Quote:
Originally Posted by seventwenty
Who makes the rules for this contract, Mr. Rousseau? Once you start making implied law, how do you enforce it?
|
You're trying to obfuscate things. Keep it simple.
We're talking about managing the 16th street mall so that everybody can enjoy it.
Denver and
twister244 have defined the line and it's up to the DPD to enforce it. It has nothing to do with one's status or looks; it's strictly about acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
They don't have the issues in Scottsdale because they don't allow it; they can't afford to; troublemakers aren't welcome. In Phoenix or Tempe which are more liberal is where the homeless end up. Fortunately to an extent, there are good sized parks down here not necessarily utilized that much where homeless can hang. Maybe in a few years when the deck park is finished they can hang there.
With homeless, you have the transitional due to temporary economic hardship who deserve empathy and fortunately Denver has built tons of transitional housing. You have the 'kids' who have slipped through the cracks and if they're potheads, then in addition to reaching out to them, having patience in waiting for them to mature is often all that's needed. Then you have the long-timers who don't care to hang out on 16th street and are generally a manageable population.
Then you have the 'troublemakers' with a variety of issues including behavior control that need to be somewhere else other than on the 16th street mall.
The explosion of opioid addiction is a nasty problem with no magical cure. While I much enjoyed the story of Alby Zweig he's sadly the exception. A lot of opioid OD deaths (as you might know) result from 'addicts' who are clean and lose their tolerance before giving into the need again.
As for the various specific issues from abusive relationships to other mental problems Denver has more help and resources available than most cities. Other than directing them to available services, it isn't a part of the job description for those watching over the 16th street mall.