by Debbie Brady
A strange thing happened on July 18th of this year. For the first time in over a year, hundreds of unhoused citizens gathered at the Triangle Gardens (aka The Triangle, aka Eddie Maestas Garden). This gathering was made possible by the Tiny Homes Working Group of Denver Homeless Out Loud. This park had been a frequent gathering place for many of Denver’s unhoused population, even though they were hassled several times a day by the DPD, “Denver’s finest.” A little over a year ago this small oasis, across Lawrence Street from Samaritan House and across Park Ave West from the Denver Rescue Mission, was fenced off and converted into a community garden in a successful effort to force the unhoused folks who gathered there to move along. This day, however, thanks in large part to the Tiny Homes Working Group, these unhoused people were once again welcomed into the park. They were there to witness the construction of a Conestoga shelter.
This was just the start of a daylong demonstration of the livability of Tiny Homes by a coalition of groups that presented “The Struggle for Space” portion of the Biennial of the Americas event in Denver. Later in the day there was a tiny home open house, presentation and party at the Platte forum--with music and food for all.
To get back to the Triangle though, we were amazed at the simplicity and ingenuity of the Conestoga shelter. It is based on the wagons that many of the early settlers used in their western migration across North America. This simple, inexpensive ($1,000 for materials) shelter was designed by a group from Eugene, Oregon called “Community Supported Shelters.” We were all impressed with the unique way that a small piece of land could be quickly and inexpensively converted into a comfortable living area for people to find shelter from the elements.
The concept of tiny homes is nothing new, but as a result of stagnant wages and rising housing cost in many cities, including Denver, it is gaining popularity with the working poor. This popularity however is not shared by most of the governing bodies of many of our American cities, including Denver. Here in Denver, despite having completed several tiny homes which houseless people could be living in, the group’s plans to move forward with a tiny home village are being held up by zoning, code, and permitting red tape.
This foot dragging by Denver’s mayor and city council is hard for me to understand. We have a large and growing population of unhoused people, many of them the working poor. So far the only response to this problem on the part of the city has been to criminalize simple acts of survival performed by people who, because of their lack of housing, are forced to live in public. Not only is this not a solution to a growing problem, but it makes a bad situation worse, and cost the taxpayers a bunch of money, including for police, courts, jails, ER, and hospitals.
A tiny homes village in Denver is just one viable solution to the so called homeless problem in our fair city. We just have to convince the City Fathers of that fact. You see, most politicians are not leaders, they are followers. They are usually way behind the general population when it comes to new strategies or concepts. This is because most politicians spend much of their time seeking two things, money and votes. If you can guarantee to deliver either of these two things, then you are going to get them to listen to your ideas. If not, then you may get a polite hearing, but your advice will be promptly ignored. We have been there.
Most of us who want to build a tiny home village in Denver do not have a lot of money to throw at these guys, so we have to show them that we can deliver the votes they need to stay in office. This is why the Tiny Homes Working Group is circulating a petition telling our city officials we want tiny homes. Please sign it and together we can lead the politicians of this city into allowing us to build a tiny home village in Denver. Don’t stop there though. We must continue to call and pester our own council members and His Honor, The Mayor, until they allow us to pursue our Dream, if for no other reason than to get us to shut up. They can only hope…
This was just the start of a daylong demonstration of the livability of Tiny Homes by a coalition of groups that presented “The Struggle for Space” portion of the Biennial of the Americas event in Denver. Later in the day there was a tiny home open house, presentation and party at the Platte forum--with music and food for all.
To get back to the Triangle though, we were amazed at the simplicity and ingenuity of the Conestoga shelter. It is based on the wagons that many of the early settlers used in their western migration across North America. This simple, inexpensive ($1,000 for materials) shelter was designed by a group from Eugene, Oregon called “Community Supported Shelters.” We were all impressed with the unique way that a small piece of land could be quickly and inexpensively converted into a comfortable living area for people to find shelter from the elements.
The concept of tiny homes is nothing new, but as a result of stagnant wages and rising housing cost in many cities, including Denver, it is gaining popularity with the working poor. This popularity however is not shared by most of the governing bodies of many of our American cities, including Denver. Here in Denver, despite having completed several tiny homes which houseless people could be living in, the group’s plans to move forward with a tiny home village are being held up by zoning, code, and permitting red tape.
This foot dragging by Denver’s mayor and city council is hard for me to understand. We have a large and growing population of unhoused people, many of them the working poor. So far the only response to this problem on the part of the city has been to criminalize simple acts of survival performed by people who, because of their lack of housing, are forced to live in public. Not only is this not a solution to a growing problem, but it makes a bad situation worse, and cost the taxpayers a bunch of money, including for police, courts, jails, ER, and hospitals.
A tiny homes village in Denver is just one viable solution to the so called homeless problem in our fair city. We just have to convince the City Fathers of that fact. You see, most politicians are not leaders, they are followers. They are usually way behind the general population when it comes to new strategies or concepts. This is because most politicians spend much of their time seeking two things, money and votes. If you can guarantee to deliver either of these two things, then you are going to get them to listen to your ideas. If not, then you may get a polite hearing, but your advice will be promptly ignored. We have been there.
Most of us who want to build a tiny home village in Denver do not have a lot of money to throw at these guys, so we have to show them that we can deliver the votes they need to stay in office. This is why the Tiny Homes Working Group is circulating a petition telling our city officials we want tiny homes. Please sign it and together we can lead the politicians of this city into allowing us to build a tiny home village in Denver. Don’t stop there though. We must continue to call and pester our own council members and His Honor, The Mayor, until they allow us to pursue our Dream, if for no other reason than to get us to shut up. They can only hope…
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