Video: Denver Homeless on Ballpark Area Sweep, Trashed Belongings

On Tuesday, City of Denver workers launched a clean sweep of the Ballpark neighborhood, where the homeless had been setting up encampments — or at least stashing stuff that was not allowed in nearby shelters. During the move — which was overseen by Denver Police Department officers — some of...

By Westword Staff

March 11, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

On Tuesday, City of Denver workers launched a clean sweep of the Ballpark neighborhood, where the homeless had been setting up encampments — or at least stashing stuff that was not allowed in nearby shelters. During the move — which was overseen by Denver Police Department officers — some of those belongings were taken into storage, but others were tossed into waiting trash trucks.

Criticism came quickly. In advance of the action, Denver Homeless Out Loud had pointed out the city's lack of shelter beds had led to the encampments, despite the urban-camping ban in Denver; even as the city was sweeping the streets, ACLU Colorado executive director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley argued that the answer to the homeless problem "cannot be increased criminalization and draconian sweeps that push away and attempt to hide impoverished people out of sight."

Our videographer, Kevin Beaty, was there to capture the scene — and the words of those most affected, the homeless themselves.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Westword has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.