as a “homeless outreach team”! In all fairness I have been asked, told, and ordered to “move along” by several Denver police officers that I don’t think were trying to reach out to me.
It's a problem that's grown so serious that the Denver City Council recently approved nearly $2 million and 10 new officers to deal with the homelessness issue downtown.
Oh Wait! I was at that city council meeting. The story goes something like this.
It wasn’t going to be for more arrests of the homeless. It was going to be for a police presents downtown, in Lodo, And in the Ball park Neighborhood, you remember them, their the people that love the homeless and just want to help. And only about half of the $1.8 Million is going to DPD the other half is going to the sheriffs department for arrests and detention. So much for, no arrests.
But that’s not even why I started this little letter, “Denver's Road Home said since the 2012 ordinance, they have made space for an additional 600 shelter beds”. Sounds like there are an additional 600 beds, besides the Whatever Number there was before these additional beds. So, at best, someone from the Denver Road Home, wants us to believe there are at least approximately six hundred and ONE beds, readily available, somewhere in our fair city. Well, I wrote Denver Road Home and asked them about this.
Here is the response: “Please note that the article cites this increase since the ordinance went into effect in 2012—so it is not reporting an immediate increase within the last month or anything._ After the ordinance shelter capacity at Denver Rescue Mission and Crossroads both increased, and we brought Women’s Emergency Shelter online as well”._
“Capacity is increased seasonally during the colder 6 months of the year (typically Oct-Apr) so shelter capacity is not stagnant across a 12 month period”.
So don’t go out this evening talking about how there are 601 beds in Denver for “Those People” because there’s not. And even if there were 601 beds, There are far more homeless people than beds.
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