Family Goes to Trial After Kids Were Taken Due to Houselessness

Family Goes to Trial After Kids Were Taken Due to Houselessness

**Extreme Criminalization of Houselessness**

On May 21st 2025 the State took 7 children from their parents with the primary reason being because they were houseless living in a van. There was no violence, abuse, or any such thing in this case – just a black family who could not afford housing and thus was living in their van. 

Rich white people from the Hights Church decided ripping children from their family, including two breastfeeding babies, and putting them in foster homes was somehow safer and better than living in a van together. They carefully plotted and worked with Denver Human Services (which functions as Child Protective Services in Denver) to kidnap the children with police and take them from their parents and from each other. 

This family had been living in their vehicle making due the best they can while seeking housing and finding nothing. They went 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 had applied for every housing waitlist, stayed as long as they could in every family shelter, and could not secure housing. One parent had been applying for jobs with none coming through. 

Now, three months later, the parents have secured a place at a family shelter and moved in awaiting their children’s arrival. They have also got a new larger van big enough for all, a bus they can convert into a house, and one parent now has two jobs adding up to more than full time work. They are hard working motivated parents who care deeply for their children. 

The case against them and reason for taking these children away from the parents is all tied to their being houseless or their homeschooling. Bottom line, this family was torn apart from each other for three months now just because they could not afford housing and the City does not have enough family shelter. There are currently at least 200 families on a waitlist for family shelter in Denver!^% If you are houseless as a family there is no shelter you can go to and say, we need shelter tonight, and get in. To then take children because a family can’t afford housing is a next level of houseless criminalization. And this is exactly what happened in this case. 

In addition to taking the children due to houselessness, DHS is also trying to keep control over this family by trying to take away their right to homeschool. As with a growing number of families in America, this family chooses to homeschool their children to educate them differently than the traditional school system. But the DHS is trying to violate these rights – clearly tied to racism and houseless discrimination. 

The family will be going to jury trial starting August 20th 2025 at 8:30am at the Lindsey Flanagan Courthouse. Come support this family and make it clear that we will not accept tearing families apart because of the City’s lack of housing or shelter.  
Contact Housekeys Action Network Denver at info@housekeysactionnetwork.com 701-484-2634 for more information