No one asks the obvious question here - Will Bobo take advantage of this new and wonderous "housing" herself? Or does she prefer the role of martyr, forever tooling her house along the mean streets and boulevards of this land and remaining symbolically homeless on behalf of all the winos and meth heads across the USA?
Personally, I think she lives in a nice brick-and-stucco ranch in a suburb on the outskirts of Denver, and all the rest is just an affectation. But whatever.
bobbolink (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 03:22 PM
Original message
Denver's New "Green" Lofts For Homeless People
For all of you talking about taking over old abandoned buildings, and empty homes, this is important to think about, including that is used both public and private funds:
Making Denver's East Colfax Avenue better (but not too much better)
The street's best new designs bring hope, but respect the urban realities
By Ray Mark Rinaldi
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/28/2011 03:28:16 PM MSTUpdated: 01/31/2011 01:50:25 PM MST
(snip)
At Pearl Street, rethinking the affordable. The latest Colorado Coalition for the Homeless project aims to change lives while fitting in. The $17 million building uses the latest green technology.
Lofts for the homeless? Yes, and plenty of windows to let in the light, picturesque views of the cathedral next door, brightly painted hallways, 10-foot ceilings, a shared computer lab and on-site counselors. The roof is covered with energy-converting solar tubes, and hyper-efficient elevators, and mechanical systems keep utility bills low for residents who need that the most.
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the hallways frame views of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception nearby.
The goal is to integrate homeless people into the community and for the building itself to provide a "revitalizing uplift" to the neighborhood, coalition president John Parvensky said. While half of the units will be reserved for coalition clients, the rest will lease to folks who make $35,000 or less a year. Rents will range from $250 to $600 a month
Designed by Humphries Poli Architects, the building links to the sidewalk through five storefronts where retail tenants get a rent discount if they offer jobs or training to residents. Due first: an outlet of the trendy, earth-friendly Pizza Fusion chain.
Design-wise, the building tries to accomplish a lot. On three sides it is a modern loft development, with exterior sections of stucco, corrugated metal and composite siding — an uncomplicated box that adds a touch of this era to a street that has developed in various styles over a century.
Rooftop photovoltaic tubes will generate electricity for the building. The lofts were constructed to current green standards with energy-efficient elevators and appliances.
More at the link, including the new LGBT Center next door
http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_17221050
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1113198So outside of the "green" technology, what makes this different from any other low-to-no-income housing project we see in other cities, and what's to keep it from becoming the same ill-kept, run-down, drug-and-crime-infested-shithole most of them become?
CTyankee (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 03:27 PM
Response to Original message
1. Unbelievable! Something progressive and humane for the poor!
Treating people like human beings!
What a concept!
Subsidized housing! How come no one thought of that before?
bobbolink (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 03:37 PM
Original message
It can be DONE, in hard times, when people think BIG, and are determined.
I hope this lights a few fires around here!
NO to tents.. YES to HOUSING!
When will you be moving in, Bobo?
maryf (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 09:25 PM
Response to Reply #52
61. Needs for all first!
housing, health care, food, water, warmth...recreation even?
Don't forget clothes, appliances, transportation, TV, and internet service. Oh, and sex, too. That's a need. Taxpayer-funded prostitutes for the poor. None of those ugly ones, either. The poor deserve to get laid with goodlooking partners just as much as anyone.
bobbolink (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 10:35 PM
Response to Reply #52
62. "housing should be a human right along with health care. " This is our task now. It MUST be.
While I understand why people are saying it, continuing to repeat that homeless people should be in the empty houses really isn't an answer. As a matter of fact, it puts us further behind.
Those homes, abandoned or not, have OWNERS, and trying to change that will waste money time and effort.
On the other hand, working to build nice buildings like this will be a BENEFIT. These apartments will now remain low-income, and this can be done in every locale if progressives care enough to make it a priority.
That's right, the poor don't want that used shit. Set them up in something new or forget it. I'll bet every dollar spent on free housing will bring a $1.81 back into the community, too.
Are you moving in there, Bobo?
ceile (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 03:34 PM
Response to Original message
5. Incredible!
Wonderful concept- living, jobs and counseling all in one place.
Uh-oh. You said a bad word.
bobbolink (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 05:22 PM
Response to Reply #5
41. For most, the counseling won't be necessary. I hope they aren't hounded.
It is downtown, so there are jobs in that area. It was a good way to spark up an old neighborhood, and create low-income housing and please environmentalists, all at one time!
Are you moving in there, Bobo?
eridani (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 09:10 PM
Response to Reply #41
56. Agreed. Seems to me that it's more likely that homeless people with mental problems--
--have those problems BECAUSE homelessness can drive people crazy. Fix the homelessness, and sanity returns. Those who have mental health issues that cause homelessness are a minority, I suspect.
You said a bad word, too.
bobbolink (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 09:13 PM
Response to Reply #56
57. "mental health issues that cause homelessness are a minority, I suspect." NONE of it CAUSES
homelessness. THere are plenty of seriously mentally ill people who are NOT homeless.... the difference is MONEY.
As for the other side.... yes, you are right.. it is a minority.
Sixteen percent. 16%.
Yet, people want to keep equating homelessness with mental illness. Everytime Thom Hartmann does that, I want to throw something at the radio! Get. Educated. Thom!
Bullshit. If you're so dysfunctional from untreated mental illness that you can't hold down a job and have no other income then that is definitely homelessness caused by mental illness. I'll bet Bobo The DUmbass doesn't even realize that, by being in such vehement denial, she's perpetuating the same stigma attached to mental illness that people have worked for decades to erase.
Are you moving in there, Bobo?
leftstreet (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 04:00 PM
Response to Original message
18. "on-site counselors" is that subsidized? private for profit?
Do you know?
bobbolink (1000+ posts) Mon May-16-11 04:02 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. THAT is the part I don't like. It bolsters the idea that homeless people are "Flawed" and need to
be fixed.
MYTH. And one that hurts.
According to the article, it is a mixture.
Here's a newsflash, sweetie: Everyone is flawed because we are human beings. The differences are merely matters of degree, and some people are indeed homeless because of their personal flaws. Heaven forbid they should admit that and get some help for it, though.
Oh BTW, are you moving in there, Bobo?
