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.
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.
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