Denver Homeless Out Loud is continuing efforts to procure land for its Tiny Homes project from the city of Denver or other entity. DHOL has identified various plots of land which would effectively serve this purpose; however, the path to attainment has proven hazardous. Though the legal pathway has recently become clear for action, actually obtaining available locations has met with more resistance than desired.

In the meantime, DHOL is exploring immediate, emergency winter options (e.g., churches, businesses, or other centrally located land with the option for tents or other dwellings) to prepare for the coming cold.

On July 11th, Mayor Michael Hancock held The State of the City address at DIA - a convenient location for literally no one in the city of Denver. Of course it may be a coincidence that the Mayor made the State of the City in a location where in order to attend a person either needs to own a vehicle or pay the $12 there and back light rail fee, or it may just fit into the Mayors policy of exclusion towards the most disenfranchised in Denver. In response to Mayor Michael Hancock’s speech, groups such as Denver Homeless Out Loud, Centro Humanitario, Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, People Rising Against Poverty, Fourth World Center of UCD, 9to5 Colorado, Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, American Friends Service Committee, Black Lives Matter 5280 held a People's State of the City in Civic Center Park, which in contrast was accessible to everyone. It may not have had a brass band on site but the event did highlight pressing issues that Mayor Michael Hancock wouldn’t: the continued persecution of the homeless with no attainable housing policy, the struggle for immigrant families to stay together, and police brutality towards people of color, were just some of the issues addressed.

"I'm really excited to announce a new program, Denver's Road to Nowhere. This program makes the A-line free for anyone making under a certain level of income, on one condition: once you get to DIA you board a plane and never return."  - Luke Leavitt

"Names like Sheridan, some of the worst Indian killers in this history and we have names dedicated to them in this city. That is unacceptable...This whole city is based on structural racism and the displacement of indigenous peoples." - Sky Roosevelt Morris

By Walkersaurus

Have you heard about the Civil lawsuit being filed on behalf of the homeless community?
On date_______________ a class action lawsuit was filed by Jason Floresz - Willams against the City and County of Denver on behalf of the homeless who have had their propriety confiscated or thrown away as a result of the sweeps. The suit among other things states....
      “Defendants [The City of Denver is the Defendant] have engaged in a systemic evisceration of thousands of displaced persons’ constitutional rights in order to clear the way for new housing and economic development in the Downtown Denver area. While gentrification may have positive benefits for a few, it is not a legal basis for treating this vulnerable class as though their civil rights were non-existent.”
       Lawyers use special language that is not common to the rest of us. Jason the lawyer filing the case uses this legal language as he describes elements of the case. He talks fast and you need to stay sharp to keep up with him. He is a respected civil rights lawyer and has worked in filing many civil rights cases over the years on the East Coast and in New Mexico. Based on what he has said about the case and what I have heard on the street there seems to be some confusion about what the civil suit actually is. So let's unpack this legal speak from the above statement and get a better sense of what exactly the City is being charged with. Let's start with some definitions...
     Jason states "Defendandts have engaged in a systemic evisceration" eviscerate generally involves disembowelment. Rather strong language. The second usage (the one intended by the lawyer) involves depriving someone of something essential which is noted in the legal definition of the term. Me thinks the first definition adds to the ruthlessness of which the deprivation mentioned in the second definition implies.
      The class of class action is the homelessor displaced people ….... In this case class means all those persons in the same category, level of rights , or who have suffered from the same incident. Whether a person is part of a class is often crucial in determining who can sue on behalf of the people who have been similarly damaged. In this case the Class being defined is those who's property was taken during the homeless sweeps carried out by the city.
     Jason refers to "systemic evisceration" in this case ssytemic discrimination refers to patterns of behavior, policies or practices that are part of the structures of an organization, and which create or perpetuate disadvantage for a class of people.
     Due processes of law are legal fairness, legal safeguards, protection against deprivations, protection guarantees, protection of deprivation of accepted legal principles.
     Ok. That is the lawyer language part. Now what does it mean in context of the case being filed? Here are some things that you may not know about the suit.
1. The suit will not change/ overturn any of the pre-existing laws here in Denver.
2. What it will do is hold those responsible for the procedures already in place that must be followed.
     The primary thrust of this case has to dd with Due Process. According to the suit the all cities have processes that must be followed when doing operations like the sweeps that safe guard peoples personal property. People's personal property is protected by our constitution from illegal confiscation and illegal searches. According to the suit due process was pretty much ignored alltogether, thus violating peoples rights to maintain their personal property. In addition, this bypassing of proper procedure was targeted at a certain class of people; Homeless folks stuck on the street just trying to hang on. So to be clear this suit is not being filed on behalf of everyone who is homeless, it is just those who were affected by sweeps and had their property taken without due process.
     Jason contacted local advocacy organization Denver Homeless Out Loud in order to help him find potential claimants who met the conditions of the case. The way these suits work is that there are typically a hand full of lead plaintiffs which go though the process and all the hearings on behalf of the whole class. Then, if there is a settlement the whole class who was affected will have a right to a share in anything that is awarded by the court. It is our understanding the Jason is not looking for any more lead plaintiffs at this time. But if you have been affected you will want to follow this case. In addition to “lead” plaintiffs the case carries a list of others who were know to be affected. If you have been affected and would like to be identified on this list you can contact Jason at the information below.

Press Release, DHOL Blog - August 25, 2016. See link below:

A Class action lawsuit was filed August 25, 2016 Denver, CO in the
Federal District Court of Colorado on behalf of the thousands of homeless
in Denver whose rights and dignity have been repeatedly violated by the
City through its brutal policies—known as_The Homeless Sweeps— clearing
this rapidly-growing city (Denver) of the poor and displaced.

The 36-page Complaint begins:
“Defendants have engaged in a systemic evisceration of thousands  of
displaced persons’ constitutional rights in order to clear the way for new
housing and economic development in the Downtown Denver area. While
gentrification may have positive benefits for a few,  it is not a legal basis
for treating this vulnerable class as though their civil rights were non-existent.”

The City has condoned the taking and destruction of homeless persons’
property—often all they have in the world—without due process or
concern for their civil rights. These raids have been done in a way that
can only be described as vindictive and inhumane, taking blankets and
sleeping bags from people in 10 Degree weather with a foot of snow on
the ground So that along with violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth
Amendment, Plaintiffs are bringing an Eighth Amendment claim against
the City of Denver for cruel and unusual punishment.

With this Class Action, thousands of normally invisible people in this city
are standing up and demanding access to justice.  Since Mayor Hancock
has directed the sweeps across the city – taking people’s belongings,
forcing people “away” into hiding, with no respect for rights and dignity, we
at Denver Homeless Out Loud have continued to demand loud and clear that
these sweeps must end. We have requested again and again to meet with
the Mayor who has not even had the decency to reply. The Mayor has made
 it very clear he does not want to hear from those of us he is attempting to
sweep out of sight, and we have made it very clear that we will be seen
and heard – one way or another.

With this lawsuit we are demanding that the constitutional rights of the
homeless community be heard and respected and that the sweeps end
once and for all. This lawsuit stands for the rights of thousands of people
surviving on the streets of Denver which are constantly being violated and
will continue to be violated until we hold the city accountable to the homeless
communities constitutional rights.

https://denverhomelessoutloud.org/2016/08/