Tyler Ford’s 15-month-old girl, Mahayla, wrapped chubby fingers around the dangling string of a helium balloon and screamed with delight — the same reaction she has to helicopter blades beating overhead and ambulances and cop cars wailing as they blur by.
For Mahayla, all the downtown trappings of the Democratic National Convention were great fun.Her dad likes it too. Even though sidewalk traffic was elbow-to-elbow this week, there are fewer homeless and hungry people in line for the free hot lunch at Trinity United Methodist Church on Broadway.
“The line is so short!” Tyler Ford said happily. “It usually stretches around the corner of the building. God bless the DNC!”
Many other people in line found the crowds, noise and strong police presence overwhelming. And many homeless or hungry stayed away this week.
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless spokeswoman B.J. Iacino said that through early Thursday, the organization was not aware of any serious incidents involving one of the Denver metro area’s estimated 5,000 homeless people, or of anything compromising their safety.
Reviews of the convention by homeless people are decidedly mixed.
“It’s just about impossible to be downtown,” said 46-year-old Daniel Walmsley, who lives on Denver’s streets. “I’ve been accosted by police at a couple of places. They ran me out of the library. They said no ancillary luggage. I don’t discuss it. I just leave.”
The suspicious luggage is a backpack, cooler and large padlocked duffel in which Walmsley stows a blanket, jacket and change of clothes. He has to keep it all with him.
Law officers — Denver’s and those helping out this week — are not focused on homeless people per se, both the officers and homeless say, but police are inspecting bundles.
Walmsley said he was spotlighted and rousted out of the riverside park where he usually sleeps. It is now a convention-related event venue.
“The convention hasn’t affected me at all, with the cops or anything,” said 58-year-old Chip Morris, also homeless. “In fact, I think they’ve been a little nicer.”
Morris spent most of his time in Civic Center before it was fenced off Wednesday for yet another fete, A Taste of Colorado.
“The protesters are pretty nice. Denver and Aurora police have been great — real restrained most the time,” Morris said.
Marie Avila, 71, got a free Obama T-shirt. She also likes the bustling streets.
“I’m staying away from downtown,” said 61-year-old Doug las Phillips. “It’s too crowded. I’m also a Republican.”
On the Auraria campus, near the Pepsi Center, the main convention venue, the line for the daily sandwich giveaway at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church was shorter Wednesday by more than half, estimated “Trekkie,” a 44-year-old homeless man. Despite the fears keeping many hungry people away, he said, he has not experienced any police harassment, even this close to the Pepsi Center.
Trekkie had some trouble getting around because someone stole his boots as he slept Tuesday night — and because the 16th Street Mall shuttle is packed because of the convention.
Greta Walker of the Denver Rescue Mission said the Lawrence Street shelter was one of several in the city offering extended daytime hours. Only 10 to 15 people took shelter during each day. The nighttime shelter count bumped up from the average 200 a night to 250 at Lawrence.
“We kept our doors open in case the homeless wanted somewhere to go. But it was calm for us. We had a normal week,” Walker said.
About 10 convention delegates helped prepare and serve lunch at the shelter Wednesday.
One delegate, Bryan Gonzales of Basalt, returned Thursday to give one lunch-time regular a ticket to presidential nominee Barack Obama’s acceptance speech that night.
Father Woody’s Homeless Haven, a day shelter more than a mile from downtown, at West Seventh Avenue and Lipan Street, has been busier than ever.
“We’ve had more people,” said executive director Kathleen Cronan. “They weren’t our regulars.
“They said they just wanted to get as far away from downtown as possible. They all carry everything they own in backpacks. They didn’t want them taken by police.”
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
