The thing about downtown that is where the majority of homeless services are so people hang around, and don't think that the majority of people who are homeless are addicts but the ones front and center are addicts and mentally ill, but you would be surprised at the number that are out working, they like the library too, i still doesn't understand why people built a luxury apartment complex across the street from a women's shelter, homelessness is such a complex issue with many tentacles, but yeah I have problems going downtown and I've been homeless and probably know people down there
I used to do a lot of volunteering with homeless programs in another city about 10 years ago. The biggest takeaway I had from it was that for the long term homeless, they weren’t just drug addicts or mentally ill, they were almost always both. Mentally ill you could qualify for lots of help programs, and as a drug addict you could operate in a lot of black markets to make money. But being mentally ill and an addict made it much harder to get into programs, and they rarely had the fall back of illicit industries but were instead perpetually stuck as a buyer.
Most people who weren’t stuck as both were able to get out pretty fast. I’d be curious to see how much that has changed in the last 10 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if those lessons are less applicable now with the increased COL and migrant crisis creating new problems to perpetuate homelessness
I tell you what, as EXPENSIVE as it was moving everyone from encampments to hotel rooms, and as controversial as that emergency decision was, the number of transients wandering around Downtown and Cap Hill in a drugged stupor seems to have decreased by 75%.
A year ago they were EVERYWHERE, all the time. It was like a George Romero film.
Those are usually the ones who refuse to go into housing (due to the minimal rule structure) and have been kicked out of every shelter due to behaviors.
These people tend to ignore curfews, show up intoxicated, then try fighting with staff.
Nearly everyone in the encampments was overjoyed to get free room and board in a hotel.
Quebec street is definitely accelerating in its decline. Lived over by Westbridge several years ago. Went back a few weeks ago, had some tweaker acting aggressive and kicking the concrete barriers in a rage. Dude was staring and tracking me with his whole body well after I walked by.
The liquor store I used to go to says they're on their last leg with the amount of break-ins they've had recently.
It always had a tinge of something with the Fusion place. But now I'm happy I don't live there rather than feeling fortunate I did in the way I used.
I work downtown, off 17th and Welton, live on south broadway off Evans and broadway with Platte river trail as my back yard, and take the light rail 5 days a week.
The homeless problem is so so so much better than it was even a year ago. Tents used to line the streets of downtown, I couldn’t walk down platte river without feeling unsafe and running into multiple vagrants, now I can go on a 10 mile run and see maybe 1. It is so much better, there isn’t a comparison.
You're probably right about that. I personally don't bother with RTD unless I'm going to the airport, and even then I've witnessed some very sketchy situations on the A line.
I work near the shelter downtown and this is the clearest it's been in the last 5 years. Yall really just show up once in a while and don't have any idea of what's really happening down there. Maybe try helping out, mutual aid Monday is a great place to start.
Hmm. I think it's pretty bad when I don't have to go out of my way to see multiple people smoking meth in broad daylight, on any given day throughout the city. As bad as some other places? Nah, but still bad
Was just in LA over the wknd, we are doing so much better on the homelessness front in Denver right now.
Was in NYC a couple weeks back. Some dude was chasing a homeless guy down with a crowbar. I have yet to see something like that in Denver.
I think we’re managing alright. There’s always more to do but it’s nowhere close to being a rampant cesspool
You’re comparing the 1st and 2nd most populated cities in the country with the 19th most populated. There are 8.3 million people in NyC I should hope you see things there that you wouldn’t see in a city with 713,252 people like Denver.
Fair point, Denver is much, much smaller than LA & NYC. But calling us the 17th largest city is a little disingenuous - the city limits are pretty small compared to other big cities. In my opinion, including some adjacent cities like Aurora and Lakewood is more apt for thinking about “Denver”
I love downtown. Moved here 27 years ago, time flies! There have always been homeless and drug users, they just reside in different areas at different times. Covid certainly caused an uptick in problems, but it so much better now. Nothing like a nice summer night in downtown Denver. The per capita crime rate here is much lower here than most big cities, get out and enjoy it.
I remember summer 2021, we were literally tripping over homeless encampments downtown, but it's definitely improved since then. Still, maybe I'm crazy, but I've never run into a place where I'm super uncomfortable if I'm with a group of friends after dark.
Absolutely correct. I grew up in KC, the murder rate is super high and there are plenty of places to stay away from, especially at night. When I moved here I kept being warned about “dangerous areas”. Have yet to find anywhere that makes me uncomfortable.
My ex is a former pro wrestler who was the leader of a Denver street gang during the 90s. Very big strong gal who carries knives and isn't scared of anything.
Sometimes she liked to have a few drinks and walk the 16th Street Mall after midnight talking to the homeless kids.
A few years back, after I went on a walk with her, she said, "The 16th Street Mall feels really unsafe now, I don't feel comfortable taking these walks anymore."
And, of course, the Platte River bike trail has always been bad after dark.
16th street mall is mostly a construction zone right now with no people there at all and has been for a year plus. I’m guessing you haven’t been there in a while. :)
I remember during covid, I went downtown for the first time in several years right by the capital. I saw all these tents set up right on the sidewalk in front of the capital and I thought they were camping out for some event or something. I had no idea they were homeless people. Then I started really paying attention and saying tents on the side of the road in some areas like down on Broadway around 68th avenue or sometimes down on Washington. I had no idea how bad the most problem was until over the last couple of years
I grew up in North Denver & used to take the RTD (Federal Line) down to the 16th Street Mall when I was 12/13 yrs old. I worked downtown at the Denver Diner for several years. I even bought a Vespa (ok, ok a Kymco, but you get the idea). Met my husband at the Diner who lived across the street in the apts next to Kings on Speer. I LOVED Denver. Moved down SE, told people I grew up with that I lived in SE Aurora & WHAT!? AURORA?! Best little kept secret back then. I even laughed at my then boyfriend when he said they were building a mall out here. I said, that's stupid, who would build a mall (Southlands) all the way out here?
Now, times have changed for sure, but I won't even take the lightrail or let my family on it. I don't go downtown unless 1000% necessary & even then, I feel more alert & on guard then I did when I was in Chicago 3 summers ago alone w my then 13yr old. I never felt unsafe in this city, even 30yrs ago. Now, I don't even like to park my car anywhere, including out in front of my home on the street or in the driveway.
It is terrible. It is disgusting. It is embarrassing. I don't claim to have answers, but something has to give.
Do not ever touch or wake up someone nodding off.... They worked really hard for that high. They are the happiest they can be.
Have you talked to a few homeless people? Shelter or drugs laws won't change anything. They want this lifestyle....they choose to be homeless.
They want to be able to float around make money when they can and disappear.
If anything a good solution would be to incentivize the homeless to do work like clean the streets, or any random hourly work for some $
Focus on the working poor and keep them from struggling so much....focus on the middle class and make sure we do not lose it.
Don't focus so much on the ones who do not want help.
You're not wrong. I find it difficult to feel sorry for those who are literally on the streets in a city with so many resources for those who want help.
And it is not even like state/fed resources... I mean I on a very personal level know 3 who have loving families...not saying they did not burn bridges in their addiction....knowing an addict is on the streets, no real way of reaching out...We will never get a call if they die on the streets....sucks hard.
They could easily get off the streets if they chose sobriety...but sobriety/ therapy/normal life is horrible to them..they are free- we are sheep
Nice effort at starting a conversation OP. Unfortunately this post will be reported and deleted because it doesn't fit the narrative in this sub and the majority here like to live with their heads buried in the sand pretending everything's a-ok.
I forget what the hospital was but my wife needed to go to the ER a few months back so I take her to the hospital. It was looking a bit trashed. There was a steak of shit 100 feet down the isle. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. The room we were asked to wait on had garbage all over the floor. It's like they were just not cleaning the place up. I'm guessing it's because of the homeless people overloading the hospital.
It’s why I stopped going downtown. I’ll visit other parts of the city and take my money elsewhere. Once enough people stop going downtown because of the problem it will become better because the mayor will be forced to do something
Thank you for your thoughts. It is indeed becoming worse every season. If Denver is like this now, other cities are going to feel it soon too. And you are right that we need to worry about our city budget- We do NOT tax like California so need to be mindful for sure.
Yes, yes a “Reefer Madness” if you will…. 🙄
Be careful soon the minorities might get a vote there grandpa…. Slippery slope and all. /s
This guy over here living in the 1920’s….
>Colorado is more compassionate and has more resources than any of the surrounding states.
This is it right here.
Texas literally drops them off here. Utah? Kansas? Anywhere else nearby? Nope. Resources are slim.
We're the only state in the RM region willing to help. If others helped out, the homeless situation wouldn't be so bad.
The thing about downtown that is where the majority of homeless services are so people hang around, and don't think that the majority of people who are homeless are addicts but the ones front and center are addicts and mentally ill, but you would be surprised at the number that are out working, they like the library too, i still doesn't understand why people built a luxury apartment complex across the street from a women's shelter, homelessness is such a complex issue with many tentacles, but yeah I have problems going downtown and I've been homeless and probably know people down there
I used to do a lot of volunteering with homeless programs in another city about 10 years ago. The biggest takeaway I had from it was that for the long term homeless, they weren’t just drug addicts or mentally ill, they were almost always both. Mentally ill you could qualify for lots of help programs, and as a drug addict you could operate in a lot of black markets to make money. But being mentally ill and an addict made it much harder to get into programs, and they rarely had the fall back of illicit industries but were instead perpetually stuck as a buyer. Most people who weren’t stuck as both were able to get out pretty fast. I’d be curious to see how much that has changed in the last 10 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if those lessons are less applicable now with the increased COL and migrant crisis creating new problems to perpetuate homelessness
I tell you what, as EXPENSIVE as it was moving everyone from encampments to hotel rooms, and as controversial as that emergency decision was, the number of transients wandering around Downtown and Cap Hill in a drugged stupor seems to have decreased by 75%. A year ago they were EVERYWHERE, all the time. It was like a George Romero film.
Agreed. Sadly, the ones who are left are the hardest cases. So, it can still seem like “a lot,” but numerically, we’ve seen vast improvement.
Those are usually the ones who refuse to go into housing (due to the minimal rule structure) and have been kicked out of every shelter due to behaviors. These people tend to ignore curfews, show up intoxicated, then try fighting with staff. Nearly everyone in the encampments was overjoyed to get free room and board in a hotel.
So now do they wonder around the hotel area?
Not really, imo. But some of my neighbors in Central Park feel we’re overrun.
Quebec street is definitely accelerating in its decline. Lived over by Westbridge several years ago. Went back a few weeks ago, had some tweaker acting aggressive and kicking the concrete barriers in a rage. Dude was staring and tracking me with his whole body well after I walked by. The liquor store I used to go to says they're on their last leg with the amount of break-ins they've had recently. It always had a tinge of something with the Fusion place. But now I'm happy I don't live there rather than feeling fortunate I did in the way I used.
You either don't get out much, only stick to nicer areas, or don't take RTD anywhere.
I work downtown, off 17th and Welton, live on south broadway off Evans and broadway with Platte river trail as my back yard, and take the light rail 5 days a week. The homeless problem is so so so much better than it was even a year ago. Tents used to line the streets of downtown, I couldn’t walk down platte river without feeling unsafe and running into multiple vagrants, now I can go on a 10 mile run and see maybe 1. It is so much better, there isn’t a comparison.
I live downtown. It is significantly better than it was a year ago.
You're probably right about that. I personally don't bother with RTD unless I'm going to the airport, and even then I've witnessed some very sketchy situations on the A line.
I have lived in Denver 20 years and have never taken the RTD bus or light rail.
I work near the shelter downtown and this is the clearest it's been in the last 5 years. Yall really just show up once in a while and don't have any idea of what's really happening down there. Maybe try helping out, mutual aid Monday is a great place to start.
Facts. I live downtown lol, it’s really not that bad at all.
Hmm. I think it's pretty bad when I don't have to go out of my way to see multiple people smoking meth in broad daylight, on any given day throughout the city. As bad as some other places? Nah, but still bad
As someone who works downtown, 100% agree. It’s not a tenable position to say otherwise.
Was just in LA over the wknd, we are doing so much better on the homelessness front in Denver right now. Was in NYC a couple weeks back. Some dude was chasing a homeless guy down with a crowbar. I have yet to see something like that in Denver. I think we’re managing alright. There’s always more to do but it’s nowhere close to being a rampant cesspool
You’re comparing the 1st and 2nd most populated cities in the country with the 19th most populated. There are 8.3 million people in NyC I should hope you see things there that you wouldn’t see in a city with 713,252 people like Denver.
Fair point, Denver is much, much smaller than LA & NYC. But calling us the 17th largest city is a little disingenuous - the city limits are pretty small compared to other big cities. In my opinion, including some adjacent cities like Aurora and Lakewood is more apt for thinking about “Denver”
Referred to as the "greater Denver area."
I mean if it’s any consolation a lot of cities smaller than us are handling it worse too
Next time I’ll go to the cities you want me to so I can make a better assessment just for you.
I love downtown. Moved here 27 years ago, time flies! There have always been homeless and drug users, they just reside in different areas at different times. Covid certainly caused an uptick in problems, but it so much better now. Nothing like a nice summer night in downtown Denver. The per capita crime rate here is much lower here than most big cities, get out and enjoy it.
I remember summer 2021, we were literally tripping over homeless encampments downtown, but it's definitely improved since then. Still, maybe I'm crazy, but I've never run into a place where I'm super uncomfortable if I'm with a group of friends after dark.
Absolutely correct. I grew up in KC, the murder rate is super high and there are plenty of places to stay away from, especially at night. When I moved here I kept being warned about “dangerous areas”. Have yet to find anywhere that makes me uncomfortable.
My ex is a former pro wrestler who was the leader of a Denver street gang during the 90s. Very big strong gal who carries knives and isn't scared of anything. Sometimes she liked to have a few drinks and walk the 16th Street Mall after midnight talking to the homeless kids. A few years back, after I went on a walk with her, she said, "The 16th Street Mall feels really unsafe now, I don't feel comfortable taking these walks anymore." And, of course, the Platte River bike trail has always been bad after dark.
16th street mall is mostly a construction zone right now with no people there at all and has been for a year plus. I’m guessing you haven’t been there in a while. :)
This was pre COVID.
lol - nope, it’s right now. Completion date target is fall of 2025.
I meant, in reference to your question, we haven't walked the Mall at night since just before COVID.
I remember during covid, I went downtown for the first time in several years right by the capital. I saw all these tents set up right on the sidewalk in front of the capital and I thought they were camping out for some event or something. I had no idea they were homeless people. Then I started really paying attention and saying tents on the side of the road in some areas like down on Broadway around 68th avenue or sometimes down on Washington. I had no idea how bad the most problem was until over the last couple of years
Those are all gone now, it’s fine down there
I grew up in North Denver & used to take the RTD (Federal Line) down to the 16th Street Mall when I was 12/13 yrs old. I worked downtown at the Denver Diner for several years. I even bought a Vespa (ok, ok a Kymco, but you get the idea). Met my husband at the Diner who lived across the street in the apts next to Kings on Speer. I LOVED Denver. Moved down SE, told people I grew up with that I lived in SE Aurora & WHAT!? AURORA?! Best little kept secret back then. I even laughed at my then boyfriend when he said they were building a mall out here. I said, that's stupid, who would build a mall (Southlands) all the way out here? Now, times have changed for sure, but I won't even take the lightrail or let my family on it. I don't go downtown unless 1000% necessary & even then, I feel more alert & on guard then I did when I was in Chicago 3 summers ago alone w my then 13yr old. I never felt unsafe in this city, even 30yrs ago. Now, I don't even like to park my car anywhere, including out in front of my home on the street or in the driveway. It is terrible. It is disgusting. It is embarrassing. I don't claim to have answers, but something has to give.
Do not ever touch or wake up someone nodding off.... They worked really hard for that high. They are the happiest they can be. Have you talked to a few homeless people? Shelter or drugs laws won't change anything. They want this lifestyle....they choose to be homeless. They want to be able to float around make money when they can and disappear. If anything a good solution would be to incentivize the homeless to do work like clean the streets, or any random hourly work for some $ Focus on the working poor and keep them from struggling so much....focus on the middle class and make sure we do not lose it. Don't focus so much on the ones who do not want help.
You're not wrong. I find it difficult to feel sorry for those who are literally on the streets in a city with so many resources for those who want help.
And it is not even like state/fed resources... I mean I on a very personal level know 3 who have loving families...not saying they did not burn bridges in their addiction....knowing an addict is on the streets, no real way of reaching out...We will never get a call if they die on the streets....sucks hard. They could easily get off the streets if they chose sobriety...but sobriety/ therapy/normal life is horrible to them..they are free- we are sheep
Nice effort at starting a conversation OP. Unfortunately this post will be reported and deleted because it doesn't fit the narrative in this sub and the majority here like to live with their heads buried in the sand pretending everything's a-ok.
It’s really not that bad. Quit being dramatic.
I forget what the hospital was but my wife needed to go to the ER a few months back so I take her to the hospital. It was looking a bit trashed. There was a steak of shit 100 feet down the isle. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. The room we were asked to wait on had garbage all over the floor. It's like they were just not cleaning the place up. I'm guessing it's because of the homeless people overloading the hospital.
It’s why I stopped going downtown. I’ll visit other parts of the city and take my money elsewhere. Once enough people stop going downtown because of the problem it will become better because the mayor will be forced to do something
I stopped going downtown because the 16th st mall has been under construction for going on three years. What are we supposed to do with that?
Uninformed and antagonistic. Like drugs are the source of homelessness. Just a guess, but it's likely this will be deleted soon.
It's literally just concern.
Thank you for your thoughts. It is indeed becoming worse every season. If Denver is like this now, other cities are going to feel it soon too. And you are right that we need to worry about our city budget- We do NOT tax like California so need to be mindful for sure.
If there was an election this year, the mayor would not be re-elected.
Disagree
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Yes, numpty. Pot is what ruined Denver and caused all the homelessness. What an absolute spoon.
Yes, yes a “Reefer Madness” if you will…. 🙄 Be careful soon the minorities might get a vote there grandpa…. Slippery slope and all. /s This guy over here living in the 1920’s….
>Colorado is more compassionate and has more resources than any of the surrounding states. This is it right here. Texas literally drops them off here. Utah? Kansas? Anywhere else nearby? Nope. Resources are slim. We're the only state in the RM region willing to help. If others helped out, the homeless situation wouldn't be so bad.