VENDOR SPOTLIGHT CHARLES HAS A HOME! BY CHARLES SPRING, DENVER VOICE VENDOR Editor’s note: In March, Charles Spring signed on as a Denver VOICE vendor. Since then, he has shared his story about how he came to Denver for a fresh start last December, thought he had a place to live, and wound up homeless with no job or income. Within a few months, Spring has been one of the top 10 vendors consistently. He has also written poems and drawn illustrations for several issues of Denver VOICE. In mid-October, Spring received keys to his new apartment. Here is his account of how that happened: I HAVE JUST MOVED to the Volunteers Of America Sunset Park Apartments, located at 1865 Larimer St. in downtown Denver. While I was still staying at the Denver Rescue Mission’s 48th Ave. Shelter, my caseworker Julia gave me a list of low-income housing units in the area. So, all I really had to do was fill out an application and submit my documents to get on the waitlist. Nine months later, they contacted me to say my application was approved, told me the amount I would be paying, and gave me my movein date. With the assistance of my caseworker Tyler at the Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter, I received my security deposit and first two months’ rent, furniture, and $200.00 in gift cards to Target for anything else I might need as an incentive for getting a place and moving on from being homeless. The CHARLES SPRING TAKES A SELFIE HOLDING THE KEYS TO HIS APARTMENT. CREDIT: CHARLES SPRING PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLES SPRING apartments are mostly for retired or disabled people but is a great place! The Sunset Park Apartments property includes a chapel, a cafeteria — where they provide free lunches on weekdays — and a community room with a pool table and TV. On Friday nights, the Volunteers of America apartment building also has live music in the cafeteria. My apartment is conveniently located just three blocks from Coors Field and four blocks from Union Station, I’m close to pretty much everything. I love it! ■ Congratulations, Denver VOICE Vendor Charles Spring, on your new apartment! 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 1931 | 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 2024 DENVER VOICE 3
4 Publizr Home