It’s Shangri-La to get down and out.
A decorated, open-air store for the homeless that also rents out tents for prostitution has popped up in downtown Denver, according to police.
Pop-up speakeasies — featuring lounge chairs, umbrellas and astroturf — have taken over the sidewalks at 23rd Street and Champa Street, which the city’s growing homeless population has turned into encampments.
A roadside bar is reportedly popping up in a Denver homeless encampment. CBS
“We heard there were open bars, alcohol sales, things like that,” Denver Police Patrol Division Chief Aaron Sanchez told CBS Colorado while inspecting the tent city saloon Monday. “We have officers investigating the matter.”
City officials have received “numerous complaints” about encampments blocking sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to walk across the street to cross the block.
One of the tents appears to have been converted into a speakeasy, complete with various sofas, rugs and tables.
Police are investigating reports that alcohol was being sold to homeless people at a makeshift bar.CBS
This saloon runs at 23rd Street and Champa Street in downtown Denver.CBS
The place was littered with dozens of liquor bottles – all empty and proudly displayed on wardrobes and bookcases when the police rolled in earlier this week.
There have been complaints that couches in roadside bars and surrounding tents are being rented out for prostitution, Sanchez said.
Meghan Shay, an executive at the homeless aid group Step Denver, told CBS she noticed the visible bar herself during one of her morning drives to work.
The tents were reportedly rented out for prostitution, police said.CBS
He said the encampment serving liquor to the homeless would only exacerbate the city’s homeless problem, citing reports that claimed more than 80% of the homeless had experienced alcohol and/or drug problems in their lifetime.
A 2022 report on street deaths shows that drugs and alcohol are responsible for 60% of homeless deaths, Shay said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
