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Denver, Co. CALL FOR SUPPORT! Sign on to Letter to Governor Demanding No Sweeps or State Troopers Policing Our Communities

July 27, 2020 by Jonathan Leave a Comment

As you may have heard, on Thursday July 23rd 2020, Governor Polis called on the City of Denver to send police to sweep homeless communities off State land, and later that day the City of Denver gave the Governor the authority to use State Troopers to do sweeps themselves. This use of force to remove visible poverty and homelessness, which Governor Polis has made worse by not issuing cancellation of rent or opening hotels as emergency housing in this pandemic, is against CDC guidance and, bottomline, destructive to a community with no option to live safely in a house. 

We need everyone’s voice together to demand the Governor not use State Troopers to sweep “away” those without housing living in Lincoln Park or around the Governor’s Mansion. Please let us know if your organization will sign on to this letter to the Governor ASAP.

Email us at info@denverhomelessoutloud.org to sign on!


Letter to Governor regarding sweeps and troopers

Sent July 26th, 2020

Governor Jared Polis

Colorado State Capitol

200 East Colfax Room 136

Denver, CO 80203

 

Dear Governor Polis,

We are writing to demand you retract the statements you made on July 23rd 2020 perpetuating hate, harm, and dehumanization of people living without housing, and calling for sweeps of homeless and social justice protest encampments on or around State property. Calling in State Troopers to criminalize homeless people for surviving on State land (which is land stolen from Native People’s), is not moral, effective, healthy, or constitutional. Rather than hiding housing problems, how about some solutions??  Hiding poor people by removing them out of sight does not eliminate poverty. 

We are deeply offended by the way you talked about those living in Lincoln Park and around the Governor’s Mansion. Not once in your speech did you recognize that the people living in these encampments are there because they are victims of a housing crisis, made worse by the COVID pandemic, nor did you offer hope with some kind of solution so they would not have to live that way because the state is working on solutions. In today’s economy, finding a job that pays a living wage with the ability to afford housing is, at best, a 30 out of 100 chance (pre-pandemic data). Instead you spoke only of “getting rid of tents” and property destruction or lawlessness – never once of human beings.  

Furthermore, you completely ignored the fact that one of the two encampments you were targeting, the one around the governor’s mansion, is not only a safe haven for houseless people, but also a protest against racism, police murders, poverty, ect. –  an organizing base to stand for political change. Failure to be aware that tents around the Governor’s mansion were part of a protest especially in these times shows a huge lack of awareness. Last we checked, political speech and active participation in democracy was encouraged in our constitution. 

We ask that you publicly apologize for the demanding way you spoke of houseless people which furthers the spread of hate and harm against those without housing. 

Sending in State Troopers to force people living in Lincoln Park due to lack of housing access out, scattering people to the streets of Denver, is directly against CDC guidance. Scattering people from place to place puts our whole community at further risk of spreading COVID-19. Staying in a tent outside is safer for those without individual housing options than staying in a congregate shelter. As you have said yourself, it is safer to be outside than inside in crowded settings in this pandemic (reference to the need for outdoor business patios). Unless individual housing options can be provided, the CDC says encampments should not be swept. Furthermore, cities should provide sanitation resources including bathrooms and hand washing to all encampments. Currently, the City of Denver has largely stepped back on their normal practice of sweeping encampments (always a harmful practice) because of this CDC guidance. If you send in State Troopers to sweep those without housing living in Lincoln Park or around the Governor’s Mansion, you will be going directly against CDC guidance. 

Since you made it clear you are unaware of the status of Denver’s “Camping Ban” (better named Survival Ban) law, we want to inform you that this law was recently found unconstitutional by Denver Judge Barajas. It is now in the appeals process in Denver District Court after the City appealed. Furthermore, it is of note that the list of Denver ordinances Denver Safety Director authorized Colorado State Troopers to enforce does not include the Camping Ban (38-86.2). If State Troopers attempt to use the Camping Ban against people living in Lincoln park or around the park or the mansion on the public right-of-way you will be acting outside of your powers. 

On a technical note, since you were not aware of the status of the other Denver laws, we also want to ensure you are aware of the recent class action lawsuit settlement against the City of Denver for sweeps. This requires that the City post notice 7 days prior to any large scale sweep, and that property be stored for 60 days, not trashed. You should be aware of these additional legal requirements, though to be clear, no sweeps should take place, period. 

If you want to claim you represent the people of Colorado, you must hear from the people directly affected. We ask that you immediately set a meeting with members of Denver Homeless Out Loud along with residents of the encampments you are targeting on State land. 

You have the ability to make a real difference in the accessibility of housing for those living outside right now. You could have canceled rents and mortgages to keep people from losing their housing. You could have opened hotels as emergency housing for all those without. But instead, your approach is to send State Troopers in to criminalize and scatter the very people left without housing due to your inaction. 

Instead of turning to police as the answer, take actions to provide housing and sanitation facilities. Or open your mansion at 7th and Logan for those without housing living in the park and around the mansion to live.  You and your family don’t live there.

Sincerely, 
Denver Homeless Out Loud

Filed Under: #right2rest, #StopTheSweeps, Denver Homeless Out Loud

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On August 11th, Newsom's "Care" Act passed out of On August 11th, Newsom's "Care" Act passed out of the Appropriations Committee. The bill was amended on the 15th and will be scheduled for a floor vote any time between August 17th and 31st. https://conta.cc/3dz2NzQ
Part 12... Infractions and Due Process Rights Ant Part 12...
Infractions and Due Process Rights 
Anti-homeless laws and ordinances and their application have, in fact, created a loophole that allows for the circumvention of a homeless person’s right to due process under law. The process by which homeless people face repeated incarceration generally follows this scenario: A homeless man is sleeping on the sidewalk. A local ordinance makes it illegal to do so. The man gets a ticket and is later arrested for not paying the ticket. He spends a couple of days in jail, and is just as homeless now as he was before, only now he has a criminal record. This was the case for many of the individuals interviewed by RWHP. One man relayed the familiar scenario, “I was sleeping in a tent in a hidden spot near the freeway. They gave me a ticket for trespassing. I don’t have money to pay it. I’ve never been in jail before. I keep to myself, but now they’re going to make me a convict just for sleeping.”
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This morning @phillysheriff ‘s came and evicted our protest encampment to Save the UC Townhomes. When asked why they were doing it, Rochelle Bilal responded that she “felt compassion for the townhomes residents but was just doing my job”

Even if the tents are gone WE AINT GOIN NOWHERE‼️
Saturday AUGUST 27 — 9 am to 4pm Sunday AUGUST 2 Saturday AUGUST 27 — 9 am to 4pm
Sunday AUGUST 28 — 12:30pm to 4pm

Westminster Presbyterian Church
1300 N Street, Sacramento

https://wraphome.org/2022/08/02/sacramento-ca-advocates-community-summit-on-homelessness-august-27-28th/
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California’s “anti-Okie” laws of the 1930s and the South’s Jim Crow laws in effect from the late 1800s to the 1950s are examples of the kinds of local laws overturned in previous generations. Yet, modern “quality of life” legislation and enforcement targeting homeless people can be found in communities across the nation.
The City Council postponed their vote on the 41.18 The City Council postponed their vote on the 41.18 expansion to August 2nd. If passed, this motion will add approximately 1,900 additional sites–a 376% increase in exclusionary zones across the city. 41.18 would then cover at least 88 sq miles (that’s 20% of the entire city).

Services Not Sweeps is urging EVERYONE to come to City Hall at 9:00am on August 2 and tell City Council that 41.18 is BAD POLICY and should be repealed.

When we fight, we win. 
But this fight isn’t over.

The community flooded City Hall inside and out on Wednesday to protest the expansion of 41.18 but the fight is not over. It’s clear that President Nury Martinez and friends weren’t prepared for our numbers and realized they were unable to rally their (few but loud) 41.18 supporters. Council delayed the vote to Tuesday August 2nd in an attempt to erode our momentum and stifle our voices. 
 
We won’t let that happen. The fight now is to keep the pressure on and show up next week!! See you next Tuesday 9am. Bring a friend.
 
WHO: You and your friends!
WHERE: City Hall, 200 N Spring St 
WHEN: Tuesday August 2nd at 9:00am
HOW: Read more details on our toolkit.
AGENDA ITEM 14 https://lacity.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=102513
Part 10... In fact, however, enforcement is very m Part 10...
In fact, however, enforcement is very much impacted by both skin color and appearance. Local governments cannot legally discriminate against people strictly because they do not have housing. Federal protections prohibit local and state governments from removing people from their communities due to the color of their skin or economic/employment status.
Part 9... This nationwide pattern has escaped Civi Part 9... This nationwide pattern has escaped Civil Rights protections because on their face, these programs are not clearly discriminatory. Local laws are often drafted in such a way as to appear to apply equally to all people in a community.
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While certain communities highlight different controls at different times, often depending upon the outcome of local elections and legislative and court efforts, all have one primary common goal: to remove the presence and resulting impact of people without housing from local communities. As the Mayor of Las Vegas stated when she outlawed feeding people in city parks: “If we stop feeding them, they will leave.”
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