Colorado is in a very odd situation. Our legislators can’t raise taxes due to TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights). Those are decisions left to voters, who often favor only the taxes they themselves do not pay. On the other hand, both the voters and legislators can cut...
Recent articles
SB23-007 Will Provide Much-Needed Resources to Colorado’s Adult Education Providers
Educational attainment is increasingly becoming a necessity for employment in a good, well-paying job here in Colorado. The Colorado Workforce Development Council’s Talent Pipeline Report for 2022 found that among Colorado’s top jobs that year,[i] 91.4% of tier 1 top...
Unwinding Continuous Coverage
Since March 2020, Coloradans enrolled in Medicaid and Child Health Plus (CHP+) have been able to maintain their health coverage. This policy has meant fewer gaps in care, less paperwork, and more peace of mind. States kept people enrolled in exchange for the...
2023 Legislative Preview Event Recap
Colorado’s Legislative Session came early this year, and CCLP was ready for it! Right on the heels of the holidays CCLP hosted our 2023 Legislative Preview on January 4th. CCLP staff presented some of our legislative priorities for the antipoverty movement. Interim...
Time for Sweeping Change
Last week, the city of Denver swept away problem of chronic homelessness by removing hundreds of homeless people from makeshift encampments throughout the city. The City claims that their decision was made because of the public safety issues these encampments create for the homeless residents themselves and the public at large. They are absolutely correct. What the City is not prepared to address in any meaningful way is exactly where it is they would like these people to go. The shelter directors have stated that there is not enough affordable housing or enough emergency shelter to meet the growing demand. As a consequence, these people default to living on the streets as a last resort. I have for the past month spent a few weeks living on the street, trust me when I say that nobody is living outside because they want to.
Rather than develop thoughtful and compassionate measures to address this crisis, the City answered with an arsenal of garbage trucks and police officers. Denver, we can and must do better. The City claims they are storing people’s belongings and they can access them. That is an outright fabrication. Try finding your personal belongings in a sea of garbage bins. Hundreds of people have lost all of their personal belongings (including photos of their children). The problem has temporarily disappeared from public sight but the fact remains, people have to exist somewhere. It is our responsibility as a city to find adequate places for people to be other than the streets.
If we can build a world class light rail and airport hotel for visitors, shouldn’t we be able to provide adequate and compassionate shelter for our most disenfranchised residents. We are urging city Denver residents, city officials, nonprofit leaders, foundation leaders, advocates and homeless residents themselves to come together to recognize that this crisis must be addressed right now in a more constructive and compassionate manner.
We hope we can join in a concerted effort to develop the resources, plan and collaborative spirit necessary to protect the basic safety and dignity of every Denver citizen. Everyone in our city deserves to be somewhere safe to sleep tonight.
PJ D’Amico, Executive Director
The Buck Foundation
Recent articles
Who gets the tax breaks in the 2023 Colorado Legislature?
Colorado is in a very odd situation. Our legislators can’t raise taxes due to TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights). Those are decisions left to voters, who often favor only the taxes they themselves do not pay. On the other hand, both the voters and legislators can cut...
SB23-007 Will Provide Much-Needed Resources to Colorado’s Adult Education Providers
Educational attainment is increasingly becoming a necessity for employment in a good, well-paying job here in Colorado. The Colorado Workforce Development Council’s Talent Pipeline Report for 2022 found that among Colorado’s top jobs that year,[i] 91.4% of tier 1 top...
Unwinding Continuous Coverage
Since March 2020, Coloradans enrolled in Medicaid and Child Health Plus (CHP+) have been able to maintain their health coverage. This policy has meant fewer gaps in care, less paperwork, and more peace of mind. States kept people enrolled in exchange for the...
2023 Legislative Preview Event Recap
Colorado’s Legislative Session came early this year, and CCLP was ready for it! Right on the heels of the holidays CCLP hosted our 2023 Legislative Preview on January 4th. CCLP staff presented some of our legislative priorities for the antipoverty movement. Interim...