$ 2 SUGGESTED DONATION @DenverVOICE ADAPTING ADAPT TE CHANGE, THE INUIT MUST ADAPT ONCE AGAIN. PAGE 6 WHAT POVERTY DOES TO CHILDREN A CHILDHOOD OF POVERTY CAN SHAPE PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. PAGE 8 A VOICE FOR THE HOMELESS: INSPIRED BY HIS LIVED EXPERIENCE AND ENCOUNTERS WITH HOMELESS DURING THE PEAK OF THE PANDEMIC, ERIC PROTEIN MOSELEY CREATES AN UNFORGETTABLE DOCUMENTARY. PAGE 5 VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY PAGES 3, 4, 11, 12 EVENTS / PUZZLES PAGE 13 RESOURCES PAGE 15 NOVEMBER 2022 | Vol.27 Issue 11 SINCE 1997, WE HAVE PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO WORK. DONATE TODAY TO ENSURE OUR VENDORS CONTINUE TO HAVE JOBS. (DENVERVOICE.ORG) REMEMBERING VICTOR BOWIE FROM YOUR VENDOR: REUTERS/MELISSA RENWICK
EDITOR’S NOTE ELISABETH MONAGHAN MANAGING EDITOR WITH THE ARRIVAL OF NOVEMBER comes the holiday season, and many folks are working on their lists of what gifts they’d like to receive for Christmas, Hanukkah, or whichever holiday they celebrate. Meanwhile, instead of listing presents they’d like to receive, individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty are hoping they can find what they need — even if it’s someone else’s discards. We post our Wish List in every issue of the VOICE, but donated clothes or personal items — like toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap/body wash, and feminine hygiene products — go fast. So, if you happen to be cleaning out closets or are getting rid of any sample-sized toiletries, I hope you will consider putting them aside for Denver VOICE vendors or anyone in need. For those who have come by our office to drop off clothing or toiletries, I wish you could see the vendors’ reactions to your generosity. It never gets old watching someone’s face light up, when a donated coat or pair of shoes fits them. Suddenly, the concerning hole in their boots or the tattered jacket that no longer keeps them warm, is no longer an issue. Thank you, Denver VOICE Readers and Supporters, for your kindness. Your thoughtfulness really does make a difference. Note: If you have any of these items or cold weather wear and would like to donate them to the VOICE, you can call our office between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday, or leave a message. One of our staff members will be happy to coordinate a time that works for you to drop them off. ■ ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Nikki Lawson MANAGING EDITOR Elisabeth Monaghan THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS BRIAN AUGUSTINE has been a Denver VOICE vendor for12 years and is happy to have an opportunity to share his experiences in his “Back to the Streets” column for the VOICE. ASHTON BROWN graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in convergent journalism and a minor in cinema studies. She and her fiance currently live with their two cats in Lakewood. WHAT WE DO The Denver VOICE empowers homeless, impoverished, and transient individuals by creating job opportunities through our vendor program. We give our vendors a job and help them tell their stories; this creates a space for them to be part of a community again. Vendors purchase copies of the VOICE for 50 cents each at our distribution center. This money pays for a portion of our production costs. Vendors can buy as many papers as they want; they then sell those papers to the public for a suggested $2 donation. The difference in cost ($1.50) is theirs to keep. WHO WE ARE The Denver VOICE is a nonprofit that publishes a monthly street newspaper. Our vendors are men and women in the Denver metro area experiencing homelessness and poverty. Since 2007, we have put more than 4,600 vendors to work. Our mission is to facilitate a dialogue addressing the roots of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer economic, educational, and empowerment opportunities for the impoverished community. We are an award-winning publication, a member of the International Network of Street Papers and the Colorado Press Association, and we abide by the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT editor@denvervoice.org VENDOR PROGRAM program@denvervoice.org • (720) 320-2155 ADVERTISING ads@denvervoice.org MAILING ADDRESS PO Box 1931, Denver CO 80201 VENDOR OFFICE 989 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204 With the money they make selling the VOICE, vendors are able to pay for their basic needs. Our program provides vendors with an immediate income and a support group of dedicated staff members and volunteers. Vendors are independent contractors who receive no base pay. OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. Orientation is held every day we are open, but prospective vendors must arrive by 10:00 a.m. GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hannah Bragg VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Aaron Sullivan Laura Wing ARTISTS/PHOTOGRAPHERS Gigi Galen WRITERS Brian Augustine Ashton Brown Rea Brown Raelene Johnson Jerry Rosen Rodney Woolfolk BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chris Boulanger, President Jeff Cuneo, Treasurer Zephyr Wilkins, Secretary Donovan Cordova Raelene Johnson Julia Watson Cabal Yarne DENVERVOICE.ORG CE.ORG @deeOCE 2 DENVER VOICE November 2022 STAFF CONTRIBUTORS BOARD CONTACT US
VENDOR MEMORIAL A TRIBUTE TO VICTOR BOWIE BY BRIAN AUGUSTINE AND BELINDA BOWIE Recently, the Denver VOICE community lost one of its treasured members, Vendor # 107 Victor Bowie. The following is a tribute VOICE Vendor Brian Augustine wrote for Victor, followed by thoughts Belinda Bowie shared on Victor and his love for the Denver VOICE. FROM BRIAN AUGUSTINE Victor Bowie’s greatest joy was vending the Denver VOICE. He was always excited when the newest issue came out. He was also a big supporter of his fellow vendors. He was happy whenever a vendor had a story, drawing, or photo published in the issue because they were putting themselves out there. If a vendor needed papers and didn’t have the money to purchase them, Victor lent them the cash. He told me once he never worried about being paid back because he knew they wouldn’t ask for another loan until they’d repaid the debt. It wasn’t about a borrower feeling guilty about asking for another loan, but rather, a sense of obligation to Victor and his generosity. Victor was a friend to everyone he met, and his death leaves a hole in our world that no one else can ever fill. Thank you, God, for loaning him to us. FROM BELINDA BOWIE “Victor could have become a paralegal, he was so smart. When he came into my life, I was facing possible jail time for PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DENVER VOICE The Denver VOICE family extends its condolences to Belinda, Makiya, and all of the others who loved him and whose lives he touched. ■ something, but he stepped in on my behalf. He went up to that courthouse and told the judge, ‘I’ll help her out. I’ll take responsibility. You don’t have to worry about her. I’ll get her on the right track.’” Shortly after that, Belinda learned about the Denver VOICE. “In 2008, I became a vendor. Uncle Jerome (Cotton) told me about the VOICE and showed me how to vend, and then, I showed Victor how to vend. Then, we showed Uncle Johnny (John Alexander).” For the first four years, Victor and Belinda were just good friends, but after a brief stay in Mississippi, the two went to Georgia, and that’s when they started dating. “After Georgia, we went to Kansas, where I met Victor’s daughter Makiya along with Victor’s brothers and sisters. After that, when we moved back to Denver. Makiya wanted to come with us, so it was Victor, his little girl, me, and my two girls living together, and that year (2012), we got married.” Describing the things that gave Victor joy, Belinda explained, “He LOVED vending the paper! Victor vended the paper every day. When we went to Kansas, he talked about starting a street paper because he loved vending so much. He also loved his daughter, and he loved me.” HOW TO HELP The money we take in from vendors helps us cover a portion of our printing costs, but we depend largely on donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations to help us pay our rent and keep the lights on. 1 4 GET THE WORD OUT We rely on grassroots marketing to get the word out about what we do. Talk to people about our organization and share us with your network. Support us on DONATE Donations to the Denver VOICE are tax-deductible. Go to denvervoice.org to give a one-time or recurring donation. You can also mail a check to: Denver VOICE | P.O. Box 193 | Denver, CO 80201 3 VOLUNTEER We need volunteers to help with everything from newspaper distribution to event planning and management. Contact program@denvervoice.org for volunteering information. 5 SUBSCRIBE If you are unable to regularly purchase a newspaper from our vendors, please consider a subscription. We ask subscribers to support our program with a 12-month pledge to give $10 a month, or a one-time donation of $120. Subscriptions help us cover our costs AND provide an amazing opportunity to those who need it most. Go to denvervoice.org/subscriptions for more information. @denverVOICE 2 ADVERTISE Our readership is loyal, well-educated, and socially concerned. Readers view purchasing the paper as a way to immediately help a person who is poor or homeless while supporting long-term solutions to end poverty. If you are interested in placing an ad or sponsoring a section of the paper, please contact us about rates at ads@denvervoice.org. November 2022 DENVER VOICE 3
AUTUMN WISH LIST Now that the temperatures are colder, we have updated our list. NEW ITEMS NEEDED: Socks Sunscreen, toiletries (individual or travel-size) Toothpaste, deodorant, chapstick Bottled water GENTLY-USED ITEMS NEEDED: Men’s shoes or boots (sizes 8-12) Men’s jackets/shorts (sizes L, XL, XXL) Women’s jackets/shorts (sizes M, L, XL) Backpacks Carrier bags USB-C charging cables ASK A VENDOR THIS COLUMN IS A PLACE FOR DENVER VOICE VENDORS TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS AND STAFF. THIS MONTH’S QUESTION WAS SUGGESTED BY VOICE VENDOR RAELENE JOHNSON. Q Which athlete on one of the Denver teams would you invite to Thanksgiving dinner, and why? A BRIAN AUGUSTINE I’d invite Bradley Chubb. I’ve watched him in interviews, and I like his personality. Also, he is a big man, so Thanksgiving for him must a fantastic affair. We could watch some football and talk about the charities that are close to both of our hearts. I would really like to see if we could be friends. REA BROWN Of all the people I could choose from, Kanye West, Dwight Howard or D Rose, etc. It would be nice, I suppose, to devour even cold, especially if it snowed in the flesh, not as a ghost. Mohammad Ali and Floyd (MONEY) Mayweather, just to hear Champions talk together (R.I.P. Ali) so, probably, Floyd and Mike, I pray they don’t fight over broccoli. JERRY ROSEN I would invite the Denver Nuggets for Thanksgiving, as they do such a good job, and they work really hard. RODNEY K. WOOLFOLK I’d invite Russell Wilson, Bronco’s quarterback, to talk about his Grammy Award and discuss game strategies, and whether he thinks we can make the playoffs. (I’d also invite Wilson’s gorgeous wife Ciarra!!!) DENVERVOICE.ORG/VENDOR-NEEDS Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. or schedule a drop-off by emailing program@denvervoice.org. 4 DENVER VOICE November 2022 What do YOU want to ask? If you have a question or issue you would like vendors to discuss, please email community@denvervoice.org.
COMMUNITY PROFILE DOCUMENTARY REVEALS THE HOMELESS EXPERIENCE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC BY ASHTON BROWN ERIC PROTEIN MOSELEY, the director of the documentary “Homeless Coronavirus Outreach,” knows the struggle of homelessness all too well. Moseley was raised by a single parent in Detroit, Mich. He joined a gang, started experimenting with drugs, took up gambling, and dropped out of school — all before the 10th grade. Moseley’s downward spiral continued until he ended up a single father, who was responsible for raising his young daughter. During this time, he developed a crack cocaine addiction and was homeless. He also traveled across the country with his daughter. After a near overdose, Moseley overcame his addiction. He has been sober since 2001 and is a devout Christian. “It was by the grace of God I was able to come out of that,” Moseley said. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moseley traveled to San Francisco, where he met with people experiencing homelessness. He wasn’t that surprised to learn that five out of 10 of those with whom he spoke hadn’t even heard of the virus. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak, a significant number of individuals experienced job loss and were unable to find affordable housing, leaving many of them unhoused. Seeing how people experiencing homelessness were treated during the early days of the pandemic inspired Moseley to produce “Homeless Coronavirus Outreach.” “Nobody even speaks to homeless people. Nobody cares, basically. There’s no channel that gives those experiencing homelessness an opportunity to tell their side of the story, so that’s what I did,” said Moseley. Based on his experience, Moseley believes there are three different types of homeless: upper, middle, and lower. According to Moseley, upper homeless are people trying their hardest to make it back into society. They usually can keep a somewhat stable job. The lower homeless are individuals who have accepted their situation and are actively living on the streets. They also may have a drug habit. The middle homeless are those who are trying not to fall into the lower homeless but are struggling too much to be in the upper. “I believe that the underprivileged communities are more valuable to those experimenting with a controlled substance than others,” Moseley said. Moseley also recognizes that people can have the best neighborhood, and still, addiction can find them. “While being homeless, it can be near impossible to juggle more than one thing,” he said. Moseley believes that about 75% of people experiencing homelessness suffer from some sort of addiction. “When you get caught up in that, you don’t want to deal with your regular problems because you’re trying to take care of the drug addiction; it’s just like a hamster on a wheel. You’re not getting anywhere,” he said. Moseley feels one way to reach out to an ignored community is to simply learn about them. “Learn how to speak urban language. Learn how to speak how the people on the streets talk and learn how they think,” he said. This approach bridges the divide between individuals and makes them feel heard. According to Moseley, as long as a profit is being made [by private companies such as homeless shelters], politicians will continue to look the other way, and a true solution to homelessness will never be reached. Moseley continues to travel around the country and is in the process of making his next social impact documentary. Denver Community Media is currently airing the 29-minute documentary “Homeless Coronavirus Outreach” on community access channels. It is also available for free on YouTube.■ teaching and live in the best PHOTO: COURTESY OF ERIC PROTEIN MOSELEY IMAGE: D-WORD.COM November 2022 DENVER VOICE 5
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE nearly four times as fast as the global average between 1979 and 2021 – far faster than the two or three times the global average usually cited. Separate modeling by experts in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States shows that as soon as 2035, Arctic sea ice might drop below 1 million square kilometers during the summer. Scientists recorded this year’s sea ice minimum on 18 September, which was tied for the tenth lowest on record. The Inuit are practical when it comes to new technology. They use GPS but still teach their children how the prevailing winds cause the snowbanks to lean and point the way home if the device’s batteries die. Skidoos, also known as snowmobiles, have mostly replaced dog sleds and have compressed week-long hunts into day trips. Rifles have replaced harpoons. SmartICE is another tool. And so, with a black-and-red Skidoo, a rifle, and an electromagnetic sensor, Holwell offers a vision of survival that joins the old and the new. “We have to adapt to climate change,” he says. “We’re going to need more tools like SmartICE.” REX HOLWELL, 47, RIDES A SKIDOO DURING A WEEKLY SMARTKAMUTIK RUN TOWARDS NAIN BAY, A POPULAR FISHING SPOT FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN NAIN, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, CANADA, APRIL 21, 2022. THE SMARTKAMUTIK USES ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSORS TO MEASURE THE SEA ICE THICKNESS AND GIVE NORTHERN COMMUNITIES REAL-TIME MEASUREMENTS OF SEA THICKNESS ALONG THEIR ICE “HIGHWAYS” THROUGH A WEBSITE, DOWNLOADABLE PHONE APP OR FACEBOOK. “WE’RE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO BE SEEING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE, WE’RE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE LEAST TO DO WITH IT”, SAYS HOLWELL. “WE HAVE TO ADAPT.” REUTERS/MELISSA RENWICK CLIMATE CHANGE MEANS THE INUIT DO WHAT THEY’VE ALWAYS DONE: ADAPT BY MELISSA RENWICK REX HOLWELL HAS SPENT HIS LIFE on the sea ice that forms each winter off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in eastern Canada. Like other Inuit, he learned to hunt seals and fish from his father and other men. They would skim over the sea ice, first on dog sleds and then, by the time Holwell started accompanying them, on gasoline-powered Skidoos. Holwell wants this life – and freedom – for his children. Climate change is about to upend it all. “It’s going to be a loss of culture,” says Holwell. “They’ll identify as Inuit and so will their children, but they won’t have the same experiences.” As droughts last longer and heat waves, flooding, and storms intensify in an ever-warmer world, the Inuit are doing what they have always done: adapt. For the past three years, Holwell, 47, has helped run a sea ice monitoring program for the Inuit. Unlike other climate data efforts, this one is completely focused on the needs of the local community. The program is called SmartICE and pairs traditional Inuit knowledge with data collection buoys and electromagnetic sensors to give northern communities real-time measurements of sea ice thickness along their ice “highways” through a website, downloadable phone app, or Facebook. It highlights areas with thicker ice and those with thinner ice. SmartICE is used by more than 30 Inuit communities. The idea is to use the technology to fill in where climate change has made traditional knowledge less reliable or created conditions the Inuit haven’t faced before. Holwell believes tools like SmartICE can extend the time the Inuit have left on the sea ice before it disappears. A new analysis published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment in August showed that the Arctic warmed FOOD AND FREEDOM If the weather is good, a 19-passenger Twin Otter plane flies to Holwell’s hometown of Nain. No carry-ons are allowed. If a bag weighs more than 50 pounds (23 kilograms), it might be left behind for the next flight, or the flight after that if the planes are overweight. There is no de-icer in Nain - or any of the coastal Inuit communities in Labrador - so the planes are often grounded. An elderly couple who was stuck in Goose Bay in mid-April says the longest they’ve waited for a flight was three weeks. The delays are especially bad in the spring when the fog can be thick and unpredictable, they say. In Nain, cars and trucks sit in front yards mounded with snow, while Skidoos zoom along the slushy streets picking children up from school and bringing adults to work. There is only one hotel in town – the Atsanik Hotel – which is also the only restaurant in town. Toilet paper, which comes in bundles of 30 rolls, costs C$40 ($29). More than Nain itself, it’s the landscape around it that is home, says Jim Anderson. “That’s one thing people don’t understand,” says Anderson, 70. “We get culture shock as soon as we go out. We get lost. (We’re) not used to when you can see all the houses – houses end-on-end with no open spaces.” For C$60 in gas, a hunter can kill a seal and feed a family for three or four days, plus make mittens, boots, and other clothing out of the animal’s skin. Shipping in an equivalent amount of store-bought food costs C$300 and clothing isn’t included. The sea ice makes life more affordable. The sea ice also means freedom. Most people can’t afford a boat so in the summer their world literally shrinks and becomes hostile with bugs. But in winter and spring, when the sea ice is frozen, people can fish, hunt, get wood and visit their cabins. Maria Merkuratsuk, who was raised in a cabin north of Nain, says she feels “tingly” when she is out on the ice. “I feel at peace, I can breathe … if I have a lot on my mind, my body can take over … I (can) just drive and drive and drive and think about things,” she says. Isaac Kohlmeister, one of the last two people in Nain to run a dog sled team, says being out on the ice has helped ground him. “When the dogs are running, you can feel everything,” he said. “You can feel the fish under the ice, even.” The Inuit communities Holwell is working with for SmartICE have started compiling their own lists of Inuktitut 6 DENVER VOICE November 2022
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE words for different types of sea ice. In Nain, they’ve come up with 37, which they plan to publish in a booklet next year. BUOYS AND SLEDS There are two parts to the SmartICE program. The first are 9-foot (2.75-metre) tall “SmartBUOYs” deployed in holes drilled through the sea ice at the beginning of the season and removed at the end of the season. The buoys are filled with thermistors, which can be used to measure temperature and record data at specific locations. The sea ice thickness is calculated from the difference in temperature between the atmosphere, snow, ice, and saltwater. The second part of the program is “SmartKAMUTIK” sleds pulled behind Skidoos. The sled carries a plywood box with an electromagnetic sensor. As the skidoo pulls the sled, the sensor sends out electromagnetic pulses to induce a current and measure the thickness of the snow and ice. Holwell typically makes a SmartKAMUTIK run once a week to check the thickness of Nain’s sea ice “highways.” The technology the Inuit are using is the same as what some climate scientists use, but the questions are different. The scientists are mostly asking system-level questions, like what happens next for the planet; the Inuit have more immediate concerns, like whether they will fall through the ice if they go hunting or to visit friends and relatives. The Inuit need more granular data and sampling locations that might be different from where scientists would choose. But increasingly it’s projects that address both scales of concern that are finding support. Katie Winters, 54, who lives in Nain and helped translate the Inuit land claim agreement in Labrador, says even though the sea ice is thicker this year, it has been one of the worst years for people falling through the ice. She immediately names five people and two Skidoos that have fallen through the ice this year but says there are more. Luckily no one died. A community management committee tells Holwell where the SmartBUOYs should go, and as the temperatures warm in the spring, he uses the SmartKAMUTIK to carefully check locations that are known to be dangerous. Holwell trains anyone who is interested in how to make the SmartKAMUTIK runs and teaches teenagers how to build SmartBUOYs during the summer off-season. The team posts every run on the program’s SIKU website and app, and on Facebook. It’s not clear how much people in the community rely on the data but they “like” and comment on the posts. For people without an internet connection, Holwell prints off maps with ice thickness measurements, and, because everyone hunts, he also marks the maps with symbols where animals were spotted or harvested. PEOPLE DRIVE SKIDOOS TOWARDS PIKALUJAK ROCK (INUKTITUT WORD FOR ICEBERG), A FEW KILOMETRES NORTH OF NAIN, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, CANADA, APRIL 14, 2022. AN INUIT LEGEND SAYS PIKALUJAK WAS FORMED WHEN TWO SHAMANS WERE COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER TO DETERMINE WHO WAS THE STRONGEST, AND ONE OF THEM REVEALED HIS POWER BY TURNING AN ICEBERG INTO AN ISLAND. REUTERS/MELISSA RENWICK SmartICE got C$400,000 ($293,000) in seed funding from the Arctic Inspiration Prize, the biggest annual prize in Canada. It’s won other prizes too and has slowly been gaining international recognition. Holwell’s pride in the project is obvious. “We’re a production facility in Inuit lands, with Inuit people building the technology for other Inuit,” he says. FLATLINE WARM Ask anyone in Nain about the sea ice and they say they’re seeing the effects of climate change firsthand. The sea ice used to be 5-7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 meters) thick, hard and covered with a thick layer of snow. Now it’s 3-4 feet thick and soft, says Ron Webb, 65. The snow is sugary with a glittery coating - “crappy snow,” Webb calls it. The huge blue chunks of multi-year ice that used to float down from the north are gone and summer tides are stronger, he says. Last year, Webb was driving his Skidoo on 3 feet of sea ice. It felt good but he shoved a stick into it just open water. “Years ago, and the stick went through to you wouldn’t have that. That’s kind of scary because even though the thickness is there, the hardness is not,” he says. REX HOLWELL, 47, POSES FOR A PHOTOGRAPH NEAR A SMARTBUOY, IN TAKTOK, NAIN, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, CANADA, APRIL 13, 2022. THE BUOY IS FILLED WITH THERMISTORS, WHICH CAN BE USED TO MEASURE TEMPERATURE AND CALCULATE SEA ICE THICKNESS AS PART OF THE SMARTICE PROGRAM, WHICH GIVES NORTHERN COMMUNITIES REAL-TIME MEASUREMENTS OF SEA THICKNESS ALONG THEIR ICE “HIGHWAYS” THROUGH A WEBSITE, DOWNLOADABLE PHONE APP OR FACEBOOK. “WE HAVE TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE,” HOLWELL SAYS. “WE’RE GOING TO NEED MORE TOOLS LIKE SMARTICE.” REUTERS/MELISSA RENWICK November 2022 DENVER VOICE 7 to check Webb laughs. The Inuit in Nain call themselves “Sikumiut” or “people of the sea ice” but he has started joking that they should make another adaptation – switch to using hovercraft – to navigate sea ice too dangerous for a Skidoo. Spring is the best time to be out on the sea ice. The days are longer but nights are still cold enough to freeze. In April, for example, temperatures usually drop to minus 10 and minus 15 Celsius (5 to 14 Fahrenheit) overnight – but this year temperatures hovered around zero. “Usually, it’s like a heart monitoring machine – up and down – but it’s been flatline warm the whole month of April,” says Joey Angnatok, a former program coordinator for SmartICE. TEAM CANADA Communities living on freshwater lakes and rivers in northern Canada have begun asking about SmartICE. Holwell says Sami caribou herders and others in Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and England have also asked about the technology. “We’re needed, Team Canada, we’re needed,” says Holwell. Then, like a small-town auctioneer or a politician on a stump speech, he delivers his pitch: “We want Joe in Tuktoyaktuk to be a SmartICE champion.” A little later he heads out on his Skidoo, flying across the sea ice like a giant tundra bumblebee in the brief sub-Arctic spring – joyful, free, with no question of his place in the world. Opening the throttle, he speeds toward the horizon where the geese and seals are, deeply certain that his tiny Inuit town on the edge of the sea ice matters, and that now the rest of the world knows it too. ■ Courtesy of Reuters / International Network of Street Papers
INTERNATIONAL STORY PHOTO BY BILL WEGENER ON UNSPLASH PHOTO BY SIGMUND ON UNSPLASH WHAT POVERTY DOES TO CHILDREN INTERVIEW BY BENJAMIN BUCHHOLZ A childhood of poverty can shape people throughout their lives, says sociologist Aladin El-Mafaalani. Good schools could help, he says, in a conversation with street paper Hinz&Kunzt. HINZ&KUNZT: Professor El-Mafaalani, how important is it to you to be addressed by your title? ALADIN EL-MAFAALANI: Not important at all. Might that also have something to do with your childhood home - with your social background? My father also has a doctorate, and it’s more important to him than it is to me. He himself comes from a non-academic household, perhaps that is why he insists on having his title everywhere. To what extent does the milieu we grow up in shape our view of the world as adults? It shapes it a lot. People are interested in different things, depending on whether they grow up poor or wealthy. To put it bluntly, those who grow up poor want exactly what they lack: wealth and fame. That’s why any form of recognition and wealth is enormously important to them. For those who grow up with them, they aren’t that important, because they’re taken as given. In your book, Myth of Education, you write that children who grow up in poverty become “insolvency administrators of everyday life”. What do you mean by that? Their daily lives are characterized by a general state of shortage: they have too little money, too little recognition and too few opportunities for recreational activities. In fact, they have too little of everything. Children then develop a shortage management mentality. An insolvency manager must act for the PHOTO BY YARENCI ON UNSPLASH short term, cannot experiment, and must avoid any risk. These patterns of activity are developed by poor children, as well. Can you give a concrete example? If there’s no money, then children have few options for recreational activities. Once they’ve developed a routine that they can to some extent manage, they stick to it almost exclusively. That’s why, in such milieus, there’s sometimes a lot of media consumption or other activities that the children engage in every day. This always becomes clear when you compare them with children who grow up wealthy in the same city: they are often members of two sports clubs and pursue all kinds of activities. Sounds like children are very good at adapting to their circumstances. Why is that still a problem? It’s a super sensible and highly rational form of adaptation to those circumstances. It becomes problematic, for example, because these people tend not to get involved. If I only see meaning in something that’s of immediate and short-term use to me, then I won’t get involved when a citizens’ dialogue takes place in a neighborhood, asking how “we” want to live in 20 years’ time. An abstract “we” and a long time horizon of 20 years require room for manoeuvre—and poor people are usually other-directed by their precarious surrounding 8 DENVER VOICE November 2022
INTERNATIONAL STORY conditions. And then the district gets planned by others. But it is precisely such long-term plans that are decisive. So, poverty as a problem of democracy. Another example: those who grow up poor do not want to change society, but only their place in society. Those who grow up wealthy want to change or at least shape society. That’s why social movements like “Fridays for Future” will always have problems encouraging disadvantaged people to join in. In your book, you anaFFlyze how children from poor families cope at school. The experiences you mention play a role there, too. If you’re always asking yourself what the point of something is and how it can help you, you’ll hardly have any motivation for half of the subjects at school. Traditionally, education in Germany is not supposed to be functional, but an end in itself. It’s a nice ideal, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Instead, children should first be taught to learn something for the sake of learning. To stay with your model: how would that help the children? We see from long-term studies that those investments that are of no immediate benefit are extremely useful to children in the long run. You could say, for example, that learning a musical instrument only makes sense if you want to become a musician. But indirectly, you learn a huge amount that you need for your future life and for success at school. For example? You learn to make an effort, even if only sounds right at the end of a lengthy process. And you learn that you have to practise alone, to be able to make music with others as a team, later on. The learning of a musical instrument is currently distributed extremely unequally in society, depending on how wealthy the parents are. That’s why it would make a great deal of sense for all children at all-day schools in Germany to learn a musical instrument. In Hamburg, depending on the social composition of the parent community, schools receive different amounts of money, for example, for smaller classes or for education specialists. Is that enough to make up for the disadvantages? It definitely makes sense. You have to compensate because, for a variety of reasons, parents aren’t able to support their children in the same way that parents at other schools can. It would also be exceptionally bad if children were experiencing shortages at school, too, and the teachers themselves were behaving like insolvency administrators. Children must be given the opportunity to spend a long time, voluntarily, in a very well-equipped school. In this way, the routine of shortage management can be broken, and that pattern of thinking can be prevented from becoming part of your personality as an adult. Otherwise, you’ll likely be stuck with it for the rest of your life. So the effects of poverty can be mitigated at school. But wouldn’t it make much more sense to remedy shortages among the families and use the money to ease their poverty, instead of investing it in schools? Our society systematically allows child poverty. It doesn’t provoke it, but it does very little to prevent children from growing up in circumstances in which they barely get adequate support. It only steps in if children are already poor and then tries to alleviate the situation somewhat. Of course, it would be best if children didn’t grow up in conditions of structural privation. But that wouldn’t exempt schools from offering something on an all-day basis, because many parents still wouldn’t be able to support their children in the same way. PHOTO BY RENE BERNAL ON UNSPLASH During the pandemic, children from poor families were hit particularly hard by school closures. In compensation, students in Hamburg have had to sit fewer exams for their first and intermediate school-leaving exams in the past two years, to give them more time to catch up. Schools have also been offering voluntary “learning holidays” and other remedial courses. Is that sufficient? There’s no harm in any of that. Whether it’ll have a positive effect remains to be seen, but it certainly isn’t sufficient. All the studies show that not all of the children and young people suffered from the pandemic conditions in the same way. The younger and the more disadvantaged the pupils are, the greater their learning arrears. So they’re the greatest for poor children in primary schools. The pandemic has also resulted in the migration background of children becoming much more important, because they often only learn to speak German outside the home. What happens to these children now? You can’t have all children repeating their classes, as we have neither the teachers nor the rooms for that. Almost all of them will be transferred. The learning arrears are a big problem for them, because in maths lessons, for example, everything is interlinked, and knowledge of past content is assumed. So we will see more and more young people in the 9th and 10th grades who no longer understand anything in maths. This needs to be countered, but it’s far from having happened to any satisfactory degree. If you could choose one measure to combat injustice at school, what would it be? From 2026, the right to an all-day place at primary school will be put into practice. If I could choose just one thing, I would provide primary schools with the means to create extremely good frameworks for all-day teaching—and then successively extend that comprehensive all-day teaching to the higher grades. To iron out disadvantages, treat unequal things unequally, because if you treat everyone equally, you perpetuate the existing inequality. Those who come from unfavourable conditions must, therefore, be given special and targeted support. This can be achieved with wellequipped all-day schools that are able to respond to the children individually. ■ Aladin El-Mafaalani is a sociologist and chair of Pedagogy and Education in Migration Society at the University of Osnabrück. He has published several books on education and migration. In “Myth of Education”, he deals with the problems of the German education system. Further info: www.mafaalani.de Translated from German via Translators without Borders Courtesy of Hinz&Kunzt / International Network of Street Papers DONATE YOUR CAR! Need to get rid of your car, truck, or motorcycle? Consider donating it to Denver VOICE. Call (855) 500-7433, or go to: careasy.org/nonprofi t/denver-voice. Your donation helps Denver VOICE succeed in its mission to provide individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty the chance towards a more stable life. The Denver VOICE empowers homeless, impoverished, and transient individuals by creating job opportunities through our vendor program. We facilitate a dialogue addressing the roots of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer economic, educational, and empowerment opportunities for the impoverished community. VOLUNTEER WITH US! We are looking for volunteers to support our program coordination by helping with paper distribution and basic offi ce administration at the Denver VOICE offi ce (989 Santa Fe Dr.) from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact us at: program@denvervoice.org November 2022 DENVER VOICE 9
INTERNATIONAL STORY THE RICH ASKING TO BE TAXED INTERVIEW BY CARLOTTA BÖTTCHER Millionaire heiress Marlene Engelhorn loudly demands being taxed fairly. Having just published her first book, entitled Money, the super-rich activist lays out her views and encourages people to rethink the role of capital. 20ER: It is often said that “you don’t talk about money; you just have it”. As a millionaire heiress, you surely have plenty of money, and yet, you still choose to talk about it. In fact, you’ve written an entire book on the topic of money. What is your objective? MARLENE ENGELHORN: As a super-rich person, I approach the subject of money from the perspective of a “super-amateur”. People always assume that the richest members of society are savvy when it comes to money. But I’ve never had to worry about money since I’ve always had plenty of it. My question is, what is money when you have so much of it that you no longer need it? And what does it do to me as a person? I would like to ask this question in systemic terms and to uncover the intertwining of the super-rich with society. What does this inter-twining look like? Money often isn’t about coins and notes, but about power relations within relationships. What, after all, is the reason that I want power within a relationship? Obviously, I do not wish to go through the relationship process – in order to do so, I would have to be on equal footing. Power is alluring because it offers shortcuts to results, and money, in societal terms, works the same way: As a relationship-making instrument, designed to yield results without having to go through the process. However, the results I can achieve in this way are not sustainable, because not everybody will be on board with them. In the worst case, such results are like the results of blackmail. What kind of understanding would you like to see instead? Super-rich people need to acknowledge that their money does not justify dominance. And that, without society and its governmental structures, super-rich individuals wouldn’t exist. Because their existence necessitates an entire infrastructure, including traffic networks, the education system, hospitals, the rule of law, and so on and so forth. Without laws, there can be no property, either. It’s a statutory commodity rather than a natural one. It is easy to forget that this kind of infrastructure isn’t to be taken for granted and that receiving it goes hand in hand with social responsibility. How so? Those who have rights also have obligations. If I live within this framework, I need to see eye to eye with others. I cannot claim things for myself that I have no right to. Super-rich people think that they are entitled to special rules, but this has no basis in democratic legitimization. Privileges are prerogatives, and those are unjust. That is why we need rules, in order to ensure that individuals do not abuse their power without the MARLENE ENGELHORN WILL INHERIT AN AMOUNT IN THE DOUBLE-DIGIT MILLIONS. SHE IS PLANNING TO GIVE UP MORE THAN 90% OF IT. CREDIT: ULRICH PALZER. mandate to do so. In terms of money, this is about taxes; we act like taxes on assets are a new invention, but they have existed for millennia. What is new is personal income tax. That hasn’t even been around for 200 years. But in this case, you don’t hear anyone asking, “Is it okay for you if we take this amount of money from you?” It is absurd to apply double standards to wealth and income. In addition to fairer tax policies, there is also talk of a cap on individual wealth. Bertolt Brecht once said: “Were I not poor, you wouldn’t be rich.” It is important to make this connection. We need a counterpart to the poverty line in order to have some kind of spectrum between those two. Otherwise, there is no upwards limit – it’s blurry. We have to draw the line and say beyond this point, wealth is no longer affluence, but a political problem; beyond this point, there is too much power concentrated in the hands of individuals. Wealth ought to be something that arises between those two lines. We aiming not to have identical circumstances, but to establish equal rights and consistent equality in political and legal terms. We tend to understand money as a neutral means of barter, but there is a lot of money that is simply being hoarded and which does not circulate at all. Is our perception of money flawed? Money is not just a means of barter, but also of debt. For instance, I need outside capital in order to be able to expand my business. Then, I work with the money I have borrowed, which I promise to pay back. I don’t exchange any concrete goods in this case, but rather, I place myself in a framework of relationships. That is why we have contracts in such cases; we want something in writing which proves and certifies this relationship. It is important to understand that first, I need the relationship and the framework, within which I then make those exchanges. And what about the money that is being hoarded? Private money is something that occurs when super-rich people funnel money from the financial stream, thereby destroying the whole ‘instrument’ conception of money. Money is then only understood as a means to an end, and thus, the vicious circle of “needing money in order to have money” begins. This kind of egoistical dynamics, when money is being stored somewhere, gives rise to individual superiority. Should we question the whole concept of money as such? I would not wish to see money as an instrument disappear; it is neither good nor bad. It could be a useful tool since it gives expression to how we treat each other within our societies. Also, it is the ultimate means: the only one all of us, worldwide, have been able to agree upon. However, on top of an economic one, we also need a social and political conception of money. If we talk openly about money and recognize the underlying relational dynamics, we will also start handling it differently. Is this possible within our capitalist system? In principle, I am willing to ask questions about our current system, but I do not want to just knock it on the head, either. The legal scholar and author Katharina Pistor calls this “institutional autopsy”. We should always ask ourselves, “What works well and generates wealth, and where are there exploitative structures and unhealthy dependencies?” We ought to view the system as something permanently undergoing change, since that is what people and societies do, too. This is extremely complex, but it is the only way for us to stop thinking in “-isms”. I don’t think it is helpful to debate 10 DENVER VOICE November 2022
INTERNATIONAL STORY whether capitalism is better than socialism. That would give the impression that I have the answer, when, in actual fact, it isn’t really possible to find one definite answer. All we have is the answering process. Recognizing this is very unsatisfactory, but incredibly important. How can we undergo this process as a whole society? We ought to ask who it is that ultimately shapes society. Who has the means to speak? Who is allowed to have discussions? If we keep boiling the same kind of stew, we will always be left with the same results. We need a notion of public life that is not just based on the perspective of the privileged. Ideally, at some point, there will be no need for me to have to say this anymore, either – because my arguments, just like my class, are already well-represented. It is just the fact that I can see through their seeming contradictions that surprises many people. Are you also looking to discuss this issue with other super-rich people? Yes, and they very often react positively. I should not make myself an exception here, as, for a long time, I went about my life wearing the blinkers of privilege. And also, I could have the strongest sense of justice in the world, but it would be no use if I just kept it to myself. Super-rich people have reading groups on Karl Marx, and they know his writings very well. But what exactly does this bring about? I cannot claim to have understood the political fabric of society if I am not prepared to deduce from it a consistent course of action. Only a few super-rich people are as open about their privilege as you are. Why is that? Many of the super-rich people I know fear that going public means giving up all of their privacy. But they underestimate just how visible their privilege is even before they do go public. People will know that I am rich even if I don’t say so myself. The moment I fear being reduced to one of the super-rich, I begin to define myself by my wealth. I have seen super-rich people burst into tears when they thought deeply about the question: “Who really am I without my money?” Let’s suppose that wealth is fairly taxed in the future, and you lose your money. What kind of work could you see yourself doing in ten years’ time? I grew up with a lot of class privilege and I will have it for the rest of my life. But I do not consider myself above work – on the contrary: I think it would be both important and nice for us to eventually develop a notion of work as a means of participating in a society that does not promote power imbalances or systemize exploitation. No wealth could replace that. ■ Translated from German via Translators without Borders Courtesy of 20er / International Network of Street Papers 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. This is the second in a new column he is writing for the VOICE called “Back on the Streets.” GOD CALLS I’m not crazy or a religious nut. I’ve seen so many different reactions when I’ve told people that God was having me go homeless, or that He did this because He needed me to do something for Him. God doesn’t talk to me. Life would be so much easier if He did. But He does push me with situations. I’ve learned to go with Him. Just keep the faith. I’m not crazy. I know if God started telling me to kill someone, that it wouldn’t be God talking. God doesn’t ask us to break his commandments. But, He will ask us to go into situations that we are not comfortable doing. Homelessness is not a choice we would make as a child. MEETING ANGEL The first night I was homeless and back on the streets ended up with me in the hospital visit. (I will write about this later.) I was nervous. I’m sleeping out in the open with drug addicts, alcoholics, and mentally unstable people. A lot of those folks can be a combination of these at the same time. I’m now in a wheelchair, which is hard to keep pushing with my arms. (I now have different ideas of handicapaccessible. Even a one-fourth inch lip on a sidewalk can stop you like you’ve run into a wall.) Anyway, I was sleeping in a doorway, when a schizophrenic woman came up. She asked if she could sit next to me. I had seen her around, and I knew the she needed any sleep she could get. I said yes, even though it could cost me my life if she had an episode. She said her name was Angel. I’m pretty sure that it is. She laid out her blankets. As she covered up. I said, “You can sleep. I’ll guard our things.” I don’t sleep,” she sold me. “I’ll keep watch.” Then, she began arguing with what I gathered were voices inside her head. I listened for a minute before inserting my own voice into the conversation. I explained that I was safe and trustworthy, and that l would respect our friendship. Twenty minutes later, she was snoring heavily. I kept watch all night, and in the morning I repeated her name until she woke up. I told her I was heading out. As I pulled away in my wheelchair, I’m sure I heard her whisper, “Thank you.” Angel found me for four nights in a row after that. Each night, I listened to her argue with herself, as I tried to piece together some of her story. I figured the more I understood about her, the better I would be able to empathize with her. What I learned about her life was heartbreaking. FIRE ON THE 16TH STREET MALL On the fifth night with Angel, we were sleeping under an awning because it was raining. Suddenly, someone broke into one of the kiosks on the 16th Street Mall. The burglar started a fire. Some homeless folks went to see what they could get, while others just ran. Angel made sure I was awake before running away herself. I haven’t seen her since, but I’m sure I will at some point. I called the police. The woman who broke in was arrested. The reason that all of the homeless people in the vicinity ran away is because they knew if they had stayed, they would have been treated badly the officers. And some probably had misdemeanor warrants. ESCAPING THE PAIN: There are three schizophrenic woman I’ve gotten to know. All of them were sexually abused to the point of breaking them. Those voices they hear are their protection against more abuse by a society that doesn’t take the time or the effort to build trust with them. The ones that do drugs do them to escape their pain; not to dull it. That pain is so sharp that just to think about their experiences, makes their wounds open up. Only time and trust can help them back. ■ REMAYR & SCHERIAU: GELD MARLENE ENGELHORN, KREMAYR & SCHERIAU 2022 BRIAN AUGUSTINE. CREDIT: ELISABETH MONAGHAN November 2022 DENVER VOICE 11
IN YOUR OWN WORDS DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT, SELF BY RAELENE JOHNSON, VOICE VENDOR RAELENE JOHNSON. CREDIT: CORTNEY TABERNA GUESS WHAT, SELF? Life is good because we got it together. Life, for many years, was hard because Self couldn’t love Self. Don’t worry about it, Self Don’t worry about what he or she just said to you to try to hurt you. Just let it go. Do not worry about what people think of you, especially when you know they are not saying anything good about you. Let it go. Don’t worry about who likes you or who doesn’t like you. Live your life for yourself, not for others’ approval. Self, you need to love Self, so you will know what to let go of. Do not take on anyone else’s problems. When you know you can’t handle their problems, speak up and say, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you with your problem.” Don’t worry about what others think about you. You have your own life to live. Other people’s opinions of you shouldn’t matter at all. You can’t make everyone happy, so don’t try. Only care, Self, about people you know are truly there for you. Let everyone else go. Self, stop worrying about everything because worrying won’t change anything. Deal with it, or let it go. Don’t worry every day about things that really don’t matter. Your life, Self, will be a lot better for you. Worrying will kill your health and age you faster Try every day to worry less and to not hold onto things you can’t change. So, Self, Let go and free yourself from worrying. ■ ILLUSTRATION BY GIGI GALEN ANNUAL WRAPPING PAPER ISSUE VOICE vendors have been busy coming up with wrapping paper designs for our December issue. Keep your eye out next month for the 2022 creations, and use them to wrap your holiday gifts! . 12 DENVER VOICE November 2022 G 2019 ART BY VOICE VENDOR RAELENE JOHNSON T BY VOICE VENDOR RAELENE JOHNS NE JOHNSON N 2021 ART BY VOICE VENDOR PATRICK BALERIO T B TRICK BALERIO CK BALE BALE 2020 ART BY VOICE VENDOR JERRY ROSEN 20 AR
EVENTS WHEN: Nov 2 – Nov 13 COST: Ticket prices vary. WHERE: Multiple venues INFO: denverfilm.org LAUGH LAB Local comedians test out new material and tweak existing crushers at Rise Comedy’s weekly Laugh Lab! Some comics will concoct the perfect formula while other jokes will implode on sight but regardless, the results will be entertaining! WHEN: Nov 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 8 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: RISE Comedy, 1260 22nd St. INFO: risecomedy.com ACROSS EXQUISITE CORPSE For one night only, enjoy this hilarious comedy showcase with an artistic twist! WHEN: Nov 6, 7:30 p.m. COST: $15 WHERE: Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St. INFO: bugtheatre.org OPENING DAY OF THE DENVER CHRISTKINDL MARKET Civic Center Park will once again be transformed into a traditional German Christmas Market, complete with festive music, big beers, a heated tent, soft pretzels, Gluhwein, holiday knickknacks, and twinkling lights. Market runs through December 23; check the website for daily hours and entertainment. WHEN: Nov 18, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. COST: Free entry WHERE: Civic Center Park, Colfax & Broadway INFO: christkindlmarketdenver.com 60 MINUTES IN SPACE Hear about the latest in space news, including rocket launches, mission updates, cutting-edge astronomy, and more. WHEN: Nov 30, 7 p.m. COST: This event is free, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please use the West Evening Entrance of the Museum. WHERE: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Ricketson Auditorium, 2001 Colorado Blvd. INFO: dmns.org 1. Opening 6. Have a bawl 9. They’re entered in court 14. Cat’s cry (Var.) 15. Afghani coin, once 16. Calculus calculation 17. Horse breed with a spotted coat 19. Old Spanish card game 20. Polite palindromic title 21. Common sense 22. Skin layer 23. Coves 25. Talk, talk, talk 26. Post-Civil War period 32. Stage pieces 33. Butcher’s cut 34. Taqueria La ___, restaurant in Northeast Portland 37. Desert of Chile 41. News bit 42. Indian melodies 43. Hoovers 48. Hair raiser? 49. Some billiard balls 50. Lexicographer’s concern 53. ___ of the above 54. Pass over 58. Flummoxed 59. Fish gelatin 61. Gathers leaves 62. Half a score 63. “Be-Bop-___” (Gene Vincent hit) 64. Quench 65. Part of a joule 66. Less ruddy DOWN 1. Muslim holy man 2. Asian palm 3. Spanish appetizer 4. Wander 5. Wise one 6. Gone bad, in Britain 7. Removal from power 8. Early stage of an animal 11-Down 9. Trudge 10. Citrus fruit 11. Fertilized egg 12. Flyboy 13. Porterhouse, e.g. 18. Keeps 23. As originally found 24. Sean Connery, for one 26. Dashboard abbr. 27. Bard’s “before” 28. Trigonometry abbr. 29. Kind of nerve 30. Pageant wear 31. Machu Picchu native 35. Greek god of thunder 36. Coiled fossil shell 38. “Act your ___!” 39. Blemish 40. Biblical beast 43. Ancient Rome’s ___ Virgins 44. Baked ___ 45. Less distant 46. Silver ___ 47. Garden with a snake 48. Food thickeners 51. Avid fan 52. “___ on Down the Road” (“The Wiz” song) 54. Stewpot 55. Injure severely 56. ___ of Man 57. Abdicator of 1917 60. Mind the ___ COURTESY OF DEBORAH LASTOWKA PUZZLES DENVER FILM FESTIVAL Currently in its 45th year, the Denver Film Festival provides the opportunity to immerse oneself in world-class cinema for 12 straight days. This year’s fest will feature national and international independent films, creative conversations, post-screening Q+As, VR experiences, and additional special events. Choose from fancy-pants red carpet screenings or low-budget indie gems, while you hang with other film lovers and makers. COURTESY OF STREETROOTS ANSWERS ARE ON PAGE 15 November 2022 DENVER VOICE 13 PUZZLE COURTESY OF STREET ROOTS, DENVER VOICE’S SISTER PAPER IN PORTLAND, OR PUZZLE COURTESY OF STREET ROOTS, DENVER VOICE’S SISTER PAPER IN PORTLAND, OR
DONOR LIST WE LOVE OUR DONORS! WHEN YOU SUPPORT THE DENVER VOICE, YOU ARE HELPING SUPPORT HUNDREDS OF HOMELESS AND IMPOVERISHED INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE WORKING TO REALIZE SELF-SUFFICIENCY THROUGH EARNING A DIGNIFIED INCOME. YOUR GIFT MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS. HERE, WE LIST THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN $500 AND MORE IN THE LAST YEAR. DENVERVOICE.ORG/DONATE $25,000+ The NextFifty Initiative John & Laurie Mcwethy Charitable Fund $10,000+ Rose Community Foundation Max & Elaine Appel The Christian Foundation $5,000 - $9,999 Anschutz Family Foundation Bank of America Charitable Foundation $1,000-$4,999 Meek-Cuneo Family Fund Walker Family Foundation Whole Foods Foundation Katherine Standiford Jill Haug Pivotal Energy Partners USA, Inc. Russell Peterson Sustainable Housing and Development Foundation Jerry Conover Sidney B and Caleb F Gates Fund Keyrenter Property Management Denver The Credit Union of Colorado Foundation Kroger Jana and Jim Cuneo Creating Healthier Communities Paul Manoogian Lori Holland Warren & Betty Kuehner Matthew Seashore Michael J. Fehn & Jan Monnier Gaspar Terrana Jim Ashe Courage and Community Foundation George Lichter Family Foundation $500-$999 John Gibson Michael Dino Fire on the Mountain Blackbaud Giving Fund Christopher Boulanger Robert E & Anne T Sneed Family Foundation Sheryl Parker Maggie Holben Alistair Davidson Laura Saunders Costco Barbara & Robert Ells Carol & Louis Irwin Edwina Salazar James Stegman Jennifer Stedron Jeremey Anderson Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur Stephen Saul WalMart SPONSORSHIP LEVELS THE DENVER VOICE’S ANNUAL SPONSORSHIP SUPPORT LEVELS PROVIDE BUSINESSES LIKE YOURS THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN WORK EMPOWERMENT, HOMELESS PREVENTION, THE CHALLENGING OF COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS, AND TO BE A PART OF PROVIDING OUR COMMUNITY WITH QUALITY AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE THROUGH OUR WRITERS AND VENDORS – AN INVALUABLE PART OF DENVER’S COMMUNITY. YOUR INVOLVEMENT WILL HELP HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING POSITIVE ACTION TO COMBAT HOMELESSNESS AND IMPOVERISHMENT. AS A SPONSOR, YOU HAVE A WAY TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND GIVE SOMETHING BACK AT THE SAME TIME. ANNUAL SPONSORSHIPS BENEFITS INCLUDE YOUR LOGO LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE HOMEPAGE, MONTHLY AD SPACE IN OUR PAPER, AND SPECIAL EVENT PERKS FOR YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES ALL YEAR LONG. IT’S A GOOD DEAL FOR A GOOD CAUSE, AND YOUR GIFT IS 100% TAX-DEDUCTIBLE! ABOVE THE FOLD: $5,000 • One complimentary full page ad in the newspaper ($1,000 value) • Table of 10 and Sponsor recognition at annual Rise and Thrive Breakfast (200 attendees) • Sponsorship recognition at our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event (200 attendees) • Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Above the Fold Sponsorship list • Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper GALLEY: $2,500 • One complimentary half page ad in the newspaper ($600 value) • Table of 10 and Sponsor recognition at annual Rise and Thrive Breakfast (200 attendees) • Sponsorship recognition at our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event (200 attendees) • Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Galley Sponsorship list • Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper HONOR BOX: $1,000 • Table of 10 and Sponsor recognition at annual Rise and Thrive Breakfast (200 attendees) • Sponsorship recognition at our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event (200 attendees) • Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Honor Box Sponsorship list • Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper FLY SHEET: $500 • Two complimentary tickets to our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event ($50 value) • Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Fly Sheet Sponsorship list • Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper 14 DENVER VOICE November 2022
RESOURCE LIST FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS IN DENVER DENVERVOICE.ORG/RESOURCE-LIST DIAL 211 FOR A MORE COMPLETE LIST OF RESOURCES IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR FOOD, MEDICAL CARE, SENIOR SERVICES, YOUTH PROGRAMS, COUNSELING, EDUCATION, SHELTERS, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE, AND MORE. EMAIL EDITOR@DENVERVOICE.ORG WITH CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS. FREE MEALS AGAPE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 2501 California St., Sat., 11am CAPITOL HEIGHTS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1100 Fillmore St., Sat. lunch at 11:30am capitolheightspresbyterian.org CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY SERVICES Go to mealsforpoor.org for meal locations CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 1530 Logan St.; sandwiches & coffee Mon.-Fri. 8:30am denvercathedral.org CHRIST’S BODY MINISTRIES 850 Lincoln; Mon. closed, Tues.-Thurs. 10am-3pm, Fri. 8am-11pm; groceries & hot meal on Sat. at 2pm (at 16th & York); Sun. church service at 6pm, dinner at 7pm. christsbody.org CHRIST IN THE CITY Home-cooked meal; Civic Center Park at Colfax & Lincoln at 1pm every Wed. & 2nd Sat. christinthecity.org CITYSQUARE DENVER 303-783-3777, 2575 S. Broadway; Food pantry Tues. 10am-6pm citysquare.org CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY SERVICES Hot meals served at 1820 Broadway (in front of Trinity United Methodist Church), Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri. 11:45-12:15 mealsforpoor.org DENVER INNER CITY PARISH 303-322-5733, 1212 Mariposa St., VOA Dining Center for Seniors, free 60 yrs and older, Wed.-Sat. 9am-12pm. Food Bank, Wed.-Fri., tickets at 9am, food bank open 10am-12pm. dicp.org DENVER RESCUE MISSION 1130 Park Avenue West, 3 meals 7 days/week: 5:30am, 12pm, 6pm 303-294-0157 denverrescuemission.org FATHER WOODY’S HAVEN OF HOPE 1101 W. 7th Ave. 303-607-0855. Mon.-Fri. 7am-1pm. Not open weekends. Breakfast is at 8am, and lunch is served at 11am frwoodyshavenofhope.org FEEDING DENVER’S HUNGRY Food service on the second and fourth Thurs. of each month; locations found at feedingdenvershungry.org/events.html FOOD NOT BOMBS Wed. 4pm/Civic Center Park facebook.com/ThePeoplesPicnic HARE KRISHNA TEMPLE 1400 Cherry St., free vegetarian feast on Sun., 6:45-7:30pm krishnadenver.com HIS LOVE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH 910 Kalamath, community dinner on Thurs., 6-6:45pm, men’s breakfast 1st Sat. of the Month, 8-10am, women’s breakfast 2nd Sat., 9-11am. hislovefellowship.org HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH 1900 California St., sandwiches, Mon.-Sat., 10-10:30am holyghostchurch.org JORDAN AME CHURCH 29th and Milwaukee St., Tues. lunch 11:30am-1:00pm jordanamedenver.churchfoyer.com OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES 1567 Marion St., Sat. morning breakfast: 8am, Sun. dinner (required church attendance at 4:30pm) meal served at 6pm. 303-830-2201 odmdenver.org/home ST. CLARE’S MINISTRY AT ST. PETER AND ST. MARY 126 W. 2nd Ave., dinner at 4pm on Tues. Also offer a change of clothes, toiletries and sleeping bags when available. 303-722-8781 stpeterandmary.org ST. ELIZABETH’S Speer Blvd. & Arapahoe St. on Auraria campus, 7 days/week, 11:00am; food, coffee. stelizabethdenver.org ST. FRANCIS CENTER 2323 Curtis St., Wed. & Fri. 3-4:30pm (except third Wed. of each month). sfcdenver.org ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN 1600 Grant St., Street Reach meal Mon. 1-4:30pm. Grocery room open at 11:30am every Mon. saintpauldenver.com SAME CAFÉ 2023 E. Colfax Ave. Restaurant serving mostly organic food—not free, but pay what you can or work off your meal in the kitchen: Open Mon.-Sat., 11am to 2pm, Closed Sun. & holidays, 720-530-6853 soallmayeat.org SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES 846 E. 18th Ave. 3 meals, Mon.a-Fri. 7am-7pm; Sun. 11am-4pm. 55+ seniorsupportservices.org/programs URBAN OUTREACH DENVER 608 26th St., Thurs. dinners, 6pm-7pm lovedenver.org VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA 2877 Lawrence St., breakfast (8am), lunch (11:30am), dinner (5pm) Mon.-Thurs., 12pm on Fri., 1pm on Sun. Food & clothing bank 9:30am-4pm Mon.-Thurs. voacolorado.org/gethelp-denvermetro-foodnutrition-themission CAREER SERVICES COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER Level 4, Denver Central Library, 14th Ave. & Broadway. 720-865-1706. Hours: Mon. & Tues. 10am-8pm; Wed., Thurs., Fri. 10am-6pm; Sat. 9am-5pm & Sun. 1-5pm; FREE services include computer/internet use, wifi, computer classes, job search/resume classes and one-on-one tech help appointments. denverlibrary.org/ctc THE WESTSIDE ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER Denver Department of Human Services, 1200 Federal Blvd., Mon.Fri., 7:30am-4:30pm; Services include: employment counseling, assisted job search, résumé preparation, job/applicant matching, phone bank for calling employers, access to computers, copiers, fax, etc. careercenteroffices.com/center/231/denver-westside-workforce-center MEDICAL & DENTAL SERVICES ACS COMMUNITY L.I.F.T. CareVan at Open Door Ministries, 1567 Marion St., Tues. 9am-12:30pm DENVER HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER 303-436-6000, 777 Bannock St. denverhealth.org DRUG REHAB USA Addiction hotline: 866-716-0142. Organizations that take Medicaid: https://drugrehabus.org/rehabs/treatment/medicaid/united-states/colorado/denver HARM REDUCTION ACTION CENTER 303-572-7800; 112 E. 8th Ave.; Mon.-Fri., 9am-12pm. HIV/Hep C/ Gonorrhea/ Chlamydia testing available. Our services are restricted to active IV Drug Users. Offers clean syringes to active users, as well as safety training on how to properly dispose of dirty syringes. harmreductionactioncenter.org LIVER HEALTH CONNECTION 1325 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite B302. Resources and support for those affected by Hep C. Free Hep C testing offered. 800-522-4372, info@hepc-connection.org, liverhealthconnection.org INNER CITY HEALTH CENTER 303-296-1767, 3800 York St. Mon., Wed.-Fri. 8am-5pm; Tues. 9am-5pm; Sat. 8am-2pm. Emergency walk-ins. SALUD CLINIC 6075 Parkway Drive, Ste. 160, Commerce City; Dental 303-286-6755. Medical 303-286-8900. Medical Hours: Mon.-Wed. 8am-9pm, Thurs.-Fri. 8am-5pm; Sat. (Urgent Care only) 8am-5pm; Dental Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm; Pharmacy Hours: Mon.-Fri. 1-5pm; After Office Hours: 1-800-283-3221 saludclinic.org/commerce-city STOUT STREET CLINIC 303-293-2220, 2130 Stout St. Clinic hours for new and established patients: 7am-4pm Mon., Tues., Thurs., & Fri. The clinic is open Wed. 11am-7pm. coloradocoalition.org/healthcare SUNSHINE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (YOUTH SERVICES) Services for youth facing substance abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or a combination of these conditions. 833-931-2484 sunshinebehavioralhealth.com VA MEDICAL CENTER 303-399-8020, 1700 N Wheeling St., Aurora va.gov/find-locations/facility/vha_554A5 WORKNOW 720-389-0999; job recruitment, skills training, and job placement work-now.org DROP-IN & DAYTIME CENTERS ATTENTION HOMES 303-447-1207; 3080 Broadway, Boulder; contactah@attentionhomes.org. Offers safe shelter, supportive programming, and other services to youth up to age 24 attentionhomes.org CITYSQUARE DENVER 303-783-3777; 2575 S. Broadway; Mon.-Thurs. 10am-2pm, Denver Works helps with employment, IDs, birth certs; mail services and lockers citysquare.org FATHER WOODY’S HAVEN OF HOPE 303-607-0855; 1101 W. 7th Ave.; Mon.-Fri. 7am-1pm. Six private showers & bathrooms, laundry, lunch & more thoh.org THE GATHERING PLACE 303-321-4198; 1535 High St.; Mon., Wed.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm, Tues. 8:30am-1:30pm. Daytime drop-in center for women, their children, and transgender individuals. Meals, computer lab, phones, food bank, clothing, art programs, GED tutoring, referrals to other services, and more. tgpdenver.org HARM REDUCTION ACTION CENTER 303-572-7800, 231 East Colfax; Mon.-Fri. 9am-12pm. Provides clean syringes, syringe disposal, harm-reduction counseling, safe materials, Hep C/HIV education, and health education classes. harmreductionactioncenter.org HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH 1900 California St., help with lost IDs and birth certificates holyghostchurch.org HOPE PROGRAM 303-832-3354, 1555 Race St.; Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm. For men and women with HIV. LAWRENCE STREET COMMUNITY CENTER 2222 Lawrence St.; 303-294-0157; day facility, laundry, showers, restrooms, access to services homelessassistance.us/li/lawrence-street-community-center OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES 1567 Marion St.; Mon.-Fri. 7am-5:30pm. Drop-in center: bathrooms, coffee/tea, snacks, resources, WIFI odmdenver.org ST. FRANCIS CENTER 303-297-1576; 2323 Curtis St. 6am-6pm daily. Storage for one bag (when space is available). Satellite Clinic hours- Mon., Tues., Thurs, Fri. 7:30am-3:30pm; Wed. 12:30-4:30pm sfcdenver.org SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES 846 E. 18th Ave. For those 55 and older. TV room, bus tokens, mental/physical health outreach, and more. seniorsupportservices.org SOX PLACE (YOUTH SERVICES) 2017 Larimer St. Daytime drop-in shelter for youth 12-30 years old. Meals, socks, clothing bank, personal hygiene supplies, internet access, intentional mentoring and guidance, crisis intervention, referrals to other services. Tues.-Fri. 12-4pm & Sat. 11-2pm. soxplace.com THE SPOT AT URBAN PEAK (YOUTH SERVICES) 2100 Stout St. 303-291-0442. Drop-in hours Mon.-Fri. 8-11am. If you are a youth aged 15-20 in need of immediate overnight shelter services, please contact 303-974-2928 urbanpeak.org/denver/programs-and-services/drop-in-center URBAN PEAK (YOUTH SERVICES) Youth 14-24 in Denver and Colorado Springs. Overnight shelter, food, clothing, showers, case workers, job skills and training, ID and birth certificate assistance, GED assistance, counseling and housing. 730 21st St. 303-974-2900 urbanpeak.org November 2022 DENVER VOICE 15 DON’T LOOK NOW! PUZZLES ARE ON PAGE 13
WHAT DO WE DO TO HELP? Since 2007, the VOICE has provided jobs for more than 4,600 people experiencing homelessness. For every dollar we take in, we put $3.00 directly back into the pockets of those who need it most. WITH YOUR HELP, WE CAN DO MORE. SCAN THIS CODE TO SET UP YOUR DONATION TODAY! DENVERVOICE.ORG/DONATE
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