Homelessness

Snooze no longer supports city's urban camping ban

Even as Coors Field was filling up last Friday, fans were learning Ballpark neighborhood mainstay Snooze would no longer support the city's May 2012 ban on camping because it hadn't helped the homeless community. Snooze had initially supported that proposal -- a stance that inspired Occupy Denver to ... More >>

Snooze switches position on camping ban

Even as Coors Field was filling up last Friday, fans were learning Ballpark neighborhood mainstay Snooze would no longer support the city's May 2012 ban on camping because it hasn't helped the homeless community. Snooze had initially supported that proposal -- a stance that inspired Occupy Denver ... More >>

Crisanta Duran hosts town hall on homelessness tonight

As the weather heats up, so do concerns that the camping ban Denver City Council approved a year ago has not worked as envisioned. Last week, Denver Homeless Out Loud released the results of its survey of 500 homeless people on the impact of the ban, which took effect on May 28, 2012. And tonight, ... More >>

Homelessness: What is the city doing to help women transition to permanent housing?

In our latest feature, "Bed Check," we take a close look at the day-to-day challenges homeless women in Denver face when navigating the emergency shelter system. This is just one piece of the available-services puzzle, and the city says it is dedicated to long-term solutions. So what is Denver doing ... More >>

Homelessness: Report recommends partial redesign of Denver's emergency shelter system

In "Bed Check," this week's feature, we take a close look at the challenges homeless women face when trying to find safe places to sleep in Denver. Incidentally, Denver's Road Home, the agency that oversees homeless issues, has just released an assessment of the city's shelter programs -- a report w ... More >>

Will Denver's homeless women be left in the cold?

Photos: Faces of homelessness in Denver

Photos: Project Homeless Connect draws thousands against backdrop of camping ban

Thousands of homeless individuals in Denver came out to the Colorado Convention Center this week seeking services as part of an event called Project Homeless Connect. It's an effort by the city to actively reach out to those in need -- and one that comes after a summer of intense criticism tied to a ... More >>

Sniagrab camping should not be compared to homelessness, says Mayor Michael Hancock

Denver allows camping for shoppers but not for homeless people with nowhere to go. At least that was last week's message from Occupy Denver during protests about allowing Sports Authority shoppers to camp out for bargains months after the city began enforcing its urban camping ban, which prohibits t ... More >>

Take It to the Street

West End Flats and Health Center bring 101 low-income units, clinic

In the past week, Denver has welcomed the creation of almost 200 units of low-income housing for families and former members of the city's homeless community. Today, seven days after Bluff Lake Apartments launched 92 units, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless marked the grand opening of the $17 ... More >>

Reader: Snooze is targeted by protesters over camping ban that won't do anything

Snooze found itself at the center of a protest over the camping ban after co-owner Brianna Borin spoke in favor of the ordinance at a Denver City Council hearing. During peak breakfast hours two weekends ago, members of Occupy Denver flocked to the original Snooze, at 23rd and Larimer streets, with ... More >>

Snooze protest: Owner talks homeless workers, Nazi allegations

When Snooze co-owner Brianna Borin spoke out in support of the urban camping ban at a city council hearing two weeks ago, Occupy Denver members took offense and launched a morning-long rally against the restaurant spot -- which employed four homeless individuals inside at that very moment. Days late ... More >>

Reader: Urban-camping ban would put profits before people

For the homeless, "urban camping" is no picnic

Also read: Councilman Albus Brooks discusses the proposed ban on urban camping

Councilman Albus Brooks discusses the proposed ban on urban camping

Also read: For the homeless, "urban camping" is no picnic

Urban camping: A timeline of how the ban began -- and where it's headed

Although there have been rumblings about it for months, Denver's proposed urban camping ordinance has only been circulated in draft form for the past few weeks. In this week's feature, "For the homeless, 'urban camping' is no picnic," Jef Otte took a look at its direct implications by spending a nig ... More >>

Urban camping ban: Denver City Council delays vote -- for a week

Today, after the Commission on Homelessness called for an additional four weeks to consider an urban camping ordinance, Denver City Council moved its final consideration date to May 14, one week later than previously scheduled. The decision came with a final vote of four to three. If approved, the b ... More >>

Urban camping ban: Albus Brooks calls it an emergency

The urban camping ban, currently scheduled for a May 7 city council vote, is moving too quickly for Denver neighborhood leaders. On Saturday, the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation urged the council to push its decision back until past May 12, when the group will discuss it internally. But councilman Al ... More >>

Urban camping ban proposal mean-spirited, possibly unconstitutional, says ACLU

As witnessed by a Westword item from October, Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver's business and outreach communities have spent months discussing and debating a push to ban overnight camping on public property. Now that the issue is reportedly scheduled to be addressed in a City Council committee meet ... More >>

Richard Thebo of Full Spirit Ministries accused of treating shelter funds as petty cash

Richard Thebo, 71, has run Fort Collins' Open Door Mission for nineteen years. But if the Colorado Attorney General's Office has its way, his connection with the homeless shelter will end soon. The AG has filed a lawsuit charging Thebo and associates such as his son with misusing funds and more. Exa ... More >>

Parrish Wright, who sold crack to homeless addicts, is a Shmuck

Parrish Wright​There's low, and then there's really, really slimy-low. And selling crack to homeless addicts who are going through drug rehabilitation is about as low as it gets. Parrish L. Wright, a longtime security guard for a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless clinic, was arrested recent ... More >>

John Hickenlooper's homeless-program plan for expansion: Kenny Be's Worst-Case Scenario

full-sized comic below​Five years into Mayor Hickenlooper's ten-year plan to end homelessness, the Road Home program has been honored for its success by the El Pomar Foundation. Hick's a penny-pinching genius and found that by doing something rather than nothing, he could reduce Denver's annua ... More >>

Homeless abuse case fallout: Two more Grand Junction cops in spotlight after three were fired

A tent damaged by GJ police.​Last month, we told you about claims that Grand Junction Police officers had vandalized a homeless camp -- assertions followed by the firing of three GJPD members. But the story's not over. In recent days, another cop's resigned and a colleague's been placed on le ... More >>

ACLU challenging Boulder's practice of ticketing homeless people for sleeping outside

​The ACLU is challenging a Boulder ordinance that penalizes homeless people for sleeping outside under the cover of blankets -- even when the city's homeless shelter is full. That's what happened to David Madison. He was ticketed last November under the city's controversial camping ban for s ... More >>

Tom Gallagher, Colorado Springs councilman, votes against ordinance targeting tent cities -- because he was once homeless

A Flickr photoColorado Springs is trying to do away with sights like these.​On Monday, we told you about the face-off between columnist/AM 760 host David Sirota and Colorado Springs councilman Sean Paige over the perception that the Springs' conservative policies have made bad problems worse d ... More >>

Councilwoman rips Hickenlooper's plan to boost spending for homeless

Jeanne Faatz.​Mayor John Hickenlooper wants to use $2.3 million from Denver's general fund to continue his quest, announced circa 2005, to end homelessness here in ten years. The move appears to have plenty of support on city council, even though the current budget is in such grim condition th ... More >>

Home and Away

The Denver Project

Homeless is where the heart is.

16th Street Mall Mishandle

Aid to the homeless brings out the long arm of the law.

East Colfax Motel Hell

No room at the Inn.

Back-doored

Panhandle With Care

We're all just a home away from homeless.

We're Not Worthy

Charity began at home. This home.

Off Limits

Age before duty

Follow That Story

Camp Out

Letters to the Editor

From the week of April 22, 2004

Gimme Shelter

Going camping across the country.

Pitching Tents

A camp for the homeless works in Portland. Can it work here, too?

Rise and Shine

Want to help the homeless? Wake up and smell the coffee.

Lost Identity

A crackdown on driver's licenses harms the homeless.

No Reservation Needed

Homeless women and families have a new place in Denver to lay their heads.

Follow That Story

There goes the neighborhood

A Badly Altered State

A judge may force Colorado to take care of its homeless mentally ill population.

How to Build a Ghetto

Everyone said they wanted homeless people to be invisible at Lowry. So why aren't they?

The Bum's Rush

City Hall's plan for dealing with the homeless is very short term.

Art Beat

Michael Paglia's brief sketches of what's happening in the Denver art scene.

Uncharitable Contributions

Homeless people say fees for background checks are a get-rich-quick scheme for social service agencies.

No Lease on Life

Tenants say that Triton Properties is playing dirty in its efforts to clean up Colfax.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

FOR THESE TEENS, LIFE ON THE STREET IS NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT.

DIALING FOR DOLORS

WHILE TELEMARKETERS RAISE MONEY FOR A NEW FOOD BANK--AND THEMSELVES--ONE POLITICALLY POWERFUL NEIGHBOR WANTS THE PROJECT SHELVED.