I don’t know a lot of details about this situation. But apparently the mayor’s conclusion after doing this is that staying at a camp is a lifestyle choice versus going to a shelter.
I guess that’s true if you are willing to: lose all your belongings. Leave your dog unattended in the freezing cold. Leave your spouse. Often be subjected to someone else’s religion. Be humiliated. Be stuffed in a building with tons of other people during a pandemic. Be robbed. Be abused. Then yes. Not going into a shelter is a “lifestyle choice.”
“When I said it was a choice, people got very offended,” Coffman said. “But it is a choice to be in the encampment, and not in the shelter.” On Thursday, more than a dozen elected officials and homeless advocates held a virtual press conference, criticizing Coffman’s comments. “I think it’s immoral and disgusting,” said Englewood Council Member John Stone. “I think he should issue a formal, public apology for it.”