NATIONAL STORY RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT CAMPS, SWEEPS, AND DISPLACEMENT IN THE U.S. BY INSP STAFF IN RECENT MONTHS, cities and states across the United States have dramatically increased their efforts to sweep and displace homeless encampments and to criminalize people on the streets. In Tennessee, new legislation has made camping on public lands a felony with a possible jail sentence of up to six years in prison. A series of posters as part of the nationwide campaign “Housekeys Not Sweeps,” led by the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), is raising awareness and combating criminalization efforts and anti-homeless legislation occurring across the country. ARTWORK COURTESY OF THE WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT AND THE SAN FRANCISCO POSTER SYNDICATE. “Houseless people often live in communities or ‘encampments’ for their safety and well-being. Belongings and community are necessary for survival but private and public agencies have deemed both these things illegal and are aggressively and violently policing, sweeping, harassing, and attacking our houseless neighbors,” said Paul Boden, WRAP’s executive director. “They are evicted from their encampments, and their life-preserving belongings are repeatedly stolen.” The campaign notes the effects of the sweeps are many, including mass incarceration, harm to people’s mental and physical health, and additional barriers to receiving housing and economic stability due to convictions and arrest warrants, disqualifying individuals from receiving public housing assistance. “Cruel and discriminatory police enforcements cause serious harm and are an incredible waste of resources that would be more effectively spent on solutions to houselessness, such as treatment and housing for poor people,” Boden continued. “Clearly, our government is not choosing real solutions to homelessness, like human rights, livable incomes, healthcare, jobs, and a reinstatement of federal affordable housing funding.” “In international human rights law, providing shelter to people who are homeless is the absolute minimum standard for any country, regardless of resources. There’s a cruelty here that I don’t think I’ve seen,” said Leilani Farha, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing. Tens of millions of people have experienced homelessness in America during the past 40 years due to the lack of federal investments in social housing and corporate welfare, the privatization of affordable housing, skyrocketing rents, and the lack of living wage jobs. Currently, more than one million people experience homelessness in the United States, including a high rate of children and families. ■ Find out more about the campaign by visiting wraphome.org Courtesy of the International Network of Street Papers HOW TO HELP The money we take in from vendors helps us cover a portion of our printing costs, but we depend largely on donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations to help us pay our rent and keep the lights on. 1 4 GET THE WORD OUT We rely on grassroots marketing to get the word out about what we do. Talk to people about our organization and share us with your network. Support us on DONATE Donations to the Denver VOICE are tax-deductible. Go to denvervoice.org to give a one-time or recurring donation. You can also mail a check to: Denver VOICE | P.O. Box 193 | Denver, CO 80201 3 VOLUNTEER We need volunteers to help with everything from newspaper distribution to event planning and management. Contact program@denvervoice.org for volunteering information. 5 SUBSCRIBE If you are unable to regularly purchase a newspaper from our vendors, please consider a subscription. We ask subscribers to support our program with a 12-month pledge to give $10 a month, or a one-time donation of $120. Subscriptions help us cover our costs AND provide an amazing opportunity to those who need it most. Go to denvervoice.org/subscriptions for more information. @denverVOICE 2 ADVERTISE Our readership is loyal, well-educated, and socially concerned. Readers view purchasing the paper as a way to immediately help a person who is poor or homeless while supporting long-term solutions to end poverty. If you are interested in placing an ad or sponsoring a section of the paper, please contact us about rates at ads@denvervoice.org. August 2022 DENVER VOICE 3
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