Mayor Hickenlooper has been doing a lot to reduce homelessness, to the point of willing to take political heat for it. He's started housing programs, pointing out they save money over jail, hospitals, etc., but local talk radio thinks it's "rewarding homelessness" or something.

So, who's footing the bill for the movie tickets, rooms, museums, etc. to keep these people out of site?

If it's the DNC doing this, that's pretty dishonest. If it's Denver, are the city officials using their govenment power to help one polical party?

Dana Goldstein got it wrong when she said we don’t provide housing for the homeless. For more than 20 years the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has been a strong advocate for the rights of homeless persons – and we will continue to be long after the DNC leaves town.

Last night we provided housing and support services to more than 2,100 households. We’ve moved 185 chronically homeless individuals off the street, directly into housing through our “Housing First” program. Just this month, we completed renovation of 180 apartments targeted to homeless and at-risk families. Through an aggressive outreach program, we helped move more than 350 people from the streets into safe, secure housing. Right now we’re developing 200 new units of housing for homeless and at-risk individuals. In 2007, we provided health, mental health, and substance treatment services to more than 12,000 persons experiencing homelessness in Colorado.

In America, rates of homelessness have been rising for the past 25 years – due to an escalating shortage of affordable rental housing coupled with simultaneous increases in poverty. The current foreclosure catastrophe, the sky-rocketing cost of gas, food, and electricity, eroding job opportunities, and plummeting government funding have all converged to create a perfect storm of despair for some 3.5 million Americans who experience homelessness each year, including more than one million children.

This is the startling backdrop against which both Conventions will take place. Homelessness is all about poverty, housing, healthcare, jobs – it seems to us that these are the issues that really matter in an election year. These are the topics that should matter to the candidates, to the delegates, and to all policy-makers. If you’re homeless, this is what matters to you every night.

BJ Iacino
Director of Education and Advocacy
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

If it's the DNC doing this, that's pretty dishonest. If it's Denver, are the city officials using their government power to help one political party?

I know El Viajero is trolling here, but there is actually a serious point to make about this, which is that host cities inevitably spend lots of money and do lots of things to help the party who is holding the convention. Accordingly, you can always say "the Denver elected officials are helping out the Democrats" or "the St. Paul elected officials are helping out the Republicans".

What is really going on is that a political convention is seen to benefit the locals (whether it actually does or not is an interesting question!), and therefore, the local officials do everything they can to make the convention a success. But I don't see how this is an unfair thumb on the scale, as long as both parties receive it.

Dana Goldstein got it wrong when she said we don’t provide housing for the homeless.

Dana plays fast and loose with the facts. This is the same Dana that posted that waterboarding was widespread and had caused many deaths when the facts were only three (3) people were waterboarded and no one died.

People hold those in the media to a high standard of actually telling truth.