Given the way we have created our society, what gives Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown the idea that he can solve Denver’s homeless “problem” when no other city on Earth has done so?
The councilman moans about the growing “problem” of people sleeping on the mall and in other downtown locales, suggesting this is driving people away from Denver and the downtown.
I am a little surprised at this attitude. I have lived here since 1969 and had yet to meet anyone who is afraid to go downtown because a few homeless folks spend the night there. Other than a few restaurants, the 16th Street Mall offers little in the way of class (i.e., discount clothing stores, a drug store, fast food joints, and trinket shops). Still, it is fun to walk there on summer evenings.
If anything, the councilman might be more concerned about aggressive panhandling, a few drug deals, an actual robbery or assault, and the occasional whacko or drunk — not the homeless. The real crimes and misdemeanors can be handled simply — with a few more beat cops. Many other cities on Earth take this approach. If the Denver Police Department doesn’t want to deal with it, the Guardian Angels will.
I hardly think an aging emphysema victim sleeping on the mall next to his oxygen tank poses much of a threat to Denver citizenry. Nor does it keep General Motors from opening its intergalactic headquarters in Denver. There are other factors that keep businesses out of Denver, and the city’s homeless “problem” is not one of them.
There is no place where a human being can sleep overnight for free, either at will or legally. For those of you in Brown’s central Denver district, “at will” refers to the fact that anyone cannot just walk into a shelter and get a bed; a waiting list and a series of requirements are imposed. The term “legally” is just what it implies.
Public parks and the streets have curfews. Cherry Hills Village has plenty of open space and places to sleep, but private property imposes trespass penalties. Campsites in local, state, and federal parks and forests require permits and impose fees. Sure, one can camp for free on most un-improved Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, but how does the homeless person get there each night?
The bottom line is that being homeless is essentially illegal in Denver and much of the United States. So Brown’s answer is to crack down and — what?? — make homelessness even more illegal than it already is? Make it “really” illegal, or “super” illegal, or, maybe “uber” illegal.
His other idea is to hand the homeless a one-way bus ticket. He thinks the homeless person’s family should take care of the problem, not Denver. There is some moral logic here, but in terms of practicality, it’s a non-starter. Perhaps the bus ticket could be to Cherry Hills Village, where the aforementioned open space is available, albeit it private.
While Brown totally missed the boat on his one-way bus ticket idea, the city may consider handling out a non-transferrable (like, photo ID required) RTD pass. That way the homeless might even be able to and from to a job. God forbid!
Oh, I forgot. That idea will invoke the “magnet” theory: any perk will just draw in even more homeless people. This is the stock argument against pragmatism. It is also the stock argument for doing nothing, other than drafting a homeless is “uber” illegal ordinance.
The other pragmatic idea shunned by the likes of Brown is a tent city, organized, patrolled, and sanitized. What an image that would project for Denver, even if it were able to solve the problem. (Note: the “magnet” theory will also be invoked here.)
I realize our former mayor turned governor exhibits an irrational fear that tents will self combust at any given moment (even though this is not the case in the aforementioned public campgrounds), but there even is an antidote for this utterly weak argument:
A Tuff Shed City.
Denver writer and former journalist Richard J. Schneider freelances and writes mystery novels.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
