Mayor John Hickenlooper on Thursday kicked off a community outreach campaign aimed at persuading people to steer contributions to Denver’s efforts to fight homelessness instead of giving money to panhandlers.
“There is no good time to be homeless in Denver,” the mayor said. “But as we see this economic downturn, we really think this is the time for the rest of the community to step up.”
A critical component of Hickenlooper’s 10-year campaign against homelessness is breaking the cycle of dependency. The campaign stresses that just giving money to those standing on street corners does little to get to the root problems of homelessness.
Instead, the mayor has stressed an approach that looks at stabilizing the homeless by steering them into housing first. Only then, the mayor believes, can they get the job training and counseling that will move them toward stability. He also says that approach is cost-effective and saves taxpayer money that otherwise would be spent on emergency medical care and law enforcement.
The mayor is encouraging citizens to check out to learn more about the campaign to fight homelessness in Denver.
Three businesses joined the mayor in applauding Denver’s approach, now in its third year. The Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, which is undergoing a $70 million renovation, announced it is donating more than 2,000 blankets and pillows to organizations helping the homeless.
Suncor Energy announced it would match all donations to the mayor’s campaign against homelessness between now and the end of January, up to $50,000.
In addition, Swinerton Builders, which is a general contractor working on the Sheraton renovation, will make in-kind contributions to help build housing for the homeless. Swinerton employees will help in the construction of the housing.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
