COMMUNITY PROFILE BACK ON THE STREETS BY BRIAN AUGUSTINE Recently, the rent for Denver VOICE Vendor Brian Augustine went up significantly. No longer able to afford it, Augustine has returned to living on the streets. We asked Augustine to write about his experience and share the experiences of others in similar situations. COURTESY OF @MOUNTAINROOTSFOODPROJECT EVEN THOUGH IT’S A NEW YEAR, I don’t do the traditional resolutions. Instead, I start by going through the past year and thinking about all of the good things that made it survivable. All the good people and happenings that gave me a smile on my face. And I thank them in my mind. Social distancing these past two years during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic gave me the time to reflect, and I’d like to share my thoughts with you: I’ve been in the hospital a few times this past year. The nurses made my stays so much more tolerable than I ever expected. Their smiling faces and professionalism gave me a sense that they care about me. These people who went through a sort of war during the pandemic are the true heroes in our world. The smiles from friends that see me on the corner, when I’m vending the Denver VOICE, truly make my days great. I can’t believe that I have a job that makes me so happy. It is the people I keep a smile on my face and a positive attitude for because everyone deserves to have a wonderful day. THE FRIENDS WHO’VE MADE A DIFFERENCE Jeff McBride has been a friend from my start with the Denver VOICE street paper. The rest of his family became friends as I met them. Jeff’s daughter Katherine McBride started a GoFundMe page to keep me housed through the winter, but that has unfortunately stalled out. The staff and vendors at the Denver VOICE who care about me so much. During the peak of the pandemic, they created a Venmo account, so no cash is needed to get your papers. It has been a Godsend for all of us vendors. Now, about my newest friend, 18-month-old Lou. She started the summer staring at me every Sunday at the South Pearl Street Farmers Market. Then, one day she told me her name. Her vocabulary grew every week. She was always glad to see me. She made me feel special. So many people made my life so fantastic this year - more than could fit in this three different issues of the VOICE. But, know that I’m thinking of you. I developed a lot of health issues over the past year, but I keep fighting because of you. THANK YOU, ALWAYS!!! ■ COURTESY OF @MOUNTAINROOTSFOODPROJECT Because they had so many volunteers, they were able to drop off 200 double boxes of food for Thanksgiving. “Every box includes a small turkey or a whole roasted chicken, plus another stash of vegetables to get them through the next couple of weeks,” Conn said. Mountain Roots’ work doesn’t end there, though. They also have their Backyard Harvest Program, which is a food relief and rescue program. The organization works with a select list of 100 referred households that are in need for a variety of reasons — not just those with low incomes. For example, women living in shelters to escape domestic violence. According to Conn, this approach is different than other charity efforts because it’s an effort to address the immediate needs of food and security. For anyone interested, the organization always needs volunteers. As Conn explained, “We need people on Mondays to help assemble boxes, and on Tuesdays, we need people to help deliver.” They also need volunteers for their four-week cooking class — which is made up entirely of volunteers — and for the community garden, which runs from May through October. ■ BRIAN AUGUSTINE. CREDIT: ELISABETH MONAGHAN January 2023 DENVER VOICE 11
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