$ 2 SUGGESTED DONATION @DenverVOICE “WRAPPING UP” 2020 WITH THE HOLIDAY CHEER WE ALL NEED Original heartwarming designs from vendors inspire our fifth-annual wrapping paper insert. 72 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS COMING TO SOUTHWEST DENVER LORETTO HEIGHTS CAMPUS WILL BE HOME TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING. PAGE 6 SYSTEMIC RACISM AND HOMELESSNESS JERRY BURTON DISCUSSES RACISM AND THE RECENT THREE-DAY HOMELESSNESS AND RACE VIGIL. PAGE 4 USING ALLEGORY TO EXPLORE RACISM WITH ART AS HIS PLATFORM, DENVER ARTIST REVEALS ONGOING SYSTEMIC RACISM. PAGE 8 VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY PAGES 3, 11 EVENTS PAGE 11 DECEMBER 2020 | Vol.25 Issue 12 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) FROM YOUR VENDOR: ORIGINAL ART BY LANDO ALLEN
DIRECTOR’S NOTE LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE, things at the Denver VOICE have looked a lot different in 2020. Our offices aren’t jam-packed with folks the way they normally would be, and with social distancing guidelines in place, our holiday celebrations won’t be quite the same. Since March, we temporarily JENNIFER SEYBOLD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR halted printing; established a vendor relief fund as we shifted our focus during stay-at-home orders to more immediate needs of vendors; instituted Venmo sales; decreased the rate our vendors pay for the paper by 50 percent when we resumed printing; canceled one fundraiser, while shifting a second fundraiser to a virtual event; distributed papers in the parking lot of our building; and trained several new vendors, increasing the number of individuals we’ve served since 2007 to 4,600. That’s a lot of change, but thanks to your unwavering support, we have managed to not just survive but thrive in the face of challenge! For 24 years, the VOICE has provided opportunities and given a voice to those experiencing homelessness and poverty. This year, alone, we’ve tackled major challenges of inequity, division, and community misunderstanding and bias that most heavily impact individuals like our vendors. And while this year has presented a constant stream of challenges, it has also provided reasons to celebrate, including the addition of new vendors and community supporters. Another positive step for the VOICE is our move to a new home in the Santa Fe Art District, which will allow us to serve our vendors more effectively, even as the pandemic and social distancing continue to be the norm. As you reflect on 2020, I hope you will recognize the resilience of our community, which your generous support has made possible. As the VOICE heads into our 25th year, I am so proud of the incredible community you’ve helped us build and look forward to the promise the future holds for all of us. Thank you! ■ DECEMBER CONTRIBUTORS DENVERVOICE.ORG CE.ORG PAULA BARD is an award-winning fine art photographer, writer, and activist. She lives on a mountain top southwest of Denver. GILES CLASEN is a freelance photographer who regularly contributes his work to the VOICE for editorial projects, fundraisers, and events. He has also served on the VOICE’s Board of Directors. ROBERT DAVIS is a freelance reporter for the Denver VOICE. His work has also appeared in Colorado Public Works Journal, Fansided, Colorado Journal, and Medium.com. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Seybold MANAGING EDITOR Elisabeth Monaghan PROGRAM COORDINATOR Andrew Klooster GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hannah Bragg VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Ty Holter DOUG HRDLICKA is a Denver native who reports on the city’s changes. Kate Marshall Austin Scott Aaron Sullivan Laura Wing PHOTOGRAPHERS/ILLUSTRATORS Paula Bard Giles Clasen Robert Davis 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 metro Denver area experiencing homelessness and poverty. Since 2007, we have put more than 4,000 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. WRITERS Brian Augustine Paula Bard Giles Clasen Ed Curlee Robert Davis Doug Hrdlicka BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nikki Lawson, President Michelle Stapleton, Vice President Lori Holland, Treasurer Jeff Cuneo, Secretary Donovan Cordova Raelene Johnson Josh Kauer Craig Solomon Zephyr Wilkins @OCE 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 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. WE’VE MOVED! 2 DENVER VOICE December 2020 VENDOR OFFICE (AS OF DEC. 1, 2020) 989 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204 OFFICE HOURS: For the immediate future, we will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Orientation is held every day we are open. New vendors must arrive between 9 and 10 a.m. STAFF CONTRIBUTORS BOARD CONTACT US
VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY OUR Streets: RICKY RESOURCES DENVERVOICE.ORG/RESOURCE-LIST For individuals in the metro Denver area experiencing homelessness – resources for food, medical care, counseling, education, holiday assistance, and more. RICKY IS SICK AND HOPES TO GET TO CALIFORNIA WHERE IT IS WARMER. HE HAS FOUND DENVER TO BE HARSH. CREDIT: PAULA BARD Denver has more than 6,000 people without homes, and more than 3,000 trying to survive on its streets. In 2012, Denver passed an urban-camping ban making it illegal for the homeless to protect themselves with “any form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.” Violations can bring a $999 fine or a year in jail. OUR Streets are stories of Denver’s unhoused residents as captured by Paula Bard, who walks the streets of Denver to photograph the faces and collect the stories of those her city has abandoned. WINTER WISH LIST DENVERVOICE.ORG/VENDOR-NEEDS Drop-offs are accepted Mon, Weds, Fri., 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., or schedule a drop-off by emailing program@denvervoice.org. 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. DONATE Donations to the Denver VOICE are tax-deductable. 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 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 @denverVOICE 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. VOLUNTEER We need volunteers to help with everything from newspaper distribution to event planning and management. Contact program@denvervoice.org for volunteering information. 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. December 2020 DENVER VOICE 3
LOCAL STORY A DISCUSSION WITH JERRY BURTON ON SYSTEMIC RACISM AND HOMELESSNESS BY PAULA BARD “I tell people that the best person to advocate for you is yourself because you know what you want. You know what you’re trying to get to. I advocate for what we all have in common. Try to get people housed, try to get people jobs. But as far as what you want out of life, you have to advocate for yourself.” –JERRY BURTON BLACK ADULTS COMPRISE 5.3 PERCENT of the general population, but 20.5 percent of the homeless population, according to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative Census data. Each Wednesday, Jerry Burton with Denver Homeless Out Loud offers a home-cooked meal, along with animated talks that encourage self-advocacy for the unsheltered. Jerry helped organize the three-day Homelessness and Race Vigil in Denver’s Civic Center Park during fall’s final days in October. The following is a recap of our conversation with him: Why did you organize the vigil about race with Denver Homeless Out Loud? There’s a lot of things in life that a lot of people don’t understand. How and why we [Black people] are in this position that we’re in. A lot of that comes from not knowing the history of their own country. The people that came here. The majority of the people that are Black have been homeless all of their lives. They’ve had a hard time finding or renting a place. And this goes way back to 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. We have always been on the outside looking in. I’m just trying to get people to educate their white counterparts that we are not in this because we chose to be in this. We’re in this because it is the system in America. So, the vigil was a way to focus on this racial disparity and talk about it? When you bring up race, a lot of white people do not feel comfortable. So, doing it this way, I felt we could educate. It can be talked about. Positive in a way, we don’t have to be upset. If you do get upset, get upset about the way it was. Try to move on and try to fix this. We are all Americans, and we should be treated as such with dignity and respect. Most white people believe the myth about us instead of the truth. That’s why the country is so split right now. What myth is that? Such as, we don’t know how to do anything. No other race has been through what we’ve been through as Black people. This country gained its riches off our backs, and we still don’t own anything. Those African slaves did the work; they created the wealth of the country. How does this tie in with homelessness? Well, if everyone would have gotten 40 acres and a mule, that’s economic, it could have set up families for generational wealth— all the way down to this day. We did not get that. [Slaves] were turned out in a country they did not know about. They had no education. They were lost. A lot of them had nowhere else to go. Most of them had to walk from the south, to the north, and to the west just to make it. We were treated wrong. Our ancestors were turned away from the start and are still being turned away. So, what happens to those Blacks that are now homeless? Those guys arrested when they are 18, locked up in prison, and then dumped out on the street when they are 25? No education, no job skills? They end up on the streets, living in tents. It’s the same thing going on. It’s just a different approach. You got no education and go to court and get locked up for five or six years of your life. One or two things happen when you’re in prison. You’re either going to perfect your criminal craft or get out, not knowing anything. When you get out, you won’t be able to rent a house, apartment, or get a job to take care of yourself. You’re stuck, right back where you came from. Unless by some unforeseen incident, you get a second chance. But everyone doesn’t get a second chance. Unless you had money before you went in, your second chance is gone. What about going to their families for support? Most of the families aren’t going to be any help. Most of them are in the same situation. CREDIT: PAULA BARD 4 DENVER VOICE December 2020
LOCAL STORY “At its core, homelessness is a result of systemic issues and the resulting inequities which disproportionately affect different races. As evident in ... all data on the issue, there is a glaring overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, people of color in the homeless population.” –METRO DENVER HOMELESS INITIATIVE CREDIT: PAULA BARD CREDIT: PAULA BARD Barely making ends meet from month to month. Barely eating from day-to-day. See, the country has a debt to pay to Black people, and until this is done, we will not be on an equal economic base. You’re talking about an economic as well as a moral base. Blacks were enslaved, this history just hovers there, like a ghost. Can our country reckon with its history? It’s got to be dealt with in a way that is beneficial to all, especially Black people. Just to apologize, that’s not enough. With an apology, you still wake up hungry. COMING FROM ANNISTON, ALABAMA How does this feel to you personally to see this go on and on? It’s a messed-up feeling. It’s about power, keeping things under their control. Most of the bad things that have happened to me have come from the hands of white people. Can we talk about that? That you have been treated that way. That you carry this. Me growing up in the South, there are things you can and can’t do. Cannot say. Even though it was 100 years past slavery, you could not be hanging out with white people too much. Once you got to be 12 years old, you were not to be with a white person. What year was that? How old were you? I’m 58 now, so ’72, give or take. So, it was dangerous to hang out with white people, then? It was very dangerous. You had to be very careful about what neighborhood you walked through—any time of day. For me to come home from school sometimes when I was in junior high, I couldn’t take the short cut. I had to walk all the way downtown. What would have happened? I could have gotten jumped, or sometimes you gotta run because a bunch of white people would be out there waiting for you. THE JESTER ELICITS A SMILE — HIS HUMOR AS A SHIELD. CREDIT: PAULA BARD So, you’re learning at a really young age that things are not what they seem? To pay some attention because there are multiple layers? I grew up in a world where things are not as they seem. But at the same time, you have to be able to process it in a way to where it can benefit you in the long run and not hinder you, you know? So, I was able to do that. And you were able to do that because your family and your teachers told you that you had value and encouraged you. You felt recognized. It sounds like you had a deep sense of your own value. Well, I knew who I was. People are going to do what they are going to do and say what they are going to say. I have no control over that. The only thing I have control over is what I can do. That is the way I was brought up. A PLATFORM FOR THE ISSUE OF RACE People came, people gave talks, so after the vigil, then what? We should have gotten city council and the mayor involved, talked to them about what we need to do as a community, as a city. Well, Denver, maybe this work will help bring us another step closer to a much needed and long-overdue conversation. ■ This happened to you, just walking down the street? This happened to me on many occasions. So, trying to get home from school, home from football practice, and all of a sudden, you see three or four white guys start chasing you out of the neighborhood. They’re chasing you because they don’t want you in the neighborhood? Not only that, no matter what you do, they are going to treat you like you’re a second-rate citizen. Not treated with respect. How does it feel to be raised in a culture that told you that you had less value than someone else with a different color of skin? How does that feel? How do you process that? I had a mom that cared; I had sisters that looked out for us. I had a family that ate together every single day. I had teachers that were Black that lived in my neighborhood. They saw value in me. I went to a mostly Black school. I was taught that I was somebody. Some of the white people that I knew gave me encouragement. Like Mundy’s, for instance, back home, they owned a store; I used to shop there for my mom. They would sit down and talk to me as if I was a person. But, I understood and remembered some of their voices from under a sheet. It was kinda like that. December 2020 DENVER VOICE 5
LOCAL NEWS SPREADING HOLIDAY CHEER WITH WRAPPING PAPER INSPIRED BYVOICE VENDORS BY ELISABETH MONAGHAN CREDIT: ROBERT DAVIS ONE THING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS NOT AFFECTED is Denver VOICE vendors’ holiday spirit, which means once again, the VOICE’s December issue includes wrapping paper with festive designs, inspired by our vendors. Even so, you will notice that the pandemic played a starring role in several of those designs. Our first design came from Brian Augustine, whose illustrations remind us that “social distance doesn’t bother me, as long as remember that you are so close to my heart.” Keeping with the theme of celebrating the holidays while being mindful of other people’s health, Rea Brown’s charming design shows a young man staying a safe distance from his snowman friend. The design inspired by Lando Allen is that of Santa smiling as he raises his arms in the air and with the word “Joy” floating above him. Raelene Johnson’s illustration of a crackling fire and fireplace with the words, “Merry Christmas, Best Wishes,” evokes the warmth of the holiday season. Jerry Rosen’s artwork inspired the wrapping paper with Christmas trees and candy canes. Jerry Mullinex, our newest vendor of the six mentioned here, created his paw print design with the help of his dog and frequent visitor to the VOICE office, Starla. Each participating vendor will receive $35 for their design, which is a small reward for the generous holiday spirit their creativity brings to this issue and the smile they will bring to the fortunate souls whose holiday gifts are wrapped with the vendors’ designs. BY ROBERT DAVIS THE CROWN JEWEL OF THE LORETTO HEIGHTS campus is on its way to becoming a 72-unit affordable housing development for families in southwest Denver. Known as the Pancratia Hall Lofts, the development is the result of a two-year community engagement effort. It will comprise “large apartments for families,” including 15 threebedroom apartments and two four-bedroom units, according to city officials. All of the units will be income-restricted, serving families making between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income, according to the Department of Housing Stability (HOST). Amenities include a landscaped courtyard, a business center, and open space for future shops and restaurants. Funding for the project was secured through a complex web of loans and tax credit financing. HOST provided a $3.3 million grant, while Denver utilized a slew of Private Activity Bonds, federal and state historic tax credits, and several loans from banks and investment firms. “Denver is proud to be a partner on this affordable housing project and historic restoration, one that aims to house families in our community and keep them housed,” Mayor Hancock said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be working with our partners to ensure these units are kept affordable for Denver families for decades to come.” Pancratia Hall is named after Mother Pancratia Bonfils, a nun educated by the Sisters of Loretto and founder of the Loretto Heights Academy, which was a Catholic boarding school for women. 6 DENVER VOICE December 2020 The Academy, built in 1889, predates Denver’s chartering. Pancratia Hall was constructed in 1929 with its red sandstone bell tower that has served as a landmark for Southwest Denver. During World War I, the campus was a training grounds for Colorado soldiers. In 1918, the Academy was a degreeattaining institution for women. This was two years before the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteed women’s suffrage. Over its 120-plus year history, the building has been part of several educational institutions. After the Academy closed in 1941 due to declining enrollment, it served as dormitories and classrooms for Loretto Heights College. In 1988, the college was sold to Teikyo University, which operated Colorado Heights College for 29 years before selling it to Westside Investment Partners, Inc., in 2018 for $16.5 million. After the sale of the campus, Denver City Council rushed to pause development on the site until a land use plan could be developed. This effort resulted in City Council adopting the Loretto Heights Small Plan in 2019, one which incorporated 100 percent of the community comments into the final document. Many of the comments concerned keeping the Loretto Heights history alive for future generations. “It turned anxiety over potential loss into excitement for a lively, welcoming addition to our part of town where new neighbors of all means and cultures could prosper, the community could gather together with them, the campus buildings could be restored and re-used, and the rich legacy of the Spirit of Loretto could be preserved,” Councilman Kevin Flynn (District 2) said in a statement. ■ I PANCRATIA HALL TO BRING 72 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS TO LORETTO HEIGHTS
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LOCAL STORY ALAN BROOKS: USING ALLEGORY TO EXPLORE RACISM BY GILES CLASEN R. ALAN BROOKS has always been creative and tried to find a way to lace that creativity into his life. A few years ago, he decided to change direction and make his artistic endeavors into a career. He stopped selling health insurance and started writing comics. In 2017, Brooks published his first graphic novel, the “Burning Metronome,” and just released his second book, “Anguish Garden,” in November of 2020. Both books use allegory to explore systemic oppression. Brooks also is an associate professor of writing at Regis University and writes a comic for The Colorado Sun news site. He also presented at the TEDxMileHigh Rise event in August 2020. The following was edited for clarity and length. How has art impacted social movements today? Oppression works best when the people who are oppressed don’t get a chance to speak up about it, so people can deny it. Art has always played a role in inspiring a revolution. There’s a reason that dictators and despots work so desperately to censor it. They recognize the power in it. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN CREDIT: GILES CLASEN 8 DENVER VOICE December 2020
LOCAL STORY The common person may ask, “Is art silly? Does it have a purpose?” But people in power, like Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, believed art had power. He wouldn’t have been doing what he did to the entertainment industry, otherwise. It’s been interesting to watch this year. I don’t know why George Floyd’s murder mattered more than, say, Philando Castile’s, or other unarmed Black men who’ve been murdered. It seems like it’s a confluence of events that suddenly made people care about it in a different way. There was a litany of these kinds of videos for as long as people had videos on their phones. Or all the way back to the Rodney King beating in the 90s. In this particular case, you had George Floyd. You had Breonna Taylor. You had the brother walking through Central Park where the woman threatened to call the police, saying she was being attacked by Christian Cooper, a Black man in New York. People have had to sit home during the pandemic. Maybe without the distractions of life, they had time to actually look at the ugliness of what’s being done. That doesn’t answer [the] question about how art fits into it. But it goes to why it’s hard for me to identify it. This movement has been present virtually my entire life. It’s cool that it’s showing up on other people’s radar, really. But it’s hard to identify why. There has been plenty of art about police brutality, including my book, “The Burning Metronome.” [Police brutality] shows up in “Lovecraft Country,” the HBO show, in the first episode. It’s continuous. I guess because I’m so immersed in it and I see the art about it all the time, it’s hard for me to say, “Oh, there’s something this year that makes it different.” Even in [1999], there was Amadou Diallo. He pulled out his wallet to show his ID, and police shot at him, I think it was like, 41 times. That was in New York. All these rappers put out a special hip hop project talking about Diallo’s murder at the hands of the police. Seriously, all my life this has been a thing and there’s been art about it. I believe 100 percent that art helps to advance a cause. I think art can help people see through the perspective of a different group. Art does help people see from [the oppressed person’s] perspective. My difficulty is in saying what’s different about right now. I feel like maybe, finally, the people who were not affected by police violence had to sit down and pay attention. And that’s never happened in my lifetime. So, I think the fact that the art is there and that it exists is beneficial for the people who did not have to have this issue right up in their face the whole time. They had a chance, and finally, they had to listen. I don’t feel like there’s a new artistic movement about it so much as there’s a new awareness about the issues and the art that is pushing the issue to the forefront. Can art make a difference in today’s world? In the late 1890s, Tolstoy wrote his book, “The Kingdom of God Is Within You,” which was about being nonviolent. About 30 years later, Gandhi said that book was one of the top three influences of his life. Tolstoy created art that inspired Gandhi, who led a movement that changed the world. Then, Gandhi inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What if Tolstoy had never written his book? Would the Civil Rights Movement in America be different? Would it have happened at all? It’s hard to say, but it’s clear how one book had an impact. The point I made earlier about dictators working hard to censor art is one of the greatest indications of the power of art to influence. Why would people in power waste the energy? CREDIT: GILES CLASEN I think about Stalin and Hitler. They both worked hard to censor artists, they would burn books and things. Those people had no doubt about the power of art to influence social change. What role can allegory play in helping individuals see a story differently? When it comes to change, I think people feel like they’re being blamed. Fingers pointed at them, like, “You need to do X.” That’s challenging to anyone’s ego. When you can take that same principle and place it into a different context, then, suddenly, people aren’t as defensive. I think people can understand right and wrong in a different way when it’s put into allegory. In the Old Testament, Nathan the prophet told David about a shepherd and his sheep and all that, and David was like, “Who is this unrighteous person?” The prophet was like, “It’s you!” It’s not so clearly an indictment of what [people] are doing. After they’ve absorbed the message, they can think about how it applies to their own life. Sometimes that has good effects. All of these isms — racism, sexism, etc., — come from either a failure or a refusal to see the humanity of the other party. For people who fail to see the humanity of someone else, art is really powerful at communicating that humanity. As soon as you start to connect to humanity, [you can see] this is another human who is negatively impacted by something I’m doing or something I believe in. Art is really good at connecting humanity that goes beyond a list of facts or demographics. What must artists do to keep connecting us to one another’s humanity? I’ve been teaching a seminar called Overcoming Creative Fear. There are so many people I know who are good people and legitimately talented in a variety of areas, be it writing, drawing, or singing, or whatever. But they’re so terrified of finishing something, at the possibility of failing or succeeding, or of someone being mean to them on the internet. The state of the world right now adds to that anxiety for a lot of people. To any creative person reading this, if there’s any time for your voice to be heard, that time is now. I think about all the hateful people who don’t have any problems speaking up. Nazis aren’t having a problem speaking up right now. If they’re not afraid to say crazy stuff, then I really need people who have a sense of compassion and righteousness to take this time and speak up, too; whether it’s directly or through their art. This is the time we need to have it happen. ■ December 2020 DENVER VOICE 9
DONORS & LOCAL NEWS 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+ Denver Foundation The NextFifty Initiative Help Colorado Now $10,000+ John & Laurie Mcwethy Charitable Fund Kenneth King Foundation Max & Elaine Appel DEDO Nonprofit Emergency Relief Fund The Christian Foundation $5,000 - $9,999 Anschutz Family Foundation Community Foundation of Boulder County Jerry Conover Meek-Cuneo Family Fund $1,000-$4,999 Josh Kauer Bright Funds Network for Good Matthew Seashore & Nikki Lawson Arc Thrift Stores Jeremy Anderson City Side Remodeling Matthew Rezek Schuster Family Foundation Russell Peterson PEN America Craig & Teresa Solomon Signs by Timorrow Jim Ashe Wynkoop Brewery George Lichter Family Foundation Walker Family Foundation The Sidney B. & Caleb F. Gates Jr. Fund Kauer Construction & Design Gaetanos Restaurant Patrick & Jan Rutty Conover/Wonder Family Fund Gaelina Tesfaye Donald Weaver Phoenix Capital $500-$999 Comedy Works Michelle Stapleton & James Thompson Michael Dino Christine Muldoon and Pete Iannuzzi Jill Haug Caring Connection Alistair Davidson Paul Manoogian Kroger Grocery Ridley McGreevy & Winocur Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, Inc. Keyrenter Property Management Denver Gaspar Terrana 10x Business Consultants, Inc. Travis & Margaret Ramp Elizabeth A. Mitchell Stephen Saul Leigh Bingham and Chris Forgham James Stegman William Thorland Betty & Warren Kuehner Zephyr Wilkins Celestina Pacheco ACM LLP Cuneo Law Firm Paul Hoffman Jim and Nancy Thomas Peggy Mihelich Susan B. Jones 10 DENVER VOICE December 2020 DENVER AIMS FOR ECONOMIC REBOUND BY DOUG HRDLICKA IN 2019, the Denver Department of Finance recognized signs in short-term and long-term bonds that indicated a recession. Other markers and inconsistencies also forecasted a bust, so the City planned a conservative 2020 budget for good measure. Indeed, February 2020 marked the end of the longest economic expansion in Denver’s history. In March, Denver saw the largest decline in projected revenues in a single period since 1933. The economic fallout has left Denver in a crisis, but a rebound is sure, and the City plans to come back with equity at the forefront. “The thing about trying to anticipate and react in February is a little difficult because you don’t really know that you’re in a recession until six months after you’re already in it,” said Director of the Office of Economic Development Eric Hiraga. “It’s something that we had closely monitored. Then COVID hit, and it was just the nail in the coffin,” Statewide restrictions pushed unemployment to 5.2 percent in March, and in April it more than doubled. “The US economy lost 22.2 million jobs in a two-month period. So, if you look at our statistics since April when we spiked at 13.4 percent, we’ve almost recovered half of that in September, at 7.4 percent,” said Hiraga. Denver lost $221 million in projected revenue. The City quickly reached out to all its departments and asked them to cut 3 percent from their budgets, then 7 percent, and is now asking for 10 percent going into 2021. City employees were asked to work from home and were given mandatory furlough days, with higher-paid employees taking more days. These are not sweeping cuts, though. The Department of Health and the Department of Housing and Urban Development need sustained or additional revenue to operate at the demand COVID has yielded. Also, some departments operate with 90 percent or more staff, and the City doesn’t want to add to the unemployment crisis. The first cuts did save on ancillary costs like utility and travel. But the City still needed to pull from its reserves and its Special Revenue Fund — a 2 percent contingency reserve for city emergencies — to cover some of the costs to operate and provide emergency services related to public health. A portion of that money was covered by FEMA as part of a reimbursement program. The money being reimbursed was used specifically for PPE gear and shelter initiatives. “Those federal dollars have allowed us to recoup money that the City has spent responding to the emergency, but they don’t allow for revenue replacement,” said City and County of Denver’s Chief Financial Officer Brendan Hanlon. But thinning government spending and using reserve funds is only a temporary solution. One of the biggest factors when planning for a rebound after a pandemic is curbing consumer behavior. “This is a public health crisis that has led to a reduction of public activity, and we’re just not sure how it’s going to rebound,” said Hanlon. The service industry has undoubtedly suffered the brunt of the pandemic, with shutdowns and restricted capacity immediately impacting businesses. But it is the consumer that will ultimately decide the longevity of that impact. “If we can give people that financial support to get them through this difficult time, including the expansion of unemployment benefits, it will help people get through this level of economic uncertainty,” said Hanlon. The last period of comparable economic strife was during the Great Recession of 2008. At the time, the approach to recovery was to build the economy first. But over the five years it took to boom, people were sidelined from the success as an unintended consequence. This time around, Mayor Hancock has in his arsenal the Division of Social Equity and Innovation to consult on how to cut the budget so people who live in the throes of economic strife aren’t further impacted. “You have to look at it in tandem, as a nexus. Both of these forces are interconnected, and if we tease those out, we are doing ourselves a disservice. Our economy is built to serve our people, and our people are part of our economy; they’re interconnected, and we have to make sure both of those things work,” said Kim Desmond, director of the Office of Social Equity and Innovation. Through conversations about equity for all marginalized people, the City has discovered that certain revenue streams like property tax and court costs disproportionately affect low-income groups. “When we look at different outcomes across all different areas, the goal is to make sure there is no racial or ethnic disparity in all the different systems that we see, like health, like education, and like housing,” said Desmond. The service industry suffers more, compared to the tech and financial industries, and a significant number of its employees are minorities. During the pandemic, these are the groups that have historically been most disadvantaged and are paying the price. “If you look at unemployment statistics, you will see that the hospitality sector, restaurants and hotels, the retail sector, and some of the other sectors where you see a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic workers, are the vulnerable jobs that are being lost the most right now,” said Hiraga. In addition to the equity group, Denver applied to be part of a multi-city project headed by Bloomberg Philanthropies to assist in budgeting equitably. “Multiple cities are put together to share experiences around financial health and sustainability, but also how to bake equity into your financial decision-making process. That is in both how you spend your money and also the origins of revenue,” said Hanlon. The Bloomberg project has accepted 30 cities as participants. City leaders will meet to collaborate toward an economy that serves their entire populations. “What I’m looking forward to is pilfering good ideas. I think we’ve made a lot of strides here in Denver, especially this budget year,” said Hanlon. What happens next is unknown. A third wave of the pandemic could mean more shutdowns and additional economic strain. But a vaccine could put to rest this dark period. “From my side of the shop, I feel like it’s about trying to make sure we’re doing what we need to do financially to maintain core services in the city and making sure we have a quality of life here in Denver that people and businesses are attracted to,” said Hanlon. ■
EVENTS COURTESY OF DEAR DENVER Thanks to Deborah Lastowka, with deardenver.net, for coming up with some great ideas for entertainment people can enjoy while practicing social distancing. CARNE Y ARENA (VIRTUALLY PRESENT, PHYSICALLY INVISIBLE) Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s conceptual virtual reality installation explores the human condition of immigrants and refugees. Based on true accounts, the lines between subject and bystander are blurred and bound together, as participants navigate through a vast space and live a fragment of the refugees’ personal journeys. WHEN: Dec 1 – Jan 30; times vary COST: $35 - $55. Tickets must be purchased online. WHERE: The Hangar at Stanley – 2501 N. Dallas St. MORE INFO: denvercenter.org SHIKI DREAMS Shiki Dreams is a multi-sensory immersive art experience that combines traditional art forms with cutting edge technology to create a dreamlike universe. While this journey is designed for adults, it also appeals to children as young as 3-years old. WHEN: Dec 3 – Dec 31, Thursdays – Sundays at various times. COST: $14 WHERE: 2219 E. 21st Ave. MORE INFO: facebook.com/Prismajic DECEMBER DELIGHTS Don your most festive snowsuit and enjoy December Delights, a winter spectacular that features seasonal food and bevvies, twinkling lights, ice skating, crafts, and a winter scavenger hunt. WHEN: Dec 4 – Dec 27, Fridays – Sundays from 5 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. COST: $10 - 19; children 6 and under are free WHERE: Four Mile Historic Park – 715 S. Forest St. MORE INFO: facebook.com/FourMileHistoricPark THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE HOLIDAY MARKET Shop local and stay safe at this second annual holiday bazaar. Support local artisans while shopping holiday gifts, wreathes, beauty products, jewelry, and more. WHEN: Dec 4 & Dec 5, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. COST: Admission is free, but you must reserve a timed ticket in advance. WHERE: 1115 Acoma St. MORE INFO: facebook.com/goldentrianglefm FULL MOON YOGA NIDRA Relax, reset, and balance the nervous system with a guided yoga nidra session on the last full moon of 2020. WHEN: Dec 29, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. COST: $8 WHERE: Online MORE INFO: facebook.com/SacredGroveHealing SANTA RESPONDS BY BRIAN AUGUSTINE, VOICE VENDOR I TEND TO BE A WORRIER. Not for myself, for other people – family, friends, or people in the news. So, as Halloween went by, my thoughts turned to Christmas. I started to worry about Santa, Mrs. Claus, and all of the elves, and what was going on at the North pole. So I sent an email to my favorite friend. This is what he wrote in reply: Dear Brian, Thank you for your concern. Covid-19 has changed things here. Like everyone else, we are taking all the steps to stay healthy, wearing our masks, and doing social distancing. That is really hard on the elves. They are very social and love to hug and pat each other on the back. We have cloth screens between their workplaces. So to cheer their friends up, they sing to each other. When we first heard about the sickness, we never considered a shutdown. Some elves have gotten sick, but all of those who were, have gotten better. We are working hard to keep making Christmas presents. We are a little behind schedule, but Christmas will go on as scheduled. We haven’t had much time to make the extras we usually give to the less fortunate. They need more this year than in the past. We are hoping to catch up. We love to watch our Christmas tree lights grow brighter as children open their presents and smile. It is how we know that we have succeeded in our year’s worth of work. There is a way for everyone to help this Christmas. Along with the treats you leave for me and the reindeer, some hand sanitizer would be nice. So, I will be delivering on Christmas. Yes, Brian, we are so happy to say that Christmas will happen, and this year will be no different. Just a little more special. Again, thanks for your concern and your letter. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Your friend, Santa Claus VOICES DARK OF OUR COMMUNITY BY ED CURLEE, HARD TIMES CONTRIBUTOR In my aloneness I find you Though we live And laugh And love as two It’s from deep within the silence we are one As Snow blanket woods melting downstream, The frozen quiet The dark running in us The Hard Times writing workshop is a collaboration between Denver Public Library and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. This workshop is open to all members of the public—especially those experiencing homelessness. December 2020 DENVER VOICE 11
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