Homeless people line up at the Denver Rescue Mission on April 1, 2014. (Hyoung Chang, Denver Post file)
Re: DU report on homelessness is unfair to Colorado cities, Feb. 19 editorial.
The Denver Post says the University of Denver s homeless report is unfair to Colorado cities. As someone who spends a fair amount of time talking with and working with Denver s homeless residents, I think The Denver Post is out of touch on this issue with what is happening here in Denver and in many medium to large cities in the United States.
The growing number of homeless have nowhere to go. They have for the most part lost their jobs and their homes — because of the recession — and then are unable to quickly pick up the pieces and find an inexpensive apartment and appropriate employment. Only about 20 percent of them are addicted or mentally ill. Many are Denver residents.
Many Colorado cities are working hard on programs of housing and shelter for them. Many organizations have put together shelter programs. Some have built housing. The fact is there are not enough places for them to go, so they walk the streets, told by the police to show their ID and move on. These people cannot simply be disappeared. They must be assisted to temporary shelter — and long-term shelter.
We won the Super Bowl; now let s house our homeless residents.
Billie Bramhall, Denver
The writer is a retired Denver city planner and is a volunteer for Denver Homeless Out Loud.
This letter was published in the Feb. 23 edition.
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