Even after months of sweeps and heavy enforcement of the camping ban which has pushed homeless people around the city from here to there to here again…Mayor Hancock is yet again commanding a mass sweep of areas where homeless people have found to stick together and survive. Notices have been posted throughout the city stating that “Beginning November 15th the city will remove all items encumbering the public spaces in this area.” These same signs were posted before March 8th when the city swept hundreds of people out of the area by Broadway and Lawrence. In spite of massive police presence in this area regularly coming through and forcing everyone to stand up, move around, get off the cardboard one is sitting on and so on, within a couple months people gathered back in this area for the safety of community and near the resources they need. Now again the city is trying to sweep homeless people away…knowing there is no away for people to go home to… And this November 15th sweep is not just planed for the area by Broadway and Lawrence – homeless people staying throughout the city have received notice for a sweep on this day.

This planned mass sweep comes less than three months after the lawsuit taking the city of Denver to federal court for violating our 4th and 14th amendment rights in these very sweeps was filed. Even as the case moves forward in federal court, Mayor Hancock continues to have the nerve to ignore our constitutional rights and attempt to move homeless people out of sight to pave way for high end development for the rich.

This sweep also comes just two months before the state legislative session begins and the Colorado State Legislator will be voting on the Right to Rest Act which would protect our basic human rights to sit, lay down, and protect oneself from the elements. As housing prices and homelessness, and the criminalization of surviving in public grow – so does the movement for our right to be treated like humans and have access to homes we can afford.

We are demanding Mayor Hancock Immediately End the Sweeps and Confiscation of People’s Belongings.

Furthermore as a city we must…