Advocates with Housekeys Action Network Denver are collecting tents, sleeping bags and other winter gear to protect people living outside from the bitter cold.
The effort, dubbed the 5280 Winter Gear Drive, comes as Mayor Mike Johnston has made ending unsheltered homelessness — and homeless encampments — part of his first-term goal.
In just over a year, the city has brought more than 2,000 people living outdoors into long-term shelter, many still on a pathway to stable housing.
But evictions are at an all-time high. Homelessness has been rising. And Johnston has been ramping up the city’s enforcement of street camping.
“With his heavy-handed enforcement, people's stuff is getting taken regularly,” said Ana Miller, an advocate with HAND who experienced homelessness on the streets for 12 years before moving into a home a few years ago.
Advocates say they have more people than ever asking for winter supplies like tents, warm socks and sleeping bags.
There are many reasons people say they stay outside. Shelters fill up. People don’t want to leave their belongings outdoors and risk losing them in exchange for a night of warmth. They get kicked out of shelters.
And people hoping to get into one of Johnston’s All in Mile High shelters have decided to stay outside, hoping the city invites them into a room of their own, Miller said.
But staying outside can be dangerous.
“If they don't have the gear, they're going to die on the streets,” Miller said.
HAND is asking people for a variety of items to keep people alive, including handwarmers, backpacks, purified water, tents, warm clothing and more.
Supplies, both used and new, can also go to Mutual Aid Monday, where they will be distributed to people experiencing homelessness on site, Miller said. The group meets outside the City and County building at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoons.
“Send us a box of hand warmers or a couple of tents or whatever you can possibly send us,” Miller said. We could always use it. It will go directly to houseless people in need of gear to survive.”
