Growing number of homeless encampments in
Denver alarming to neighbors, schools and families

If these are just good people down on their luck, why do these encampments usually bring drugs and crime? Maybe they're down on their luck because of their drug use and propensity toward criminal behavior.

Colorado became the California of the Rockies.

But its so Progressive! This is the 3rd world, back to the Dark Ages world progressives seek. Why are they now alarmed?

Let me guess! The Mayor is a democrat and the Governor is a democrat? Wake up people, there is a pattern here....

The People's Republic of Denver on full display. Meanwhile, Mayor Hancock still working hard to keep Denver Players Denver Sugar out of sight with the help of the Denver deep state. Citizens of Denver, elections have consequences, no? Since retiring in 2018, I sure don't miss having to walk past some of Denver's drug pushers and junkies between my office building and Civic Center bus station. My wife and I left Denver for ultra-red western Colorado two years and only go back to see the kids and grandkids.

This is a direct result of being the first State to legalize marijuana, and a liberal safety net to keep them around to vote. There are many millenials and other losers that are content with the lifestyle of "Urban Camping".

Main difference between liberals and conservatives is that liberals will tell you someone is homeless, but conservatives will ask you why they are homeless.

You have no idea. About a year before we left California, we took what we thought would be a pleasant train ride between Santa Barbara and San Diego, watching the scenery along the coast and some of the small inland towns before and after LA. Not in a million years did we realize that there are now semi-permanent encampments all along the train route pretty much the entire way, It was like taking the noon train to Tijuana or maybe Calcutta. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is the Democrat Master Plan to fundamentally transform America.

#5 - not too far behind you. I have about 5 years until retirement.

Fortunately, there is a South Park episode dedicated to this very thing. It even takes place in Colorado, if I recall. It's called ""Night of the Living Homeless." Not suitable for work, and highly offensive language throughout. But truly, honestly, hysterical.

Not all cities with homeless encampments are sanctuary cities, but all sanctuary cities are infested with homeless encampments. The more drug enforcement is relaxed, the more the homeless problem expands. It would be interesting to see an overlay graph of the growth of homelessness and the growth of drug use, from marijuana to cocaine, heroine, and other opiates.

The housing money is spent on the whacky weed. The vicious circle goes on. They should wise up and move to LA or Seattle where it's at least warmer in Winter.

Oh, gee. You voted for Leftists, they won the election, and now you're sad that they behave the way they said they would? Maybe next time you'll think about it before you pull that D lever.

Liberal-run cities produce homelessness with regularity. Conservative-run cities? Not so much.

Not only is Mr. Mayor a Democrat, he is a Black Democrat! Pretty much says it all. Exactly what did the people of Denver expect? A Black Democrat is not going to run the Homeless out of Denver. He will welcome them and there isn't a darn thing the residents can do about it until 2023! Elections have consequences! Wake up People! The cities with Homeless problems are run by DEMOCRATS! Maybe Mr. Mayor has San Francisco envy!

Liberals are best at creating problems, as we have witnessed in the last two months. They cannot fix problems. They have no clue

#8, I've traveled around many parts of L.A., and it's definitely much bigger problem than anyone wants to admit. Many city streets are over-run by "parked" RV's and other vehicles lining block after block. Far too many are huddled along the Freeway embankment, or the underpass of the Freeway. When the government gives up on job creation for the vast majority (allowing those high-paying factory jobs that used to dominate whole sections of SoCal), and only concentrates on those with college degrees, Hollywood dreams, or Silicon Valley aspirations, by only providing hospitality and tourism jobs (typically low wage), you get the end results. And, when cheap rent is $1600 for a 1 bedroom apartment, and many near the Coast start at $4,000 for a studio, you're going to get homelessness.

A friend in the Denver metro area told me about the camps just yesterday. He was railing about how the tents looked expensive and how could these "homeless" afford them. I told him they were probably shoplifted, looted, or bought with student loan money. During the "Occupy Wall Street" farce a few years back, just about everyone in the squalid encampment professed to be a "student," even some in their 30s. I figured they were milking the student loan piggy bank for all it was worth.

How many are druggies, drunks and mentally ill - and THAT is why they don't have jobs? In most cases, those are the root cause issues. The mentally ill need to be in institutions, off of the street, which is what we used to do before we let the liberals "enlighten" us. As to the drug users and drunks - those are personal problems. They can be overcome if you just DO IT. I have one family member who managed to get himself involved in drugs and drinking after HS. By age 24 he had 6 years of both, and had reached rock bottom. He realized it wasn't any good, and just stopped drinking and drugs. He got a low level job, went to Jr College for a bit, then transferred to Emery and eventually got a PhD in economics, and went to work for a Wall Street banking firm. Today he has a lovely wife, four great kids and is a multimillionaire, travels on chartered jets, vacations in Europe, lives in a beautiful, huge home the countryside about 75 miles from NYC and manages investments for an even richer guy. I don't have a whole lot of patience with folks at the bottom who say "I can't get out of this" while they continue the drugs and alcohol use. It can be done. I have seen it done. Yes, you can get out of it, if you really want to and really will work at it, and stop whining. Maybe most won't get rich, but they can get a decent job, work hard at it and make a good middle class living. Stop whining.

Hogwash, #16. My wife and I started investing in our mid 30s, a late start, IMO. We maxed 401Ks and got the matches, but assumed that the small company pension and free company health care in retirement wouldn't be there, and that SS would likely not be there, either, so planned accordingly. We made the conscious choice to save 25% of our gross every year, and we scrimped and saved for our retirement our whole lives. We never had that new BMW and we still live in the house we bought in 1984. I bought a six year old Porsche for $12,000 and still have it today. My company cancelled retiree health care, my wife's company never had a retirement plan. My company ended the pension about 20 years into my tenure there, but the ones who had it could keep it. It is small, about 20% of my take home pay at retirement. We pay our health care insurance above MediCare. We get a modest SS check each month, too. The rest we pull out of our invetments, now into 7 figures. And our investments keep us very, very comfortable. We can afford to travel any time, any place we want, and no need to scrimp any more. Save hard, live below your means, get a good investment advisor and you can retire very well off. The root problem is that people make $3000 in a month and spend $3200 in a month, for years and years, with the excess building up on credit cards, and then take out an equity loan so that even after 15 years paying on a mortgage, there is NO equity built up. And then their 401K reaches $50K and they pull it out, pay the penalty and get a boat and a fancy vacation. And they arrive at 55 or 60 with no 401K and no equity in a home, and a broken down 5 year old BMW and $35K debt on credit cards. And "somehow" due to "bad luck" they wind up on the street when they lose their job. And maybe they were feeding a drug habit while they were working, or maybe that started as they slid down, who knows. Life is all about choices. You cannot be homeless in the USA with one or two bad choices, you need to make the wrong choice every single time you come to a metaphorical fork in the road.

One homeless advocate, Teresa Howard says 12% of the U.S. population is black yet 40% of the homeless in the U.S. are black. This is proof of deep racism. No. It is proof that if you think going to school is "acting white," speaking clear English is "acting white," being able to fill out a job application or qualify for a job is "acting white" you will fall into poverty and despair. If poverty and despair are your idea of "acting black," you're on the glide path.

This sounds like a wonderful opportunity for Social Workers to wade in there with all their formerly-police funding and show us how its done! /s

You mean paid squatters.