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Denver, CO. Swept to Nowhere: Experiences and Recommendations from Unhoused People During the COVID-19 Pandemic Summary Below

July 19, 2021 by Jonathan 2 Comments

Swept to Nowhere: Experiences and Recommendations from Unhoused People During the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

Summary Below

Read the Full Report Here

 By Denver Homeless Out Loud with contributions and support from a team of community members and surveys of 150 unhoused Denver residents 

This report covers the findings of the recent survey conducted by Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL) to gather the experiences and input of people without housing who are directly affected by the sweeps in Denver, Colorado. The findings from this survey of 150 people give us a critical foundation for understanding how sweeps are being conducted on the Denver streets and what changes should be implemented. The survey was conducted by DHOL members and volunteers from April 2020 to August 2020. Surveyors were carefully trained to stay unbiased in asking the survey questions. 

 

Key Findings

  • Out of the 150 completed surveys, 89.3% reported “Yes” to having experienced a sweep or the city taking property away.
  • Of the 89.3% of respondents who reported having this experience at least once (sweeps or property seizure by the city), the number of times they had experienced it in the past 6 months ranged from 1-10+ times, with the median response of 3.5 times.
  • Less than one-third (29.3%) of respondents reported seeing notice of the sweep posted before it occurred.
  • Respondents were asked which of the following types of places they have moved to due to a sweep: 
  • Another block nearby (69%)
  • The river (34%)
  • Squatting in a building (27%)
  • A far-off outside location (25%)
  • An outdoor area that was private property subject to trespass charges (25%)
  • A location that was already posted for a sweep (23%)
  • Other (22%)
  • When forced to move after a sweep, the majority (54.5%) of people were never able to find a legal place to stay.
  • Only 31 respondents reported ever moving to shelter, hotel, staying with a friend, or housing following a sweep. Less than 5% of respondents reported moving to housing.
  • 70.4% of respondents reported that they eventually returned to a location from which they had been previously swept.
  • 72.6% of respondents reported having property taken in a sweep.
  • 29% of respondents reported having all or most belongings taken during a sweep.
  • 71% of respondents indicated that they did not know where the storage building was, or how to find out where belongings were taken after a sweep to recover their lost property. 
  • Less than one-fifth (19.7%) of respondents had gone to city storage. Of those who went, only 19% were able to recover their property from the storage facility.
  •  When asked how the city should change their policies, 83.6% of respondents requested that the city de-emphasize sweeps altogether, to focus on finding better housing options.
  • The large majority of respondents indicated that living in a house was their first choice, a tent was their second choice, and shelter was their third choice.

These findings indicate that sweeps do not connect people with housing or ‘services’. They show that people are mostly moving from block to block, are not seeing the notices, are losing valuable property in the process, and are not getting that property back. We include 16 recommendations based on these findings, but they can be boiled down to the following:

  • Stop the sweeps
  • Provide regular trash services and personal hygiene resources
  • Work to create housing instead of sweeps

The full report details other improvements that can be made to the process to move towards actual effective cleaning instead of sweeping human beings from  block to block.  

Download the PDF file .

Contact: Denver Homeless Out Loud
info@denverhomelessoutloud.org
720-940-5291

Filed Under: #right2rest, #StopTheSweeps, Civil & Human Rights, Criminalization, Denver Homeless Out Loud, Homelessness, WRAP Members

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aaron says

    August 17, 2021 at 1:23 pm

    Great work DHOL!!!
    definitely going to apply these inquiries in my community

    Log in to Reply
  2. Nick says

    September 2, 2021 at 5:16 am

    Thank you for this. Howdy from food not bombs west palm beach

    Log in to Reply

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Community spirit and perspective and a cool organi Community spirit and perspective and a cool organizing training!
With sweeps and fascist policing/immigration tactics ramping up all over the country, we must make sure our initiatives to fight them are informed by, come from and are supported by the people who are directly impacted!!! Street outreach is how we do this!
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Join WRAP on Tuesday, July 22 on zoom at 3pm pt | Join WRAP on Tuesday, July 22 on zoom at 3pm pt | 4 pm mt | 6 pm et for a training on the different methodologies, context and implementation of street outreach! There will be examples from WRAP members who represent organizations in different states who have been fighting back against criminalization and sweeps in their communities.
Accountable organizing through street outreach! 

With sweeps and fascist policing/immigration tactics ramping up all over the country, we must make sure our initiatives to fight them are informed by, come from and are supported by the people who are directly impacted!!! 

Street outreach is how we do this! 

📣 WRAP : STREET OUTREACH TRAINING 
🗓️ Tuesday, July 22 | 🕒 3pm PT | 4pm MT | 6pm ET
🎟️ RSVP : bit.ly/wrapoutreach 
✉️ Contact joemae@wraphome.org for any questions

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Last year, on April 22nd, I stood with over 700 pe Last year, on April 22nd, I stood with over 700 people from around the country in front of the US Supreme Court demanding that the court focus on proven solutions to homelessness like housing, and not on things like handcuffs and jails that make homelessness worse. Months later, SCOTUS shamefully decided that homeless people are not included in the Constitution’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment and could be ticketed or arrested for simply sleeping outside. https://conta.cc/44m9rjl
The city continues to sneak in their sweeps of our The city continues to sneak in their sweeps of our friends and neighbors to nowhere. They sneak their sweeps in and hope those that care and give a sh&! against this violence won’t show up. We will do all we can to challenge this and won’t let the city block us from the community care they are afraid of.

Join us for a virtual gathering to learn how to show up, how to build community care. July 10th from 7-8:30pm. DM us for more info.

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🏠Housing is a human right, and it is about time 🏠Housing is a human right, and it is about time our communities actually accept this!

On June 28th 2024, Grants Pass v Johnson was overturned (a case that had required cities to not criminalize the unhoused if adequate shelter was not provided by the city). On June 28th from 10am-12pm, we are asking our community to gather on the Missoula Courthouse lawn to show our city that we don’t support the ways they are criminalizing unhoused Missoulians. 📣

After the rally, from 12-2pm we will hear from various local organizations that are impacted and addressing this issue in our community. 🫂 From those working in the legal system to renters to mutual aid groups, our entire community is impacted by the overturning of Grants Pass v Johnson, the closure of the Johnson Street shelter, and the criminalization of unhoused Missoulians. Municipal elections are coming up this year and it is critical that we show city council where our priorities lie.
The Sovereign Roses Virtual Alumni Chapter invites The Sovereign Roses Virtual Alumni Chapter invites you to WRAP with the Roses! Learn more about the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) and a potential Project I.M.P.A.C.T area we’re exploring. WRAP is dedicated to ending homelessness and poverty by uplifting the voices of those directly impacted and advocating for systemic change rooted in justice and equity.
Discover why WEE believe that partnering with WRAP is a powerful step toward making a real, sustainable difference in our communities.

📅 Date: June 30

🕔 Time: 5:52 PM CST

📍 Zoom:
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Code: 567524

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