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 home.…
The Hand Shake
In this blog, HAND will post latest updates and statements about upcoming proposals, bills, events, and so on.