Letter Sent to Mayor Johnston: Six Criteria for Houseless State of Emergency Housing
August 30, 2023 Re: Houseless State of Emergency Dear Mayor Johnston, We are glad for your goal to house 1000 houseless Denverites by the end of the year, and appreciate your serious focus on this issue, as evidenced when you declared houselessness in Denver to be a State of Emergency in the early days of…
Statement Regarding the Unprecedented Sweep Reasoning of August 24th
Statement Regarding the Unprecedented Sweep Reasoning of August 24th On August 21st, a random masked man decided to shoot someone walking by an encampment between 17th and 18th on Logan St. This led to two residents personally falling victim to stray bullets, as well as another individual receiving up to $7k in damage to his…
Release Event Aug 30th: Boundaries and Barriers
Boundaries and Barriers: Denver’s Policy to Force Visible Poverty from Public View A Research Report by the Homelessness Policy Project of Denver University Exclusionary land use policies have taken many forms in the state of Colorado, dating back to its colonization. To answer the question of who has the right to use public space, this…
Mayor Johnston Plans to Sweep Encampment with less than 24 hours Notice!@$#
Mayor Johnston Plans to Sweep Encampment with less than 24 hours Notice!@$# After promising in writing to sweep camps as rarely as possible until housing is ready to move into, and with 7 days notice, Mayor Johnston is now planning to sweep the camp on 18th and Logan – with about 50-60 houseless residents -…
Immediate Action for City Council Re: Homelessness
Immediate Action for City Council Re: Homelessness The following is a list of legislative, budget, or other actions City Council should take to address the immediate needs of houseless people in Denver. Some of these take money and some do not. We are more than happy to go into further detail on any one of…
Trash Service Street Survey Results
2023 HAND Trash Services Survey 1 – Data Analysis In July of 2023, 59 total respondents were surveyed regarding a trash services program. All respondents were currently houseless. Locations surveyed included: Below are the questions asked on the survey, followed by the analysis of responses. Question 1: What type of trash receptacle do you think…
HAND Statement on Houseless State of Emergency
HAND Statement on Houseless State of Emergency: What it should do and what it should not do The new Mayor’s recently declared State of Emergency could be used for good, or it could be used for bad. The houseless community has been declaring we are in a state of emergency for many many years now!…
Letter to Mayor from Rodeway residents
July 14th, 2023 Dear Mayor-elect Mike Johnston, We are writing to ask that you follow through on your campaign promises to support housing for the houseless. We are residents of the Rodeway Inn, a hotel used as a non-congregate shelter for women and LGBTQ+ houseless people since 2020. DHA is selling the property and kicking…
Immediate Actions for Incoming Denver Mayor Re: Houselessness – No Money Needed
Immediate Actions for Incoming Denver Mayor Re: Houselessness – No Money Needed The following is a list of actions that take no money you can take as Mayor immediately upon entering office. We will also send a list of actions that do take money later, but we want to give you this list to start…
Rodeway Residents Deliver Petition to City of Denver Demanding Housing
Rodeway Residents Deliver Petition to City of Denver Demanding Housing Tuesday June 27th 2023, residents of Rodeway Inn delivered a petition to the Office of Housing Stability (HOST) – signed by 44 residents – to secure housing or bridge hotel stays until housing is secured. Residents created this petition to make their voices heard and…
We Are People not “Cases” – Rally June 12th
We Are People not “Cases,” We need Doors Opened Not Closed! Rally to Call for Overhaul of the Case Management System June 12th 4:30 Public Comment, 5:30pm Rally City and County Building Houseless and formerly houseless people will be gathering on City Hall steps to name the unacceptable realities of the current system of case management…
City Passes Poverty Tow Bill to Steal More Vehicles from Denver’s Poor
City Passes Poverty Tow Bill to Steal More Vehicles from Denver’s Poor Yesterday, the City Council voted 11 to 1 to pass the Poverty Tow bill. Thank you to Councilwoman CdeBaca for standing up against this horrific bill. This bill opens the door for the City to tow and impound large vehicles if parked for…
Poverty Tow Bill at Council again on Monday: Tell Council VOTE NO to Poverty Tows!@#
Poverty Tow Bill at Council again on Monday: Tell Council VOTE NO to Poverty Tows!@# This vehicle could be impounded under proposed law just for having rusty dents #Not a Junker! Last Monday City Council postponed their vote on the Poverty Tows (23-0373) bill due to community pressure and concerns from American Civil Liberties Union…
0 Aloft Residents Kicked to the Shelters and Streets!!!
0 Aloft Residents Kicked to the Shelters and Streets!!! Residents in Hotels on Path to Housing upon Closure!! We are thrilled to announce that yesterday the final two Aloft residents, Juilo and Alberto who we asked for the community’s support in advocating for, got a commitment from the State for housing vouchers and the City…
Spanish Speaking Undocumented Aloft Residents Left Out: Action Needed
Spanish Speaking Undocumented Aloft Residents Told to go to SOS while All Others Offered Hotels and Housing Vouchers!@# Action Needed: Support Alberto and Julio TODAY The closure of Aloft hotel has been an incredible testament to what is possible to connect residents to housing and temporary hotels instead of the streets or shelters! However, the…
Aloft Resident Petition Nearly Met… But Not Yet!!!…
Aloft Resident Petition Nearly Met… But Not Yet!!!… Support Needed for Moving Day April 27th On March 29th, 2023, Aloft residents agreed on a demand to the City regarding either securing housing, or securing hotel stay until housing is attained. Residents gathered 39 Aloft resident signatures on this petition demanding the housing they all need. …
Tell City Council to Vote NO on Large Vehicle and “Junker” Parking Bill 23-0373
Tell City Council to Vote NO on Large Vehicle and “Junker” Parking Bill 23-0373 The City Council is hearing a bill on Monday that would empower the City to impound vehicles for almost any reason!@# Email City Council today to ask that they VOTE NO!! (see emails at the bottom of this email). Sign up…
Aloft Residents Speak to City Council: Action Needed to House Every Aloft Resident!!!
Aloft Residents Speak to City Council: Action Needed to House Every Aloft Resident!!! Yesterday, nine residents of Aloft who are being kicked out at the end of the month and have been told to go to shelters – the very places they were transferred from due to health complications related to shelters – spoke to…
Elderly, Vulnerable Aloft Residents Facing the Streets & Shelters April 15th as the City Closes Last Protective Action Hotel
Elderly, Vulnerable Aloft Residents Facing the Streets & Shelters April 15th as the City Closes Last Protective Action Hotel The Aloft Hotel, ironically re-branded by banners saying BE KIND, has served as a Protective Action Hotel for Denver’s most vulnerable elderly houseless people for almost 3 years now, and on April 15th the City is…
Evaluating Mayoral Candidates’ Houselessness Plans Based on Houseless People’s Priorities
Evaluating Mayoral Candidates’ Houselessness Plans Based on Houseless People’s Priorities Housekeys Action Network Denver recently released our housing report “Pipe Dreams and Picket Fences”, detailing the findings from our survey with 828 houseless people about housing priorities and experiences. This survey, combined with 4 community forums, 38 interviews, and additional community feedback, bring together the…
HAND’s Housing survey report “Pipe Dreams and Picket Fences” to be released March 8th 2023!!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: HAND’s Housing survey report “Pipe Dreams and Picket Fences: Direction from Denver’s Houseless People on Housing Needs and Priorities in the Context of Today’s Public Housing” to be released March 8th 2023!!! Contact: Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND) info@housekeysactionnetwork.com 701-484-2634 Denver, CO – On March 8th 2023 Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND)…
Denver Health and CCH Health Letter to City Re Opening Warming Centers and Not Sweeping under Freezing
Denver Health and CCH Health Send Letter to City Concerning Opening Warming Centers and Not Sweeping under Freezing This letter (below and attached) was sent to City Officials yesterday. It includes data from these two hospitals regarding houseless cold related visits. In just the last 2 months (October and November) at just these two hospitals there were 54…
Letter to City Council Calling for No More Freezing Sweeps
December 12th 2022 Dear Denver City Council, We the undersigned are writing to ask for the City Council to take action to solidify policy for Denver to protect the lives of houseless people by preventing sweeps of houseless people and their property when it is under freezing. Denver must activate emergency cold weather response by…
Public Health Agencies Speak up Against Freezing Sweeps
Public Health Agencies Speak up Against Freezing Sweeps Attached see a letter from multiple local public health organizations – including Colorado Public Health Association, Human Impact Partners, and more – speaking up against sweeps of houseless people and their property in freezing weather. See there letter below December 7th, 2022Denver City Council1437 Bannock Street, Rm 451Denver, CO,…
Letter to Denver Department of Public Health and Environment regarding Emergency Cold Weather Activation
December 5th 2022 Letter to Denver Department of Public Health and Environment regarding Emergency Cold Weather Activation Dear DDPHE Leaders, It is our understanding that DDPHE is in the process of re-considering the threshold at which emergency cold activation response kicks in. We are glad that DDPHE is re-considering this standard. It was clear at…
City Actions Needed for Cold Weather Response for Houseless
City Actions Needed for Cold Weather Response for Houseless Yesterday a City Council Committee heard a presentation from HOST, DDPHE, and the Mayor’s office regarding winter response plans for houseless people. This presentation demonstrated the absence of any solid plan to provide needed safe warm space, gear, or halt sweeps based on medical knowledge or…
Houseless Man Thrown in Wheelchair and Kicked to the Streets In Gross Neglect from Hospitals
Thrown in Wheelchair & Kicked to Streets in the Latest of Series of Hospitals’ Gross Negligence Due to Comorbidity of Being Houseless Overview: This week a houseless HAND member was discharged from two hospitals to the streets without any treatment or respite plan in spite of a tibial plateau fracture and broken ankle. He’s been…
HAND City Budget Proposals for Housing and Health
Housekeys Action Network Denver City Budget Proposals for Housing and Health Denver City Council is in discussions on the Mayor’s proposed 2023 City Budget until a final vote on November 14th 2022. Yet again the Mayor’s budget puts the largest present of City money – 36% – into police and jails. And yet again, low-income…
Quality Inn Closure Update
Quality Inn Closure Update Over the last two days, Quality Inn residents, HAND together with Reciprocity Collective, CCH staff, and a bunch of helpers from the community scrambled to figure out where residents would go and how to get there. These past two days were filled with chaos, stress, and trauma, as well as collaboration…
Response letter to CCH re Quality Inn
September 14th, 2022 Dear John Parvensky and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless at large, It is disheartening to know that the residents of Quality Inn are seen just as numbers and not as human beings who need breathing machines, depend on their partner to get around, care for their dog more than anything, and otherwise…
Letter to CCH Re Extending Stay
September 8th, 2022 Dear Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Residents of Quality Inn hotel and the broader community ask that you act on your mission to “help end homelessness” and your belief that “safe, adequate housing is a human right” and extend the lease at Quality Inn until the end of the year (December 31st…
Quality Inn Residents Meet with HOST and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless – Told Just Go to a Shelter
Today, residents of the Quality Inn protective action hotel met with the Denver Department of Housing Stability (HOST), and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) who holds the contract and does case management for this hotel. Residents called for this meeting on Monday and we (HAND) were able to secure the meeting for Friday. The…
Quality Inn Residents Unexpectedly Receive Notices to Go to Shelters Before Posted Closure
Yesterday, a large number of at-risk residents at Quality Inn received notices on their doors saying they must leave next week, listing different days for different people staggered between September 6th and 9th, although the hotel was set to close September 16th. Multiple married couples received notices being told they will be split up to…
Quality Inn Residents Demand Housing in Face of City Hotel Closure
Last week, the residents of Quality Inn motel found a notice on their doors saying the hotel is closing on September 16th, 2022 and that all residents must be out by that date. This hotel has housed houseless people as a “protective action” hotel through federal funding since early COVID days. Protective action hotels are…
The Real Numbers in Denver’s Recent Housing Surge
The City of Denver recently completed the second Housing Surge – a 100-day effort to get people housing that was made possible by federal COVID funding. In this Housing Surge, which ended in late May, 359 households and 597 individuals were connected with housing. You can read the City’s press release about this surge here. …
Revolution of the Sun, Revolution of the People – Housekeys for All!
Housekeys Action Network Denver is Raising Funds Dear People, This Summer Solstice we are asking our community for support! As the sun burns brighter our people’s resolve to make our voices heard burns ever stronger. We need your support to fight for a day where everyone has access to a safe, cool place to call…
The Hand Shake
In this blog, HAND will post latest updates and statements about upcoming proposals, bills, events, and so on.