No Space of Their Own

by Billie Bramhall
(An edited version of this Letter to the Editor appeared in the August 23rd issue of the Denver Post.)

    I feel the Denver Post editorial supporting camping bans as essential to the life of cities is incorrect. Through several periods of hard times, including the great depression of 1929, Denver has had to make adjustments to unforeseen serious economic hardship that befell thousands of its citizens. We are in one now -- on the heels of a serious recession in which thousands of people in Denver lost jobs and homes, housing prices have risen sky-high with development and gentrification leading the way. We are almost leading the country in the absence of affordable housing for working people. 
     Knowing how sensitive the Denver Post has often been to the plight of troubled people/groups/etc., I take strong issue with the "local homeless alcoholic" reference in your editorial. Among the thousands walking the streets I urge a discussion about actions that need to be taken now to meet homeless housing needs and working people's for that matter. Denver needs a serious discussion on how to get housing for the unhoused, and how to adjust some of our city's use of public land in this crisis. We need to acknowledge the need to share public space with those with no space of their own, as hopefully we work through solutions.