Homeless Aren't Criminals
Denver Post Opinion
A proposed Denver city ordinance banning
unauthorized "camping" would criminalize survival activities for persons
experiencing homelessness. This would essentially criminalize the
status of being homeless even though there are no adequate or
appropriate alternatives for them.
As someone who has been working
for 26 years to end homelessness in Colorado, I strongly believe that
no person should have to live on the streets of Denver to survive. We
share the goal of the city and business community to reduce homelessness
on our streets. Yet we must urge our leaders to avoid policies that
would effectively criminalize homelessness.
City officials say it is inhumane to allow homeless persons to sleep outside. We agree.
However,
it is even more inhumane to make it illegal while acknowledging that
there is not sufficient shelter or housing alternatives.
There is a
significant lack of adequate emergency shelter to meet the needs of our
citizens in Denver, such that tonight, after every shelter bed in the
city is full, there will be hundreds of men and women sleeping on the
streets, in their cars, or in abandoned buildings.
Compounding
the problem is the lack of health, mental health, and substance abuse
treatment services for those experiencing homelessness, which creates
multiple barriers to housing and employment. Last year, more than 2,000
individuals who are homeless and mentally ill in Denver were on the
waiting list for mental health services at the Colorado Coalition for
the Homeless' Stout Street Clinic due to lack of capacity to serve them.
There is also an extreme lack of supportive housing and affordable
housing for those in need.
We believe Denver's proposed ordinance
would not only be unfair and shortsighted, it would also be
counterproductive. It would force those without shelter further into our
neighborhoods and further out of sight. This would make outreach and
engagement even more difficult. It would also negatively impact the
quality of life in our neighborhoods as people without shelter would be
hiding in alleys, dumpsters and cars throughout the city.
Equally
important, this proposed ordinance would divert our efforts from
fighting to end homelessness to fighting efforts to criminalize
homelessness.
While there has been an increase in homelessness
over the past two years due to the recession, economic dislocation, and
budget cuts at the federal, state and local level, we have been
successful in helping thousands of individuals and families move from
the shelters and the streets into housing and employment.
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