Aurora , Colorado, is one step closer to taking a “tough love” approach to its homeless problem , penalizing anyone caught camping along a busy corridor and creating a new court tasked with doling out punishments to rule breakers.
The pair of proposals, backed by Republican Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmembers Steve Sundberg and Curtis Gardner, moved forward Monday night with unanimous council support, the Denver Gazette reported .
The first would put the entire Interstate 225 corridor under a “new trespass ordinance” where anyone caught setting up a tent or sleeping there would be ticketed and given a court date.
“This is a tough love approach,” Coffman said. “We currently have outreach teams that go out every single week and offer services, and we get very few takers, so this makes it in this area, which I believe in the center of gravity for unsheltered homelessness, to where it’s no longer a choice.”
The second proposal would create a new specialized court called “H.E.A.R.T,” Housing, Employment, Addiction, Recovery, and Teamwork, that would only deal with low-level offenses committed by homeless people and includes crimes like retail theft, drug possession, and violating the trespass ordinance. The court would have the authority to require offenders put on probation to enroll in addiction recovery programs, seek mental health treatment, or get job training.