Move Along To Where? Homeless Sweep At 29th and Arkins Court
At 5 a.m. November 30, while it was still dark and a frigid 19 degrees, the Denver Police Department conducted another homeless sweep at 29th and Arkins in Denver’s River North District (RiNo). More than 300 houseless individuals resided in the encampment.
“They’re trying to push us to nothing,” says Cordarius Miles, a houseless individual.
Miles was distressed, with tears in his eyes. “They call me a criminal. The minority, and you tell me I’m wrong. No. This country is wrong.” Miles has been a resident at the encampment since last October.
November 28, at 2 p.m., there was a press conference held at the encampment. There was police present on the days leading up to the sweep as well. Miles and other houseless individuals that lived at 29th and Arkins spoke about how this affects them personally. “Everyone ain’t no drug addict, and this country still don’t care,” says Miles.
Cordarius Miles was arrested at the sweep for failure to obey a lawful order reported 9News. Four people including Miles were arrested at the homeless sweep.
In RiNo, there are piles of rocks caged up under benches so people cannot sleep under them. “Over half a million people go homeless in a single night, claims Whitehouse.gov, “approximately 65 percent are found in homeless shelters, and the other 35 percent—just under 200,000—are found unsheltered on our streets (in places not intended for human habitation, such as sidewalks, parks, cars, or abandoned buildings).”
On July 30, the Denver Police Department conducted a homeless sweep at the Civic Center Park. Many of those Civic Center Park residents were told to move to 29th and Arkins by police officers as well. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) wrote a letter to Gov. Jared Polis and Mayor Hanncock condemning their actions.
“We strongly condemn the City’s choice to evict those living in Civic Center Park without an adequate plan in place to address the needs of the people forced to live without housing in the area,” say the members of The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) website says, “If individual housing options are not available, allow people who are living unsheltered or in encampments to remain where they are.” Houseless individuals have more access to resources in encampments. When encampments are broken up, the people living in them have to find their access to resources all over again.
The residents at 29th and Arkins had built showers, and had water delivered to the tank weekly. The homeless sweeps occurred shortly after the Denver Police were in the area for a murder of an individual in a tent on November 19.
Police had told the homeless, folks trying to help them move their stuff, and protesters to “Move Back” repeatedly. They then caged off the encampment at 29th and Arkins. Police officers and protesters screamed back and forth at each other; then the police fired pepper bullets.
The city of Denver has yet to come up with a permanent solution for the homeless population. The Congressional Budget Office predicts at the end of 2020 through 2021 that the unemployment rate will be at 16 percent. “The leading cause of homelessness in Colorado is a lack of affordable housing,” says The State of Homelessness 2020 Report.
Wednesday, December 16, at 3 p.m., there is a public hearing to discuss the zoning changes of Arkins Court, Denargo Street, and Wewatta Way. The site of the previous encampment’s current zoning laws are (55 to 250) ft. The preposed change in zoning would allow buildings to be an additional 55 ft higher (110 ft to 250 ft).
Photos by Justine Johnson
