LOCAL STORY “I would have one couple in my van for a number of hours, trying to find them a new place to set up their camp,” Wiederholt explained. “That was my chance to get to know them. You know their life, how they got homeless and what their immediate needs are. I was very humbled, and realized truly who our unhoused neighbors were.” A Buddhist nun and member of the Kadampa Meditation Center of Denver, Kilsang virya, came to Denver initially to help care for her granddaughter, now eight years old. Kelsing also got involved with the Wall of Moms and made connections with the community that was built around the protests. She watched as the increase in the unhoused population led to as many as three or four sweeps per week upon homeless encampments. Horrified at the city’s police brutality and treatment of the unhoused, she began showing up to sweeps at the crack of dawn, moving folks to safety in her van. Along with a large contingent of supporters, she has been showing up to offer support since the summer of 2020. EVOLUTION OF MUTUAL AID MONDAY The original Wall of Moms has grown into a sizable civic support system. Mutual Aid Monday spun off when the group showed up for Denver City Council meetings on Mondays, where the Moms voiced their concerns with Denver’s treatment of its unhoused. In early November 2020, they began feeding the folks in Civic Center Park. They brought clothing and built carts, heaters, and eventually swamp coolers. They brought personal care items, backpacks, tarps, and tents. Kelsing, along with many others, now spends her Sundays baking sweetbreads and cooking enormous pots of nourishing food to serve on Monday afternoons. Over the last year, Mutual Aid Monday has blossomed into its own universe of community support for the unhoused. Members still speak to the City Council about conditions on the street. The volunteer food line serves home-cooked meals to up to 200 folks in one afternoon. Blaire Sagan, master of a mean buzzcut, sets up a haircut stand weekly. An acupuncture clinic called Natural Highs offers trauma treatments. Massage and beauty treatments are offered on spa days, complete with facials and a rainbow of nail polish choices. CREDIT: PAULA BARD Four vaccine clinics have been offered this summer in collaboration with the Denver Department of Public Health. The Harm Reduction Center has collaborated with mutual aid volunteers on NARCAN training to support the crises of overdoses. Carol Funk reliably sets up her COVID testing tent every week. Nurse-Family Partnership has recently gotten involved, offering support to those who are pregnant. Recently, the mutual aid groups introduced the game of chess and began hosting epic poetry readings. They also started offering workshops for those in need of an ID or who wish to receive their GED. The cart builders have grown into a separate organization, aptly named Scrap Works. By nature, mutual aid groups provide a place for citizens to step up and offer what they can and what is needed. “I guess, like a lot of folks, I just trusted that our elected officials were doing the right thing.” – Jess Wiederholt Citizens know best what their neighbors need, and they reach out with solidarity, not charity. Mutual aid groups have been springing to life all over the country since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Kelsing and Wiederholt, linchpins of Mutual Aid Monday, hold the view that the community is fully capable and will offer what is needed. They have made ample room for the community, and the community is energetically stepping up. ■ CREDIT: PAULA BARD CREDIT: PAULA BARD October 2021 DENVER VOICE 9
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