Western Regional Advocacy Project

[UPDATED STATS AS OF 1:25PM, FEBRUARY 15TH]

The Aurora City attorney has officially told advocates that an emergency order will be used to shut down the Edge of Lowry buildings halfway through February - with little to no support from the City in relocating tenants. We as a community must now band together to make sure that hundreds of people & their children don't end up on the streets!!!

On Monday, January 13th, Housekeys Action Network Denver, The Redress Movement, & others gathered with tenants of CBZ buildings in Aurora & Denver to protest CBZ Management’s horrible neglect & mistreatment of their tenants, & the resultant wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric being echoed by local & national leaders.

Aurora tenant JC shared receipts of payments & an official lease while standing with his partner & four children, describing the horrible conditions they had to endure, which left his children covered in bites from rodents & bedbugs. Denver tenant Natasha Barshalom White, known in the advocacy community for her work with the unhoused, described how her raising concerns about the conditions in her own building in Aurora caused Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky to reach out & connect her with CBZ so they could offer her a management position in attempts to quell her discontent. Barshalom White also echoed the harmful migrant narrative that has been perpetuated despite her & her neighbors being proof of the horrific conditions spanning across all CBZ properties outside of the fabricated “gang control” zone, & urgently demanded that viewers at home act now… Unfortunately, despite having solid media turnout at the rally, most didn’t cover these brave voices or the tenants’ demand for justice. The revolution will not be televised.

Once we entered the courthouse at 3pm for the case, our tenants & community members made up three times the capacity of the room, & with media filling most seats inside, the majority of folks had to go into a hard-to-hear overflow room to listen in. What ensued was ridiculous… CBZ had failed to properly follow the channels to switch lawyers after those formerly representing Zev Baumgartner’s case had dropped out. His new lawyer wasn’t present in the courtroom, & originally hadn’t appeared virtually either. It wasn’t until the Aurora City attorney happened to have the other lawyer’s personal cell number that the lawyer eventually joined, citing a medical emergency for his absence without excuse for his misfiling of paperwork. Additional documents hadn’t been submitted in time & the judge allowed for a 42-day grace period for this lawyer to present himself in a better light. Meanwhile, the City’s emergency affidavit was pushed through & decided, with no pushback from CBZ, such that the Edge of Lowry buildings are set to be condemned halfway through February.

42 days for a rich man’s illegally assigned lawyer. 28 days for hundreds of poor, hard working community members & their children to uproot their lives and, despite a world of barriers against them, find somewhere to live.

Thankfully, dedicated & concerned staff members with Colorado Health Foundation reached out to Housekeys Action Network Denver following a press interview & provided a generous, one-time donation of $50,000 "to support direct cash assistance for individuals & families impacted by the condemnation or risk of condemnation of buildings in East Colfax" - & we have been steadfastly putting these funds to use!

Given that the City of Aurora has promised relocation assistance on numerous occasions but not delivered, the responsibility for relocating >90% of tenants before Edge of Lowry is condemned on February 18th falls on local community organizations like Housekeys Action Network Denver (Denver member of the national Western Regional Advocacy Project), The Redress Movement... & YOU!!!

FUNDS SPENT SO FAR:

Between 11/15/24 - 2/15/25:

WHAT'S STILL NEEDED:

Based on the estimation that $50k serves 25 families, & dedicating every bit of funds raised to financial assistance for former CBZ property tenants, we're hoping that community will keep stepping up in this time of need & uncertainty & continue offering as much support as possible so we can prevent families & their children from ending up on the street!

Immigrant detention is NOT housing!!! It's a billion dollar industry that destroys communities by tearing parents from children & leaving behind emotional trauma & financial hardship.

Donate NOW to invest in keeping families together & off the streets!!!

The Aloft Hotel has served as a Protective Action Hotel for Denver’s most vulnerable elderly houseless people for almost 3 years now, and at the end of this month (April), the City is planning to close the hotel. Aloft residents are there due to being highly susceptible to deadly co-morbidities in the face of Covid-19. They are Denver’s elderly, sick, and most vulnerable.

While other similar Protective Action Hotels were closed down and residents kicked to the streets and shelters, this time, significant collaboration between local entities in the final weeks has led to recent high hopes for housing for residents. The Salvation Army Director has stated that they intend to have zero residents going to congregate shelters, and the City seems to be hopeful for the same…

We are not there yet!!! There are over ten residents who still have unclear outcomes and need to find safe, sanitary housing that meets their needs before Aloft officially closes on April 27th. Ultimately these residents need commitment from the City to secure appropriate housing before the end of the month, along with our continued advocacy and support as their neighbors and community.

100% of the funding donated here will be put towards supporting residents during this stressful time, and its specific uses will be dependent on the City's decision to step up to the plate.

We DO NOT want to have to use this money for long-term hotel stays, much less camping supplies like tents. We DO want it for moving support, very temporary hotel stay while plans are being arranged, food support in hotels, transportation, short-term storage, etc. No matter what the outcome will be, we will be sure that the residents know the community is actively there for them and hears their pleas for help in such a critical time.

This fundraiser will send funds to our fiscal sponsor Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) to be transferred to HAND for the resident support. More information about WRAP: it was created to expose and eliminate the root causes of civil and human rights abuses of people experiencing poverty and homelessness in our communities.

Please stay connected with HAND for other Action Items to support this community!

On September 16th, the largest protective action hotel in Denver, the Quality Inn, will be closed prematurely in efforts to "stagger" hotel closings before winter. These had been opened during the coronavirus pandemic to protect Denver's most vulnerable people - the elderly, disabled, those with chronic serious illness. A few weeks ago, Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND) surveyed 39 hotel residents and found that 12.7% had housing lined up - a number comparable to the City's data of 13.1%, or only 20 residents. Then we found out only 13 people were being moved to other protective action hotels - the remaining 120 were expected to go to the streets or shelters, despite still being at high risk due to their conditions. To make things worse, couples who have been married for years are being told to go to separate facilities, and those with pets must get rid of them. Now that the arbitrary closing date is upon is, the City and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless have refused to collaborate with residents to offer them the support needed. The responsibility has now fallen to us, the people, to be there for our most vulnerable neighbors.

Here's what some residents have shared about the situation:

Residents have shared with HAND several items that we are asking the community to unite over and make possible:

Please support your unhoused neighbors in their great time of need by offering what you can to make these items possible. You can also reach out to HAND to find more ways to support this week at www.housekeysactionnetwork.com

Donations from GoFundMe will be sent to Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), which is HAND's fiscal sponsor offering tax deductible status. All donated funds will then be directed to HAND to support the direct needs of residents. WRAP was created to expose and eliminate the root causes of civil and human rights abuses of people experiencing poverty and houselessness in our communities.