The Mayor’s Administration loves to claim that there are no more children actively camping in the streets of Denver, and yet this photo taken on Friday June 21st suggests otherwise. Additionally, one of the moms of the families is a lesbian woman – a particularly poignant detail to reflect on as Denver celebrates Pride month.
These two families have gone through the Denver migrant sheltering system after their encampment was found under an interstate bridge and they had been part of the group that demanded improved sheltering conditions, including a way to provide nutritious, fresh, culturally-appropriate food to their families and transportation to school for their children to finish the semester before summer, as they had been attending school all while camping outside. Now, they’ve found themselves back on the streets of Denver. This happened because they had been offered a few days of hotel stay after the shelter closed and without a housing option having been identified for them in time. The community stepped up and helped them stay indoors some days longer, but eventually the funds went dry and their case manager stopped replying when they tried to access the rental assistance funds of security deposit and first month’s rent offered to everyone else in the shelter.
Now, they have a plan. They’ve been able to scout two trailers, costing $1,500 and $1,600 respectively, that have fully functional bathrooms and kitchens in a trailer park. In fact, several Venezuelan families have found themselves at this location and are making it work for themselves. The lot spaces themselves rent out at $55 daily, $425 weekly, or $1,125 monthly. If the City were to apply the rental assistance to these lot spaces, this would cost them far less than the average housing unit which is around $1,800 per month, and (if they wanted) they could cover two months in light of the absence of a security deposit.
At this point, HAND is collecting community donations to cover the purchases of the trailers, as well as any hotel stay needed while things are coordinated, and then holding the City responsible for applying that rental support for the lot rental amounts to be able to get these families with children off the streets immediately and into a safe, stable location that works best for them. Any additional funds raised past the purchases of the trailers will go directly to the families. Please donate immediately through PayPal (@HousekeysAction) or contacting Housekeys Action Network Denver at info@housekeysactionnetwork.com or 701-484-2634 to get the funds to us another way.
Onwards for housing and dignity for all!!!
Leave a Reply