DENVER — Tuesday, city council members were set to make their final votes on a bill that would limit homeless encampment sweeps. Instead, the vote was postponed. Still, Housekeys Action Network Denver continued with its scheduled rally on the City and County Building steps.
Ana-Lilith Miller works in outreach for the pro-housing nonprofit and said it's important people understand the need for the city bill.
"Sweeping people in the freezing cold with nowhere to go is, can be a death sentence," Miller said. "A straight death sentence, and anybody who is out here in these last three days in these temperatures, I mean, if you’ve been out you know how bad it is. Just imagine being out in a tent in this and then being told to move. It’s inhumane. It’s just inhumane."
Miller said, on top of the issues she sees with homeless sweeps, there isn't enough shelter capacity to support the people the city is taking off the streets.
"When you take their survival gear and leave them out here, tell them also to go to warming shelters that are at capacity, or are very hard to get to, especially trying to walk in below 0 degree weather," Miller said. "That alone is killing people."
Miller said she's been homeless and wants proper, humane treatment for Denver's vulnerable populations.
"I have spent 12 years on and off the streets," Miller said. "I have slept in temperatures like this. I have lost people I’ve known who froze to death out here. "
Miller said some people living in their tents are prepared for cold weather. If they don't believe they can survive, they know there are accessible resources for support.
District 9 City Councilman Darrell Watson doesn't think this is enough. He said healthcare professionals have expressed the dangers of people being outside in frigid temperatures and wants to support what experts think is best for Denver residents' overall health.
"This bill would leave folks out in encampments in freezing temperatures," Watson said.
Watson was one of four council members to vote against the bill at Jan. 8's City Council meeting. Nine council members were able to push the bill to a second, final vote.
Even though there was no council action Tuesday, Watson plans to call on his fellow council members to vote no. He said the bill could lead to negative effects for those in need.
"We believe the unintended consequences of this bill is that more folks will be on our streets and more folks will be likely to die on our streets," Watson said.
If the bill does not pass, Miller said she'd continue to advocate for the people in a situation she understands and has lived through.
"We are just asking to leave people where they are when it’s this cold outside," Miller said. "Don’t take their survival gear, don’t take their stuff. Again, as someone who has dealt and lived in these temperatures in this way, I will keep going back to city council, keep introducing whatever I can. "
The city council is expected to revisit the bill in two weeks.
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