Activist for the homeless Regan Benson unofficially ended her “retirement” from homeless outreach Saturday night as she live streamed for three and a half hours from the Denver, Colorado, area as she and sidekick MJ did homeless outreach.
Describing their activities as part of MJ’s community service, which she is doing through Benson’s Helping Hands for Dignity organization, the pair offered updates on various Benson-related issues while attempting to find and help homeless people who were on the street during the expected extreme cold wave moving through the area.
Benson updated the case of Robert, a homeless man who was the subject of her previous live stream. The YouTuber indicated that she is now housing him in a motel, and he is currently suffering from frostbite on one of his legs. The frostbite, as explained by Benson, is what had prevented him from accepting offers to go to a shelter, as he lacked the mobility to move on his own.
Criticizing Englewood, Colorado, police for citing Robert for urinating in public during her last broadcast, Benson claimed that the police made up the urination charge in attempt to harass Robert because she was attempting to help him.
MJ accused the City of Englewood of engaging in “population control” as Benson described the lack of a plan for the extreme cold by the city. MJ said that she felt that the city wanted to “kill” as many homeless as possible during the cold wave.
During the live stream, Benson observed as an Englewood police officer attempted to get shelter for two homeless people he encountered. Benson at one point claimed that the police were acting because she was observing their actions, and they would stop after she gave up for the night.
Benson ended the broadcast by stating her retirement was over due to her encounter with Robert earlier in the week. She pledged that Robert was now her project and would be seeking donations for Robert’s continued housing past the week she has paid for.
Denver’s cold snap, with windchills on Saturday reaching -30F, is expected to continue until the middle of next week.
