DENVER — For the first time, the City of Denver will sweep a homeless encampment on Tuesday morning after offering temporary housing to everyone living in tents on the corner of 8th Avenue and Logan Street.
If Denver does the seemingly impossible and ends chronic homelessness under Mayor Mike Johnston, this week seems to mark the start. The city is clearing an encampment not by pushing people to the next street corner, but by providing a hotel room to anyone who wants it.
"I’ve never been treated so much like an equal before in a sweep than this right here. That’s really cool," said a woman who goes by Mary Jane who lives at the camp across the street from the Governor's mansion.
Mary Jane says she's lived in the camp for several weeks now as more people came together and the number of tents grew. She hates living on the street, but after a house fire left her homeless and battling addiction four years ago, she hasn’t been able to find a way out.
"Every morning I wake up and I’m, just like, God. Reality hits," she said through tears. "I have no one out here. I have no family. It’s very hard to find friends and trustworthy people."
Mary Jane has seen the sweeps before. She knows what they've looked like in the past.
"There are times that cops will come at 5am to the campsites. They’ll be here at 5am and they’re yelling. Let’s go. Get off the property or we’re going to start arresting people," she said.
This time it looks different. It's something she's has never seen out here.
"This is the first time in four years that I’ve ever been approached with this opportunity," said Mary Jane. "I feel like I can breathe right now. It’s really cool. What they’re doing right now is really cool. It’s in your face. It’s like, let’s go."
The city called Monday moving day. They worked to move people out of the tents at the camp and move them in to a hotel. A bus met people on the street corner and took them to a hotel at an undisclosed location. What comes Tuesday will be likely be what most people would know as the sweep. Homeless advocates are expecting the city to come through in the morning and throw belongings away and put up fences around the camp.
While Monday looked far different from what we’ve seen in the past, it remains to be seen how Tuesday will look compared to the sweeps from the Hancock administration.
The city says nearly everyone offered housing at the camp has chosen to accept it and move into a hotel. The city had 70 spots, though it's still unclear if there were people turned away from housing because it was full.
"I haven’t seen so many people smile in a tent city before," Mary Jane said. "This is the best we’ve ever had I think."
In his first action as Denver's new mayor in July, Johnston declared homelessness a city emergency.
The goal of the emergency declaration is to get 1,000 people who are currently experiencing homelessness on the street into housing by the end of the year. The city has budgeted $48 million for this so far.
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