Children Taken From Parents because they are Houseless

Children Taken From Parents because they are Houseless – The Next Level of Criminalization of Houselessness 

A family has been living in their vehicle making due the best they can while seeking housing and finding nothing. They go to free meals every day, park near portapotties, shower at friends houses, and do their very best to lead a normal life for the kids. They have applied for every housing waitlist, stayed as long as they could in every family shelter, and still have no leads for housing. One parent has been applying for jobs with none coming through. The kids are good spirited considering this struggle. They play in parks and depend on each other a lot. 

A few weeks ago a Denver Human Services worker came to their vehicle acting like an outreach worker offering diapers and “resources.” The DHS worker did not just want to give them diapers, she wanted to interrogate the kids one at a time and then the parents. She asked them to come into the DHS building so the kids could get physical check ups and she could get them more “resources.” When asked about help with housing, she did not have anything to offer them. This interaction felt weird to the family but they didn’t think too much of it. (Not until much later did they learn DHS functions as CPS here in Denver – DHS never revealed this). 

After just one more brief interaction with this DHS worker, about two weeks later, they got a text message from the worker saying she was taking them to court because they did not “comply” and come into their building when asked, and they have to be in court in less than 24 hours!@# This did not seem right to the family and they felt it better to submit an affiliate to the court virtually (which they tried but did not succeed). Then, the next day as they were trying to check into a hotel for a night of rest, they were surrounded by police. They took them all to the police station and then took all the children. They put them in different clothes, put them in police cars, and took them crying and screaming from their parents. Two of the kids are still breastfeeding. 

They kids were separated from each other, placed in separate foster homes. The trauma they are going through separated from their patents and siblings will never leave them… 

The parents now are going through court proceedings to get their kids back. The claims against them almost all are because they are houseless. Claims like the kids are living in too tight a space, have bad hygiene, are starving, and the like. These are issues of poverty and houselessness, not criminal charges to take children from their parents. They threw in a domestic violence charge just to make it look like it was about more than them being houseless – there is no domestic violence in this case. 

In this whole process, never did the DHS worker or anyone else offer them housing or even steps toward getting housing. The community they are supported by did raise enough money to get them a new bigger van that can fit the whole family! This fundraiser was planned even before the kids were taken. 

Instead of taking these kids from their family because they are houseless, Denver Human Services should be working with the City to connect them with housing, or at least family shelter. 

Taking kids, including breastfeeding babies, from good families just because they can’t afford housing is the most inhumane anti-houseless enforcement. Nothing about this can be deemed ok. 

Contact DHS and the Mayor today and tell them “Provide Housing, Stop Separating Houseless Families.” 

mayorsoffice@denvergov.org  jude.liguori@denvergov.org (deputy ED DHS)