Tag: Denver Homeless Out Loud
Denver Refuses to Negotiate, Sweeps Indigenous Encampment
Denver, CO – Under the hardline stance of Mayor Michael Hancock, Denver continues to sweep unhoused encampments—more than 80 this year alone—ignoring countless requests from unhoused residents and their advocates to stop, and refusing to negotiate any alternatives. Outside the Four Winds American Indian Council…
Federal Judge Rules Denver Cannot Conduct Sweeps Without At Least 48-Hour Written Notice
Denver, CO – A federal judge ruled January 25, 2021 partially in favor of Denver Homeless Out Loud and several others in the order issued for the preliminary injunction in a class-action lawsuit against Denver, the State of Colorado, and numerous government and contract workers.…
Denver Sweeps 300+ Tent Encampment Residents
Denver, CO – The largest tent encampment in the city, which sprung up in October 2019, is being cleared early Monday morning as about 60 advocates protest the move.
Unicorn Riot is on-the-ground covering the sweep, with live coverage starting at 5AM.
Residents at the…
Unhoused Residents Find Refuge at Downtown Vigil
Denver, CO – A four-day Race and Homelessness Vigil began early Wednesday morning opposite the Denver City and County Building. It began primarily as a space to educate the local community on how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are disproportionately affected by houselessness,…
Denver Housing Advocates Launch 5256-Minute Vigil at City Hall
Denver, CO – Before the sun rises on Wednesday, October 14, advocates with Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL) and other like-minded organizations began a vigil on race and homelessness, which they intend to maintain for 5,256 minutes.
“This is to honor and stand for every…
🦄 COVID-19
Denver ‘Clean-ups’ Displace 100+ Unhoused Residents Amid Health Crisis
Denver, CO – On Thursday morning, Denver city employees including police officers will be telling the more than 100 unhoused people living in the downtown city blocks near the homeless shelters that they need to pack up and move. The city posted notices around the…
Bringing Poor People Back to the Forefront on MLK Day
Denver, CO – On January 20, 1986, the first nationwide celebrations took place in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., nearly 20 years after his assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This year on the 35th annual celebration of Dr. King, the…
Denver’s ‘Right to Survive’ Ballot Initiative Voted Down
Denver, CO – The contentious ballot initiative 300, or Right to Survive, was voted down in Tuesday’s municipal elections with 81% of votes being against the ballot question. The initiative would have effectively repealed the Unauthorized Camping Ordinance (camping ban) passed in 2012, which criminalizes…
“Unhealthy By Design:” CU Denver’s New Report About Camping Ban
Denver, CO – In less than a month, Denver residents will get to vote on an unprecedented ballot initiative in the United States, which would effectively make it illegal to criminalize people who are without housing. To substantiate I-300, also known as the Right to…
Denver Paid Clean-Up Company $400,000 to Help in Houseless Sweeps
Denver, CO – For at least two years, the city of Denver has been contracting Custom Environmental Services, Inc. (CES) to assist in clearing out camps of people without housing. Unicorn Riot filed Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests and received about 50 invoices sent…
New Initiative Pursues Human Rights for All in Denver
Denver, CO – Over the past six months, with the direction of Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL), community members gathered nearly 10,000 petition signatures to get the Denver Right to Survive Initiative on the city’s May 2019 municipal ballot.
The ballot initiative asks:
“Shall the…
Denver Police, City Workers Throw Away Belongings Amid Lawsuit
Denver, CO – On July 9 and 12, 2018, Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL), an advocacy group for people without housing, published two videos documenting Denver police and city workers seizing people’s belongings and throwing them away; also known as “sweeps.”
These ongoing sweeps continue…
Class-Action Against Denver for Criminalizing Houselessness Moves Forward
Denver, CO – The class-action lawsuit against Denver, which claims that the city has been repeatedly violating the constitutional rights of residents without housing, was officially ordered to move forward by Judge William Martínez on March 26, 2018, when he denied the motions for summary…
Fourth Push for Homeless Bill of Rights in Colorado Legislature
UPDATE: After seven hours of testimony including over 100 people testifying in favor of the Homeless Bill of Rights and about five testifying against, the bill was voted down for the fourth year in a row with a vote of 10-3.
Denver, CO – For…
Denver’s First Tiny Home Village ‘Beloved Community Village’ Turns Six Months Old
Denver, CO – On July 21, 2017, after four years of fundraising, community building, and meetings with politicians and city workers to change city codes, sixteen formerly unhoused Denver residents moved into Denver’s first tiny home village called Beloved Community Village.
However, the village was…
Denver Human Rights Activist and Community Organizer, Terese Howard, Faces Up to 30 Days in Jail
UPDATE (8/24/17 at 11:30 AM MDT): On Thursday morning during the press conference outside the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in Denver, Terese Howard spoke to a group of supporters and fellow activists about the city’s back-tracking:
Because of a lot of the public pressure that has ensued…
Class-Action Lawsuit Against Denver: Motions Filed for Summary Judgement
Denver, CO – On Monday morning, August 14, 2017, Denver Homeless Out Loud, along with other advocacy groups and lawyers, held a press conference outside the Denver City and County Building (City Hall) to shed light on new developments in the class-action lawsuit against the…
Denver Sweeps Unhoused Residents Amid Class Action Lawsuit
Denver, CO – On Friday, May 19, 2017, people living without housing in downtown Denver were approached by police and given the equivalent of eviction notices. These interactions with the Denver police are not new or surprising for unhoused residents, but these most recent interactions…
U.S. District Court of CO Certifies One of the Largest Houseless Class-Actions in U.S. History
Denver, CO – On Thursday, April 27, 2017, the United States District Court of Colorado, Judge William J. Martinez, certified class-action status for the lawsuit filed on August 25, 2016 on behalf of unhoused residents in Denver whose rights have been repeatedly violated during the…
Three Convicted in Camping Ban Trial Two Weeks Ahead of Right to Rest Act Hearing
Denver, CO – [UPDATE: Right to Rest failed to pass vote in Colorado Legislature, full livestream below – 4.20.17] On Wednesday, April 5, 2017, after a day and a half of testimony, the jury for Denver’s first camping ban trial found the three co-defendants guilty.…
Three Co-Defendants Fight Denver’s Camping Ban in Court
UPDATE – 4/5/17: Wednesday afternoon, the jury announced that they had found all three co-defendants guilty of violating the Unauthorized Camping Ordinance. Denverite reports:
Jerry Burton, Randy Russell and Terese Howard were each charged with violating Denver’s ban on urban camping and interference with a…
Third Push for Homeless Bill of Rights in Colorado Legislature
Denver, CO – For the third year in a row, the Homeless Bill of Rights, also known as the Right To Rest Act, is going to be reintroduced to Colorado’s legislature, the General Assembly. Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL) is the bill’s organizational sponsor and…
With Mayor’s Approval, Denver Continues Survival Gear Confiscations
Denver, CO – After Mayor Michael Hancock released a statement on Saturday, December 10th, about a supposed policy change to the confiscations of people’s survival gear including blankets and tents, over twenty five news outlets have praised him for this apparent temporary winter-month “end” to…
Denver to Continue Confiscating Survival Gear of Unhoused Under Encumbrance Ordinance, to Stop Under Camping Ban
Denver, CO – On Saturday December 10th, 2016, Mayor Michael Hancock “announced a cold-weather adjustment to enforcement of the city’s unauthorized camping ordinance.” After much public outcry from local residents and civil rights attorneys, including a letter from the ACLU, the mayor has finally taken…
First Hearing in Class-Action Against Denver for Violating Human Rights
Denver, CO – On Wednesday, October 12th, 2016, Judge Craig B. Shaffer’s court room was packed during the first hearing in the class-action lawsuit against the city and county of Denver for violating the human rights of people without housing.
Attorney Jason Flores-Williams filed the…
Class-Action Lawsuit Against Denver: Motion Filed for Recusal of Judge Shaffer
Denver, CO – On September 21st, 2016, Attorney Jason Flores-Williams filed a Motion for Recusal of Judge Craig B. Shaffer who is set to hear the pretrial of the class-action lawsuit filed on August 25th, 2016, on behalf of people without housing who have had…
People Without Housing File Lawsuit Against the City of Denver
Update – Denver, CO – On Friday, September 9th, 2016, Attorney Jason Flores-Williams filed the motion for class certification for the class-action lawsuit against the city of Denver for violating constitutional rights during “the sweeps” of people without housing.
Terese Howard, member of Denver Homeless…
Denver’s Affordable Housing Displaces Low-Income Residents
Denver, CO – When traveling through downtown Denver, it is impossible to go a few blocks without seeing construction projects for new apartment buildings. Some may see these new developments as necessary improvements for an up-and-coming booming hipster city, however the ones who are being…
Ninth Annual Art Sled Rally in South Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN – Today, an unusually warm and rainy Saturday in late January, South Minneapolis’s own Powderhorn Park hosted hundreds of community members who both participated in and watched the 9th Annual Art Sled Rally.
Hilarity ensued.
Ninth Annual Art Sled Rally in South Minneapolis…