"The proposed [site] has not met the requirements set out by the city, pose[s] a real danger to minors and school-aged children, does not address the impact it will have on the neighborhood and displaces people from an area with available resources to an area not equipped to handle the purpose of the [safe-camping site]," reads a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction filed in Denver District Court on May 6.
The Colorado Village Collaborative, which runs a safe-camping site at the Denver Community Church in the Uptown neighborhood, has been planning to relocate the tents for those staying at that site to the parking lot outside the Park Hill United Methodist Church in early June. And there's already plenty of discussion of that location on the Westword Facebook page post of our story about the lawsuit to stop the project. Says Joe:
Where should homeless people go, if not Park Hill? We should have sites like this all over the city, so everyone sees the challenges Denver faces.Adds Amber:
I knew as soon as I heard that it was going to be in South Park Hill, home of million-dollar homes, I knew they were not going to let it happen.Comments Terrell:
I am mortified today to say I am from Park Hill. That said, there are literally hundreds of us actively planning how we will welcome these brothers and sisters, and truly demonstrate what a privileged neighborhood can be capable of, beyond hate.Explains Pueblo:
I always vote to increase taxes when it comes to providing more for the homeless. I do not want homeless to camp in any neighborhoods. I work downtown, and have seen enough homeless people shit, piss, fuck, jerk off and do plenty of drugs to know I wouldn’t want families with children to experience that mess.Responds Erik:
Sweep them under the rug, you will never see them.Says Autumn:
The "not in my back yard" folks really need to put on their critical thinking caps. They have the means to find a solution. Instead, they block the solutions and ban the homeless. Every time they do, the problem is saddled on smaller districts without the means to find and implement any solution.Responds Sean:
So, you are saying you want a couple tents in your yard? Okay. I'll get right on living, shitting, pissing, and shooting heroin on your doorstep.Suggests Robert:
I know it makes some of you feel all warm and fuzzy to give some small segment of the homeless population tents and port-a-johns for three to six months at a time, but just imagine how self-satisfied you would feel if we actually helped these people bridge to a sustainable, quasi-permanent home with an actual address, not the parking lot of the church.Yeah, there's an idea, let's actually do something that is sustainable and beneficial and won't make these folks move to another parking lot in Lakewood in six months.Notes April:
It's sad, I understand both sides and it's a lose/lose situation.Concludes Jose:
I think this is great! Two blocks away from Senator Hickenlooper's house!What do you think of the proposal to put a safe-camping site in South Park Hill? Post a comment or share your thoughts at [email protected]
