Crews Clean Up Homeless Encampment
DENVER (CBS4)- Crews cleaned up a homeless encampment in the Ballpark Neighborhood on Thursday but focused on debris, not moving out people. The same area was the target of a city-led clean out in March but quickly returned to a similar state.
This time, the City of Denver has taken a different approach that focuses on cleaning up what officials call a health risk.
The Denver Public Works Department has started patrolling the neighborhood daily with garbage trucks to remove debris instead of belongings that are the property of the homeless.
The Denver Sheriff's Department and Denver Police Department teamed up with the public works crews. Officers and deputies spoke to those living on the streets about keeping the area clean.
The city said it is addressing the problem with outreach workers and compassion.
"It's just not right for people to be living on the streets particularly if you can address it with mutual respect," said Executive Director of Denver's Road Home Bennie Milliner.
A spokesperson with the Denver Department of Human Services told CBS4 the people camped out on the sidewalks near Lawrence Street and Park Avenue West have a constitutional right to be in the city. The camps are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
One homeless man said it was easier to camp on the street than try to gain access to the nearby shelters, "And then if you get in there you've got to play a ridiculous game and so you get kicked out."
Some complained that there belongings were taken from them and thrown away. Police said they were trying to get those belongings returned to the rightful owners.
The City of Denver released this statement to CBS4: Similar to what we saw last year following Labor Day, there is a growing number of people sleeping outside in the area of 21st, Park and Lawrence Streets. This is despite the reality that the city's shelters have been reporting an average of 150 to 200 available beds each night for the past several months. To date, shelters have not turned away anyone experiencing homelessness who is willing to enter. Overall, the city's priority remains the same, to align these individuals with the services they need.
The city's homeless outreach teams are working in this area three days a week to determine why people are not accessing shelter and services, to inform them that they cannot continue to sleep on the sidewalks and to determine the best ways we can assist them. To keep the area clean, city crews are removing hazardous waste and trash daily. We are monitoring those efforts to determine what public health and safety issues exist, both for the protection of the people sleeping there as well as those who live and work in the area.
Even with increased outreach, people are still sleeping outside and refusing services. This cannot continue. We firmly believe people are best served indoors. Few, if any, people have ever told us that sleeping on the streets was how they began to rebuild from whatever situation resulted in their homelessness. Most importantly, we want to help these individuals and set them on a better trajectory for their futures.
