LOCAL FEATURE SWEPT AWAY BY GILES CLASEN OVER THREE DAYS IN JULY, the City of Denver planned to forcibly move all homeless encampments from a 20-square block area leading to Coors Field. As soon as one camp was taken down, fencing went up around another a few blocks away. By the end of the week, another 20-square block area between 20th and 24th Streets and Arapahoe and Welton Streets, with multiple homeless encampments, had been disassembled and forced to move by Denver City crews and police. “During sweeps, the cops put up the fencing around us as though we are caged animals for the world to watch, only we aren’t treated as well as animals in a zoo,” said Caitlin, a college student, who was forced to relocate after the first day of the July sweeps. This was one of many sweeps the City conducted between July 9 and 13, leading up to Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game that played at Coors Field. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock told reporters at a press conference on June 30 that Denver “is enforcing the law,” as it looks beyond the pandemic. His office said repeatedly that the homeless sweeps were not related to the All-Star Game. But a study obtained by the Denver VOICE found that nearly 90% of the sweeps occurred between April 6, when it was announced that the All-Star Game was moving to Denver, and July 1. Describing her experience, Caitlin said it is hard for those who have houses to understand how damaging a sweep is to the homeless community. Individuals lose items they need to survive, like tents and propane, as well as personal records, like IDs and birth certificates, that are necessary for moving off the street. “It is chaos when someone wakes you up and you have to move everything you own in minutes,” she said. “IDs are the biggest issues for people. We can’t get jobs or housing or apartments if we don’t have IDs.” Caitlin refers to the individuals she camps with as her family. “My real family kicked me out,” Caitlin explained. “My street family welcomed me in, they accept me.” Caitlin has never had a stable home life. Social Services removed her from her mother’s care when she was young and placed her with her father. When Caitlin was six, her father abandoned the family, so her stepmother raised her. Caitlin and her stepmother never got along, prompting Caitlin to flee to the streets when she was still a teenager. “My stepmom only wanted my brother because he was a newborn,” Caitlin said. “Social Services wouldn’t separate us, so my stepmom got stuck with me. I tried to accept that fact, but it is hard to get around the idea that you weren’t wanted.” For individuals like Caitlin, the sweeps are more than an inconvenience. By breaking up homeless encampments, Denver also is forcing individuals experiencing homelessness to move away from support networks and areas of town that are located near services for individuals experiencing homelessness. “There have been more attacks on women lately, mostly down by the river,” Caitlin said. “Camping with the people you know makes it safer. We have a sense of security and safety that we all want [by camping in familiar areas close to services].” Caitlin explained how having homeless individuals near VIEW OF ENCAMPMENT WITH COORS FIELD IN THE BACKGROUND. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN venues of major events, like the All-Star Game, may create a unique danger to those who are living on the streets. 8 DENVER VOICE August 2021
9 Publizr Home