An open letter to Mike Johnston

Photo: Giles Clasen

Dear Mr. Mayor:

Congratulations on your election.

You may be able to fill the shoes of the previous administration, but you have a tough job. You have inherited a stain left by your predecessor, that I hope you will be able to remove because no matter how hard you scrub, it’s not going to come out easily. It’s an emotional stain.

You said you wanted to get homeless people off the streets and get them the help they need. You have declared a state of emergency to address homelessness.

What is your plan? Should we expect sweeps? When we are told to move our tents, where are we supposed to go? We are unhoused. That means we can’t just pick up our belongings and move to another street, only to have you come there and sweep us to somewhere else.

When we asked your predecessor where we were supposed to go between sweeps, he didn’t have an answer. If we have a job, we can’t take our belongings with us, so who’s going to take care of our stuff if you sweep?

These sweeps are emotional. They are demoralizing. They kill your spirit and murder your hope for a better life or situation. When you go through many of them, it creates a resentment for city government. It tears apart the relationships and families that you’ve developed within the unhoused community. It denies us the pursuit of happiness.

If you don’t want to see us sleeping on the streets, can you tell us where to go or how to remain hidden, so we remain safe and aren’t in the way?

The last administration was not willing to talk to the people whose lives were affected by the former mayor’s decisions. I don’t recall your predecessor ever reaching out directly to any of the unhoused. Will you?

How will you communicate with people like me? Will YOU talk to us? Will you include more than one unhoused person on your advisory board? Will you try to correct the negative perceptions people have of us, or will you double down, referring to us as “those homeless people,” and treating us like outsiders who don’t belong?

You have just started a very challenging job. Working to resolve homelessness is going to be a difficult task for you. I hope you will ask for help from unhoused people like me, because you can’t do it alone.

I also hope you will include us in the conversation. We are more than bodies occupying public spaces. There are some really bright and talented people in the unhoused community. If given a chance, we will contribute to the betterment of society.

Communicate with us. Talking to us and letting us talk to you is not going to end homelessness, but it will make it easier for us to understand each other and figure out where we go from here.

Sincerely,

David Gordon

Denver VOICE Vendor