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2:30pm – Presentation and Discussion about how BIDs criminalize homelessness at Denver Homeless Out Loud offices (2260 California St – shared with Centro Humanitario)

3:30pm – Walk/Bike/Drive to 16th St Mall

4pm – Meet on 16th St Mall by the Pavilions (BID offices) 16th and Glenarm

–Pass out information about BIDs criminalization -Pass out and eat burritos –Sit and rest and demonstrate how wrong it is to ban sitting – Continue to educate and act…!

Business Improvement Districts (BID) from across the country are having a national conference in San Francisco, CA Sep 30-Oct 2. Members of Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) from California, Oregon, and Colorado are gathering at the BID conference holding our own panel about how BIDs across the country criminalize homelessness and use ‘broken windows policing.’

BIDs across the nation are a driving force pushing to criminalize homelessness. They use laws against performing basic acts of survival in public to push poor and homeless people out of downtown business areas. And they have their own private policing to do it. Here in Denver the Downtown Denver Business Partnership (BID) claims ‘successfully lobbying for the Unauthorized Camping Ban’ as a great success of 2012. They were also the driving force behind the sit/lie ban, and they daily use their private ‘ambassador’ policing to move along and harass poor and homeless people.

During the national BID conference we are letting the BIDs all across the US know that it is time they stop harassing us for existing — and stop gentrifying out poor people and people of color. We will not be excluded anymore. Downtown is for all of us! We need the right to rest!

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