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Denver's Homeless Provided Options During DNC
Section: Denver 2008 DNC Convention Section
Written by Paul Day

DENVER (CBS4) ― Denver's homeless population will have options to staying on the street during the Democratic National Convention.

"If they don't want to get caught up in the protests or demonstrations, we'll find other activities that will keep them busy," said John Parvensky, President of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

A plan has been developed to provide interested homeless people with free access to cultural activities. They include the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and they won't have to worry about paying for transportation."We'll have bus tokens if they need them," Parvensky said.

Also five, big screen TVs are being donated to a teen day shelter. One hope is to engage some of the homeless children in the political process by allowing them to see convention unfold on television. But another purpose is to draw them away from the streets while the Convention is underway.

Chad is a disheveled young man who recently arrived from Indiana. He was panhandling Wednesday at a busy street corner just a couple blocks from the Pepsi Center where the delegates will gather. Panhandling is legal in Denver but the panhandler can't be aggressive. Nobody had given him any money by noon and Chad told CBS4 he hopes the convention will increase donations.

"There sure is a lot of homeless that I've seen," Chad said.

Right now Denver's homeless population is estimated at 3,900 people.

Parevensky said nobody knows how the convention will impact Denver's homeless population. He thinks some participants may arrive in town without reservations and will discover they can't get a hotel room. Others who come "don't mind where they end up staying and maybe think they'll be able to camp out." They won't.

The plan for the homeless during the convention is being developed by Denver Department of Human Services, Denver Police Department and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.