I have been taking a lot of walks through Central Denver lately, and it seems like the number of homeless camps grows larger every day. The city is trying to deal with the issue, but only two official camps for the homeless, with facilities provided for proper hygiene, have so far been established. As soon as a potential new site is proposed, the neighbors around those locations fight against it, and the city backs down. The result has been impromptu camps on city sidewalks all over town, such as the one in the photograph above. Once the garbage and human feces and rat infestations get out of hand, the police close them down. I can't imagine trying to survive in those tents during the winter. No matter how warm it gets here in Denver during the day, the temperature plummets once the sun sets. A great many of the people in these camps are mentally ill or have drug and alcohol problems, and do not want to stay in shelters, such as the Denver Rescue Mission or Samaritan House. Most of these people should be institutionalized and given treatment, but thanks to the defunding of mental hospitals back during the Reagan administration, that is no longer an option. I have no idea what the answer might be. Hopefully our elected officials can think of one.
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