PAGE TITLE people vulnerable to attack. We have to do away with the card limits.” Service providers, who work with the unhoused, are not currently set up to organize or provide banking services for the participants. Those living on the streets are very vulnerable to crime, particularly theft; they have no way to protect themselves. Paul Walls, 55, has been unhoused on and off in Denver’s streets for years. Recruited for the project in June, he is part of group B and received the large initial cash payment followed by monthly payments. His bank card has been stolen twice. Walls is a natural leader and identifies so strongly with his community that the money he has received has gone largely toward helping fellow community members who are coping with desperate needs and various health crises. For those living on the streets, community is survival. “It’s not about me, it’s about us,” Walls says. He goes on, “Out here if you put yourself above others, you separate yourself.” ATTEMPT AT RECONCILIATION “I think if we had just sat down and worked together, we could have easily resolved the challenges,” Donovan says in hindsight. “I should have tripled down on building the coalition relationships.” “If you bring in groups with such a different perspective on life, in a project like this, there should be some kind of mediation process when you have conflict,” says Cornelius. The Conflict Center was involved, but according to Cornelius, they were not used effectively, and differing points of view were not valued equally. She did not feel a spirit of cooperation and did not think that the community she represented, the unhoused themselves, was heard sufficiently. So, the group brought in an organizational consultant. Donovan, however, is conflicted about delaying the project to reach consensus within the group. “And so, which is the right move?” Donovan reflects, “I don’t know.” ROLLING FORWARD “We’re going to move forward,” Donovan stated. “The work is super important.” Regarding the potential absence of DHOL, he says, “It won’t be as strong as it would be if they were involved. But it’s still going to be hugely impactful, and we have tons of great partners who have been working in this space for decades and are hugely committed.” Cornelius believes the timeline should be slowed down. “I think that because the pilot is already in progress,” she says. “They should run the pilot, learn lessons from the pilot before they go into a full program. Gaining knowledge would make more sense to me. That gives them time to really assess.” Despite the conflict, the Denver Basic Income Project plans to add more people in the coming months. “We probably won’t be ready by January but will have a better idea by the end of November,” says Donovan, “Our selection committee chose 15 partner organizations, plus backups from the applicant pool. We have not yet publicly announced the partners but are working with them to prepare for the launch.” NEXT To move forward, they will need to place value on all the voices brought to the table and build crucial relationships. This involves listening with patience and learning from diverse experiences. Sometimes “start-up culture” has to slow down and learn from the wealth of experience on the ground. If this project moves forward while building bridges, it could very well have an enormously positive impact on some of the most vulnerable in Denver’s unhoused community. ■ WRITING THROUGH HARD TIMES COURTESY OF DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY AND LIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP SHALEEN VANESE FIGUEROA KEYS Houselessness tends to be an event that rocks your world, And your senses. It’s how I figured out that the “rod of poverty” spares noone. “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Just for a sec, Imagine how close to home, being housless, actually is. As close as a COVID-19 diagnosis, a coupled death, or accompanying vaccine. “Then, I became a man, I put away childish things.” It’s a full time job, with “childlabor-like” daily pay. A lot of hustle: Bustle, grappling, sacrifice, and suffering. It has plagued my life, since approximately: 1996. I ran away from home. It’s almost like taking breath, Living life, and/or, just chillaxin, up in “The River Stixx”, And with DEATH, just knocking at your door. Can the intricate, delicate daily tasks of life ever become a bore ‘Lenore? forevermore. forevermore. MICHAEL SINDLER HARD TIMES LIMERICKS Once Jane and Simone and Dan Came up with a wonderful plan To help those in hard times Heal through prose and rhymes Now CAN’T has been changed to CAN The group became a family Where participants felt safe and free To share with trust and with pride What they felt deep inside In a spirit of camaraderie They crafted literary gems Even published many of them Who would have guessed That they’d be so blessed With Hard Times as their eponym? Now a new crop of facilitators and a growing family of creators keep writing and sharing and giving and caring each week it gets greater and greater The Hard Times Writing Workshop is a collaboration between Denver Public Library and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. It’s open to all members of the public, especially those experiencing homelessness. Each month, the Denver VOICE publishes a selection of writing from these workshops. Virtual workshops: lighthousewriters.org/workshop/denver-public-library-hard-times More writing by these featured poets: writedenver.org November 2021 DENVER VOICE 11
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