Downtown events marred by violence over weekend (Denver: income, shop)

[MN_Ski]

Originally Posted by SQL

I understand the dispensaries being more responsible, but how is McDonald's responsible for attracting them? They sell cheap food and have always sold cheap food. It's not like they can change their business model.

They could ban fast food downtown...heh

Hasn't that been done in other cities?

[SQL]

Originally Posted by MN_Ski

They could ban fast food downtown...heh

Hasn't that been done in other cities?

I don't know about an outright ban, but I think maybe some other major cities tax the heck out of them (NYC for instance).

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by SQL

I understand the dispensaries being more responsible, but how is McDonald's responsible for attracting them? They sell cheap food and have always sold cheap food. It's not like they can change their business model.

Something to do with giving out food. I found it funny when I heard the sound bite.

[SQL]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

Something to do with giving out food. I found it funny when I heard the sound bite.

Ah, yeah. That makes sense.

You know, I don't mind that businesses want to be charitable to the homeless. I wouldn't even mind them being down there as long as they acted civilized and appropriately. But they really have come in thinking that they can hi-jack this city and act out however they please. That's why I'm all for this crack down and cutting their resources off. They have grossly abused their privileges.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

Something to do with giving out food. I found it funny when I heard the sound bite.

They could give the extra food to a food bank kind of organization instead of directly to bums. That would help reduce the attraction.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by pikabike

They could give the extra food to a food bank kind of organization instead of directly to bums. That would help reduce the attraction.

I totally agree. The mayor called for the businesses to stop the "lingering".

[lovecrowds]

Originally Posted by SQL

Ah, yeah. That makes sense.

You know, I don't mind that businesses want to be charitable to the homeless. I wouldn't even mind them being down there as long as they acted civilized and appropriately. But they really have come in thinking that they can hi-jack this city and act out however they please. That's why I'm all for this crack down and cutting their resources off. They have grossly abused their privileges.

Salt Lake dealing with the same situation

Advocates for the homeless say SLC’s Rio Grande district ‘more unsafe than it’s ever been’ | fox13now.com

I doubt the homeless really care about what the population thinks. They are down and out, so why would they care about manners. I can't blame them.

Most of Denver's resources seem to allocated towards giving families $1800 a month vouchers for housing.

I notice that different cities have different homeless strategies and Denver is to allocate its funds primarily to expensive family housing.

They get federal grants but they seem to build luxury apartments for a select few homeless as a huge publicity stunt.

The police can arrest all they want but they will likely get released on recognizance later in the afternoon and end in the emergency rooms later in the evening.

Do they really want to spend $100 or so nightly for 6 months for a disturbing the peace charge as the case is resolved?

It looks like Denver only has a 2,300 person capacity in jails. Do the "law and order" people really think they can hold everyone for months over city infractions?

Many of them act out because the Denver jail is better then the streets or they get put on a 72-hour hold.

I actually think considering the mile-high apartment rents in Denver and the appeal the city has for vagabonds that they are doing an excellent job considering the circumstances.

[marginal]

This is a really long thread with more than one "theme" in it so I just have a few random comments.

Putting the homeless to work, for pay or not - the mentally ill or addicted ones will have trouble with that, I think. And as was mentioned early on, people who can't pass drug tests will have trouble getting hired.

Getting benefits, like SNAP, for the homeless - I'm not sure that's possible without a fixed address, since the services are locally run. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong about that.)

The worsening of the homeless problem - as background, I moved back East at the beginning of 2012 but before that, since 1979 (yeah I know I'm showing my age here ) I was in various parts of Denver; my last apartment was on 17th across from City Park. I spent a fair amount of time downtown, including on the 16th Street mall, and I don't remember it being as bad as it sounds like it is now, at least from the comments here. What's happened? Why are there so many more homeless now than there were before? What's drawing them to Denver? Someone mentioned weed; is that why they're there? If it is, then this is going to be an ongoing problem, because I don't see this law being repealed (is that the right word?) anytime soon. I was not in town for that campaign or the vote so I don't know how it was communicated, or how it's being administered, but I wonder if maybe this is just an unforeseen consequence of that; there aren't many other states with legal recreational marijuana so in a way Colorado is a sort of "test case." But all the other things that have been mentioned, like the nice climate, have been around - well, always. The only thing that I can see that's changed, at least since I left, is that law. Am I missing something?

Regardless of any of that, the fact is - at least from this thread, and from similar ones I've read on another site - this is getting to be a major problem. I was especially sad to read about the 16th Street mall because I always found it a pleasant place; I've been tentatively planning a trip back there, maybe in the fall, and since I always travel by train the mall would be one of the first places I see. Now I'm not so sure I want to go through there, even during the day. Or maybe even visit the city at all.

(Note: I've seen that there is a separate thread on MJ legalization but haven't been able to get through that yet so some of what I've asked here may be addressed there.)

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by lovecrowds

Salt Lake dealing with the same situation

Advocates for the homeless say SLC’s Rio Grande district ‘more unsafe than it’s ever been’ | fox13now.com

I doubt the homeless really care about what the population thinks. They are down and out, so why would they care about manners. I can't blame them.

Most of Denver's resources seem to allocated towards giving families $1800 a month vouchers for housing.

I notice that different cities have different homeless strategies and Denver is to allocate its funds primarily to expensive family housing.

They get federal grants but they seem to build luxury apartments for a select few homeless as a huge publicity stunt.

The police can arrest all they want but they will likely get released on recognizance later in the afternoon and end in the emergency rooms later in the evening.

Do they really want to spend $100 or so nightly for 6 months for a disturbing the peace charge as the case is resolved?

It looks like Denver only has a 2,300 person capacity in jails. Do the "law and order" people really think they can hold everyone for months over city infractions?

Many of them act out because the Denver jail is better then the streets or they get put on a 72-hour hold.

I actually think considering the mile-high apartment rents in Denver and the appeal the city has for vagabonds that they are doing an excellent job considering the circumstances.

But, but, but no legal pot in SLC. How can this be????

[nick4242]

Denver does not have a homeless problem and no events were ever "marred" in downtown Denver by a small scuffle.

This is 18 pages on nonsense. My 2 cents. Denver is one of the only major cities where the center of attraction is a 1 mile long pedestrian mall lined with corporate big box retailers, so it cannot even be compared to most other cities. I just don't go to that mall. There are plenty of other Ross's, Gap's, Chili's and Starbucks around Denver. There isn't even 1 single upper class store in that entire 1 mile stretch, so as the saying goes "you get what you pay for". I don't expect the city of Denver to bend over backwards to clean up what is basically a corporate middle american lower-middle class establishment.

If the establishments don't like homeless, let them remove them... but they could care less. They are all stuck in the middle class trap, they all make low salaries and all have that corporate lackluster attitude down there.

It's a low wage teenager's paradise down there for sure. Can't imagine anyone with an income above $40k shopping there. But if Denver wants to be the city of low wage corporate workers than let it. The rest of us will be in Cherry Creek... it works out for us all.