$ 2 SUGGESTED DONATION @DenverVOICE PAYING TRIBUTE TO BRIAN AUGUSTINE PAGE 8 RESIDENT OF THE STREETS TALKS ABOUT NAVIGATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH BOTH UNHOUSED AND HOUSED MMUNITIES H COMMUNITIES PAGE 6 40 YEARS OF HOMELESSNESS PAUL BODEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT, OUTLINES THE HISTORY OF SOCIAL DISINVESTMENT IN THE COUNTRY SINCE THE ‘80S. PAGE 11 ARE YOU REALLY LISTENING? VENDOR FOR MONTREAL’S STREET PAPER L’ITINÉRAIRE EXPLAINS THAT COMMUNICATING WITH HER CUSTOMERS IS IMPORTANT, BUT SO IS LISTENING TO PASSERSBY. PAGE 5 VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY PAGES 8, 9, 10, 12 EVENTS / PUZZLES PAGE 13 RESOURCES PAGE 15 FEBRUARY 2023 | Vol.28 Issue 2 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: CREDIT: GILES CLASEN
EDITOR’S NOTE WHEN VENDORS FIRST TALKED about what question they wanted to answer for this month’s Ask a Vendor, the initial ideas were about love and friendship. And then we discovered our longtime vendor and dear friend to many, Brian Augustine, had taken his life. Suddenly, the focus shifted to ELISABETH MONAGHAN MANAGING EDITOR celebrating Brian’s life.For anyone who knew Brian, he had his share of physical health challenges. Sometimes, months would pass before he would stop by to help out at the office or purchase his papers, but we knew it was only a matter of time until he would show up with a bright smile, wearing a baseball cap or one of his signature holiday-themed hats. What we didn’t recognize was just how greatly the countless obstacles Brian faced weighed so heavily on him. On social media, people frequently post reminders to treat others with kindness and compassion because we never know what hardships or difficulties anyone else is facing. We are told to check on the people we love and let them know we’re thinking of them. Yet, despite those reminders, people dear to us slip through the cracks. How do we make sure there are no cracks to slip through? Love should be all we need, but maybe it’s more important to know we are loved. This issue is dedicated to Brian Augustine, but it is also dedicated to the other vendors we’ve lost since February 2020. Others who participated in our program in the past may also have died, but the vendors whose deaths we’re aware of include Dwayne Pride, Alvin “Mustafa” Cotton, Victor Bowie, and Brian Augustine. Each of them was a member of the Denver VOICE family. Each of them played an important role in ensuring we fulfill our mission to give everyone a second chance by offering low-barrier opportunities to earn an income. We can never fill the void left by the loss of Dwayne, Mustafa, Victor, or Brian, but in the spirit of love and friendship, we will continue to recognize how their lives enriched the Denver VOICE and made us all better people because of them. ■ THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS BRIAN AUGUSTINE was a Denver VOICE vendor for12 years. He was a frequent contributor to the VOICE, including the last installment he wrote for this issue in his column “Back on the Streets.” GILES CLASEN is a freelance photojournalist 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. DENVERVOICE.ORG CE.ORG @deeOCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR James Kay MANAGING EDITOR Elisabeth Monaghan PROGRAM COORDINATOR Connie Gaitan GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hannah Bragg VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Aaron Sullivan Laura Wing ARTISTS/PHOTOGRAPHERS Breez Giles Clasen WRITERS Breez 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. John Alexander Lando Allen Brian Augustine Rea Brown Giles Clasen Raelene Johnson Jacob Marsh, Sr. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nikki Lawson, President Chris Boulanger, Vice President Jeff Cuneo, Treasurer Zephyr Wilkins, Secretary Donovan Cordova Raelene Johnson Jennifer Seybold Julia Watson Cabal Yarne 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 1 p.m. Orientation is held every day we are open, but prospective vendors must arrive by 10:00 a.m. 2 DENVER VOICE February 2023 STAFF CONTRIBUTORS BOARD CONTACT US
INTERNATIONAL STORY HOMELESS PEOPLE ON THE STUTTGART PAINT ATTACKS BY DANIEL KNAUS ANTI-HOMELESS ARCHITECTURE IS ALSO AN EXAMPLE OF (STRUCTURAL) VIOLENCE - THESE BLOCKS HERE IN STUTTGART ARE MEANT TO KEEP HOMELESS PEOPLE FROM FINDING A PLACE TO STAY DRY. CREDIT: DANIEL KNAUS IN SEPTEMBER I ASKED SEVERAL HOMELESS PEOPLE if they were scared by the paint attacks (their real names have not been used). The first answer is usually the same and may baffle citizens from so-called mainstream society: “What paint attacks?” Almost all my contacts are still unaware of the attacks even after they became a regular occurrence. My first insight is that homeless people are so disadvantaged by material deprivation, language barriers, or cognitive Continued on page 4 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. February 2023 DENVER VOICE 3
INTERNATIONAL STORY Continued from page 3 impairments, that they hardly bear witness to many issues in the media - not even a series of violent crimes that seemingly terrify them. THE HORRORS OF LIFE ON THE STREETS Information about the attacks interested almost all my contacts, but their reactions hardly correspond to what you may expect either. No one single person expressed fear of a potentially threatening paint attack. Not Markus, who claims he’s already afraid enough as people kick him, spit at him and threaten him with all kinds of things. Nor Harald, who exclaimed that a paint attack sounds humiliating, but he’s been set on fire before. He explained that he was under a bridge and some boys came from both sides – he would have had no escape route even if he’d woken up in time. There were burn marks on the concrete like in the war, from the melted plastic of his sleeping bag. Many of the reactions of homeless people surrounding the paint attacks may even irritate a lot of people in mainstream society. Justus has been living on the streets for twenty years and snorts at the idea. “Paint? What a joke. Anyone who does that belongs in the circus!” Only one thought makes him angry: “Paint is expensive, I could use that money to buy lunch.” Experiencing violence and worrying about where the next meal comes from seems so normal for Justus that he’s hardly affected by the news. The same goes for Sabine who is at particular risk as a homeless woman: “If I’m sitting begging, guys press up against me or sit across from me drooling. Guys come after me, even if I’m on the move, as soon as I look just a little bit homeless – which happens quickly when the toilets are closed. Homeless women are just fair game.” A SAD TRICK FOR DETERRENCE Sabine knows all the possible methods of self-defense well. However, things don’t always go to plan on the streets. “Pepper spray also blows back in your face sometimes, so I never trust that. But when I was still on heroin, some friends told me a trick to scare off attackers – keep a syringe that is still bloody. Everyone is so afraid of HIV that when you show them the syringe, even angry young guys give you a wide berth,” Sabine explains. So, could this be a solution for more safety? “Of course not, that’s absurd,” she reassures. “The drugs destroy you. Once addicted, you suffer from your own fears, for example, fear of withdrawal on the street without medical help, which can easily be fatal. In the end, you never have a good chance of defending yourself out here. Unless you want to carry a machete around in your backpack? Whoever has the bigger knife, may be attacked less often. I used to know someone like that but, at some point, the police checked him and that was the end of that”. So, if not paint attacks, what’s on homeless peoples’ minds? For Carlos, it’s apprehension towards strangers passing by: “You lie there and just see shoes and you know that people are looking down on you both physically and morally.” Nadine worries about being treated unfairly by law enforcement officers: “They have me on their radar because I look different.” Tarek is afraid of exploiters and fraudsters, such as recruiters for illegal employment (in the construction sector for example): “There are guys who make us promises but break our bones rather than pay us.” For Alan, it’s the frequent panic when loud footsteps approach in the dark: “If you are alone, you can never sleep in the same place more than once, otherwise someone will be waiting for you. And when you’re somewhere new, you don’t know who you’ll provoke there - shopkeepers, residents, or psychos - and what kind of trouble you’ll soon be in. HOME ISN’T BETWEEN FOUR WALLS Homeless people of course also talk about the stress of never being able to come home to their own four walls and constantly fighting for their sheer existence. Dunja says she worries about where she can get some warm food, where the next toilet is, and whether she’ll be attacked there. She says: “If I am sick, how do I cure my cold before it hits my lungs? Where do I wash my underwear when I don’t want to go back to my drop-in center because someone is hostile to me there? Will I see my family again and will they take me in?” So, there are many fears for people on the streets, yet they often remain in the dark – just like many homeless people themselves. Most of the worries of those affected don’t even make it onto television and at best here in our street paper. Now, however, it’s come to light that the suspected perpetrator of the paint attacks was homeless himself. Sabine’s take on it is that if other poor people are beating each other up, there’s no solidarity. However, she’s not surprised: “Life on the streets can break you. Sick people become even sicker, some become numb or even go crazy. If, like the victims, the perpetrator too was homeless, society has two reasons at once to help us more.” ■ Translated from German by Naomi Bruce Courtesy of Trott-War / International Network of Street Papers MARIACHI BANDS FIRE UP FADING MEMORIES OF MEXICAN ALZHEIMER PATIENTS BY ALBERTO FAJARDO MARIACHI BANDS HAVE LONG BEEN A STAPLE OF MEXICAN CULTURE, and now their lively songs are finding a new use: reawakening the memories of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The Mexican Alzheimer’s Center is promoting the therapy, hoping the music will stir up recollections of times past among patients with the degenerative illness, encouraging them to sing or even dance to familiar old tunes. “It makes me very sad because I remember my husband, but apart from that, I listen to the music with joy because it brings back many memories that make me very happy,” MARGARITA RAMIREZ, SUFFERING FROM ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, SINGS WITH MARIACHI BAND MEMBER AS PART OF THE THERAPY BEING PROMOTED BY THE MEXICAN ALZHEIMER’S CENTER, WHICH HOPES THE MUSIC WILL STIR UP RECOLLECTIONS OF TIMES PAST AMONG PATIENTS WITH THE DEGENERATIVE ILLNESS, IN MEXICO CITY, MEXICO OCTOBER 9, 2022. REUTERS/HENRY ROMERO 4 DENVER VOICE February 2023 said Leonor Camacho, a 90-year-old with Alzheimer’s in Mexico City. Songs with links to her husband, relatives, and friends are played to Camacho to complement her daily therapy, which includes saying tongue twisters with other patients online and performing manual exercises to stimulate her memory. The course of therapy led by female guitarists, violinists, and trumpeters in cropped jackets and wide sombreros began in September and will continue until mid-November, encompassing performances throughout the city that patients can attend. The shows take in ballrooms, boats on the waterways of the southern Xochimilco district, and the capital’s traditional mariachi hotspot, the central square Plaza Garibaldi, in the hope that venues will fire up patients’ memories. Regina Altena, head of the Alzheimer’s Center, said studies show that music stimulates neurotransmitters in the brain, creating a mental and emotional connection that helps patients remember and conjure up significant events in their lives. Originally developed in Germany 11 years ago, the therapy was given a mariachi twist to adapt it for Mexican use. Camacho, who has had Alzheimer’s for five years, is one of an estimated 1.8 million people with dementia in Mexico. Of them, around 1.3 million are thought to have Alzheimer’s. During the afternoon, Camacho likes to peruse photo albums with her daughter Maria del Rocio Maya and keeps her mind active by preparing food and doing other tasks around her home. Since Camacho began the mariachi therapy, Maria del Rocio said her mother had become livelier and taken up a more active role in family life again. Before, Camacho tended to sit alone in an armchair by the window, her daughter said. ■ Courtesy of Reuters / International Network of Street Papers
INTERNATIONAL STORY PAGE TITLE ARE YOU REALLY LISTENING? STREET PAPER VENDORS ENGAGE IN EVERYDAY ACTS OF COMMUNICATION BY JO REDWITCH Jo Redwitch, a L’Itinéraire vendor at the Rosemont metro station in Montréal, conveys the importance that comes with listening and communicating with customers and other people that pass by her pitch. THE NEED TO COMMUNICATE with another human being is quite human. Passers-by also have their share of stress on a daily basis. Here’s what I tell my clients: “I’m here to sell a magazine, but I’m here for you first.” Selling is important, but so is listening to passersby. THE PINK FLOWERY HIJAB In a cheerful tone, and spontaneously, I call out to her: “Your hijab is beautiful! She smiles. Then I add: “You are very pretty”. Seeing her radiant face, I understand that I have touched a sensitive chord. She moves forward, rummaging in her bag. I refuse the money. She doesn’t understand. I am just happy to see her smile at me and I feel grateful. She insists on giving me the money. I refuse it and wish her a nice day by giving her the magazine. THE ELDERLY LADY An elderly lady stops, wallet in hand: “Would you like a magazine, ma’am?” She answers me with a nod. “Do you want today’s or the one November issue, which contains two pages I wrote? It’s the article called ‘Letter to my younger self’.” I show her the photos that accompany my article. She might be the more visual type, you never know. She holds her purse tightly, it’s rush hour and it’s crowded, but this detail doesn’t bother her at all. “My niece just had a baby. Her husband works a lot and my niece is exhausted. I’m going to her house to help her cook. “ I listen to her patiently in spite of the traffic in the subway. It’s 5 p.m. sharp. Her story over, she leaves me with a big $10. “Keep the change, thanks, Jo.” THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR Another woman stops and calls out to me: “I read your piece: ‘Letter to my younger self’. Then, as you suggested, I tried to do the same – I wrote as if I were talking to myself as a child. I wondered if I had made the right choices, especially in early adulthood. As I reread it, I started to cry, tore it up, and threw it in the trash.” “Why ?” I asked her. “You know, I work in daycare and have had some serious health issues this year.” I nodded... “And I had an epiphany. Since the health thing with my heart, I’ve come to the realization that I never thought about myself. I sacrificed my whole life for my husband, and my children. Now I feel stuck.” I listened to each of them. The elderly lady needed empathy and recognition for helping her niece. My regular client needed me to tell her PHOTO COURTESY OF L’ITINÉRAIRE that it was not too late to take care of her own needs instead of those of others. While the young woman in the hijab simply needed to be told a compliment. Active listening, for me, is listening without intervening. Just listening. I try to understand the other person’s inner world, show real empathy, and then give the person time to tell their story. Also, it’s always good to validate with the person to make sure that I have understood. Maybe the person doesn’t need you to help them solve their problems, maybe they just need an ear. Genuine listening gives importance and value to people who need to talk, and even more to the person who is too often silent. ■ Courtesy of L’Itinéraire / International Network of Street Papers @DenverVOICE February 2023 DENVER VOICE 5 Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., or by appointment. NEW ITEMS NEEDED: Socks 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 WINTER DONATIONS MADE EASY During the winter, Denver VOICE vendors experience increased heating and housing costs. Meanwhile, their income decreases because cold temperatures means less foot traffic and fewer paper sales. If you would like to help out your vendor by donating a few extra dollars, scan the QR code below to make a payment through Venmo. Please be sure to write your vendor’s name in the comments. Thank you! WINTER WISH LIST
COMMUNITY PROFILE CREDIT: GILES CLASEN NOT A NOBODY GILES CLASEN ONE LOOK AT NAILHEAD AND IT IS CLEAR HE HAS A STORY TO TELL. His nose has a notch missing brought on by injury. “It’s interesting because no one ever asked me about it before,” Nailhead said. He speculated that no one asks because the wound makes him look intimidating. The injury was retribution for a disagreement he had with a group of homeless individuals he’d encountered. The group had set up camp in a park and put up a chain as a barrier to keep others out. Nudged by his friend, Nailhead approached the group and told them to remove the chain for safety reasons. According to Nailhead, he delivered the message in a way that violated a community code and was punished for it. “I got hit with a skateboard, something we call ‘truck fucked,’” he said. “When you get hit with a skateboard, both the wheels land in your eyes, and the truck busts your nose up. It’s a pretty substantial blow. It is to serve somebody a punishment in my culture.” The homeless community lives by a certain code that has to be learned, Nailhead said. Violating the code and the community’s trust can lead to violence as retribution. “The hit sheared off seven teeth and fractured my sinus CREDIT: GILES CLASEN cavity,” Nailhead said. “The most painful part was shearing my teeth off because the roots stay in your gum.” He now keeps mostly to himself while moving in and out of different communities living on the streets. According to 6 DENVER VOICE February 2023
COMMUNITY PROFILE 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. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN Nailhead, he is known as someone you don’t mess with, but also someone who can be trusted to share what he has. Nailhead maintains a small camp in an alley where he has lived for nearly four years. Occasionally, he is forced to move by the police, but he always returns after a few days. The camp consists of a heavy wool blanket draped over a small gap in the foundation and fencing of an apartment building. Inside the lean-to, the floor is covered with more blankets, a few supplies, and a sleeping bag. “I think my camp isn’t as threatening and is better to my [housed] neighbors because I don’t have a tent,” Nailhead said. “There are no stakes in the ground. The stakes mean a lot. If you drive a stake into the ground it is symbolically like you’re putting down roots, something permanent.” Nailhead keeps the alley clean and picks up any nails or glass to protect tires. He believes this simple act helps him maintain a good relationship with his housed neighbors. “The best relationship is when they don’t think about me until they take the trash out and see me. And they don’t think about me again until they take the trash out again.” Nailhead said. Nailhead considers weather to be the greatest threat to him. The recent cold has been difficult for him to navigate. “The only way to legit stay alive out here is to burn a fire,” Nailhead said. Not just any fire will do, though. As Nailhead explained, it has to be a slow-burning fire that creates a lot of heat and little smoke. He has developed his own way of creating fuel for his fires. Dry cardboard is Nailhead’s fuel of choice. He tears it into strips and then soaks each strip in a mixture of wax and Sterno fuel. If he can’t get Sterno heaters, he relies on lighter fluid. Nailhead always keeps his fires inside some type of fireproof container and off the street. When it becomes dangerously cold, Nailhead goes to the Aurora Day Resource Center. He travels from downtown Denver to Aurora because he feels the ADRC treats people kindly. “[The ADRC] is there only to provide you with a place to be warm and alive. They’re not trying to push anything on you,” Nailhead said. Nailhead first became homeless after leaving his life on the East Coast, where he had developed a drug and alcohol addiction. He said if he didn’t leave his old life, he would die of alcohol poisoning or a cocaine overdose. He figured if he gave up his job as an electrician he wouldn’t be able to afford the drugs and alcohol that threatened his life. He wasn’t sure why he chose Denver, but he believes his poverty and homelessness saved his life. So far, his strategy is working. He drinks very little today, compared to when he was a working electrician, and he no longer uses hard drugs like crack cocaine. He mostly uses alcohol or drugs to endure the hardships of living on the street, but he no longer feels he needs drugs or alcohol in the same way. Getting off the streets hasn’t been easy. Nailhead isn’t sure if he is ready to start trying to get an apartment or other more permanent housing. He knows eventually, the time will come when his body can’t endure the changing weather and other threats. Nailhead has been arrested a handful of times for being in various parks after hours and for sitting or lying down in the public right of way near the 16th Street Mall. These arrests may make it harder for him to find housing when he is ready. He knows people may not understand why he continues to live on the street, and he said it is hard to explain. “I’m a nobody,” Nailhead said. “But out here I’m kind of not a nobody. I am kind of respected. You can’t find that everywhere.” ■ 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. - 1 p.m. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact us at: program@denvervoice.org February 2023 DENVER VOICE 7
VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY PAYING TRIBUTE TO DENVER VOICE VENDOR BRIAN AUGUSTINE Denver VOICE vendors share their memories of Brian BREEZ I will personally miss Brian Augustine so much. He was a force of positivity in my experience here in Denver. Brian saw that I was and have been going through many trials and tribulations and took it upon himself to pull me aside and encourage me to replace my mental dialogue with positive reinforcement. He encouraged me and lifted me up so that instead of just focusing on the negative, to see the positive happening all around me every day. His words were, “There’s more to your days than what you’re focusing on in these trying times. Open your eyes to the good that’s happening.” I will always remember this, Brian. Thank you! RAELENE JOHNSON Brian did so much for everyone. He volunteered at the VOICE office and would help out by doing chores that vendors do to get incentive papers. Brian didn’t take the incentive papers and would say to give them to other vendors who needed more sales. REA BROWN It is with great sadness that I speak on the unfortunate event to wit that I have been so fortunate. While I could use my pen to spin words that blend, with memories symphonically accomplishing a tapestry, so wonderfully woven that one would wish to ponder “what if,” before they drift. But today, I will speak plainly as a friend. Brian was one of the first vendors that I met, whom I remember for his professionalism. Every day, at the same time, like clockwork, you knew who Brian was. He had a hat or a shirt for every holiday. He was always highspirited while working. He had a system for buying and vending papers that he used every month he could until COVID. In the office, on the other hand – at least from where I stood – it appeared that Brian was trying to be the greatest vendor. As best as he could, he volunteered for a long time, helped unload the paper delivery trucks; wrote for the paper more than any other vendor I know, participated in all the programs the VOICE offered, showed up for fundraisers, special events, special issues, etc. I even believe he served on the board at one time. Brian wasn’t perfect. Brian had problems. One day I ILLUSTRATION BY BREEZ remember trying to help Brian find an answer to his housing problems, which got worse when his rent nearly doubled some years ago. 8 DENVER VOICE February 2023
VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY It seemed to have been a downward spiral since then. With relationship problems, in and out of the hospital, one thing after the other to weaken his heightened spirit, until finally, it happened, and he was back to being homeless. Of course, there were many things that could’ve been done to prevent his passing. And while people tried to help Brian, myself included, it remains evident that the help he needed was companionship, financial support, or both. It’s hard to think that one act of kindness might have kept Brian alive, even if, but for a little while longer. And not only Brian but Dwayne and many others. They didn’t do drugs but tried to help humanity, maybe made a few unprofitable decisions, but nothing warranting an early grave. All Brian needed was a place to stay, even if for a little while until he could find a place he could afford with the money he was making. But there was no couch that would welcome Brian or temporary stay he could go to. Brian’s friends were few. They were people who either worked at the VOICE or people who he sold the VOICE to. I hope this dark untimely event shines a light on what more we all could have done, and what we can do in the future. JOHN ALEXANDER My name is John Alexander, and I have been with the VOICE for more than 15 years. I have known Brian Augustine since that very first day with the VOICE. Throughout these many years, I have only seen Brian’s love for his work, and the way the life he enjoyed with the Denver VOICE grew more each day than the day before. Brian never, never, never spoke in disgust about anyone or anything – not even when the weather was bad. His kind words and actions made Brian Augustine who he was. Goodbye, Brian Augustine, and may God continue to give you peace and many blessings. JACOB MARSH, SR. Brian was a good man, a great friend, and an awesome vendor. Brian was a very compassionate guy. If you were down on your luck or having a bad day, he always knew knew what to say to cheer you up and get out of the slump or to make you feel better when you’d received bad news. He was a very funny guy, and everyone knew it. I watched Brian in his good years and his bad. Even though his final couple of years were some of the worst, he always managed to look at the positive side of things. Brian was one of my mentors. When I started with the VOICE, Brian took time to teach a greenhorn like me to vend the VOICE properly. I had the privilege of getting to know him, and understanding what was important to him. He once told me that other than this job, which he loved, he loved his family, but he loved his vendor family just as much. He also told me his favorite part of this job was meeting new people. Brian loved his job when he was able and feeling well enough to get out. He tried his hardest to get the VOICE and our voices as vendors out to the public for everyone to see what we do here at the Denver VOICE. Brian was a very caring man that loved everyone and everything in life. He had a very big heart and cared for everyone – even if they didn’t care for him. I never considered Brian to be a violent man. I don’t think he had a violent bone in his body. Brian, you were my friend and brother. You will be missed dearly. Rest in Paradise. ■ If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources. This tribute continues on page 10. February 2023 DENVER VOICE 9 BACK ON THE STREETS BY BRIAN AUGUSTINE Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of Brian Augustine’s “Back on the Streets.” I was so fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know Brian. He was proud of this column. His stories were harsh sometimes, but to give readers a true sense of reality, he refused to soften how he described his experiences. I loved working with him on his column, and I will be forever grateful to him for trusting me to help tell his story. THEY SAY THAT THERE ARE THREE BASIC NEEDS TO LIVE – water, food, and shelter – but, there is also is a fourth. Some may supplement drugs and/or alcohol, which may get you through life. But, that’s definitely not living a real life. Love is a necessity to live a real life. Human contact. Like a handshake or, better, a hug. Love gets you through the days. The first love most receive is from their mom – even with an adoption. Mom loves you first. Then, hopefully, Dad, followed by siblings. Parents, brothers, and sisters are a great source of love. After that, it’s aunts and uncles, but let’s not forget about cousins. This should be the base for love in your life. That isn’t true in my case. My family just doesn’t find a use for me. After family, there is that first love, which some call puppy love. Friends are another good source of “small” love. Then, there are the great loves. Some say you’re only allowed three great loves in one life. I’ve had my three. I know they were great loves because no matter what they did, or what I did to them, the love was still there. Right now, I’m living without any significant love. My mother passed away, and my family doesn’t contact me at all, even if I contact them. I have no girlfriend, even though I’ve tried and searched for one. The only love I receive is from those who are my friends. Friends tend to only say they love you when you say it first. I will continue to go through life, still searching for that next love. And I will always have the hope of finding one. Being homeless, it is hard to find love. We tend to do things that hurt our chances. Usually, drugs or alcohol separate us from the ones we love. For me, it is just being homeless and poor. I went through the pandemic without hugs or handshakes. It was hard but I made it through it. Now, I’m on a forced shutdown due to having a cold and dealing with poor health conditions, which means for three or four months, I will not have my friends with me. But I continue to strive forward. Still hoping to find that intimate love. Make sure you tell the ones you love that all you have for them is love. I’m sorry if I made you sad. I just hope you understand this is something I had to get off my chest. It being February and all. ■ ORIGINAL DESIGN BY BRIAN AUGUSTINE FOR 2020’S WRAPPING PAPER ISSUE
VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH BRIAN’S EYES In the summer of 2017, a handful of Denver VOICE vendors participated in a photography workshop led by Dave Thatcher of Picture Me Here. After learning how to frame a shot and tell a story with an image, the vendors received a free disposable camera and the opportunity to publish photos in our August 2017 issue. Brian Augustine’s photos are centered around two areas where he spent much of his time: the South Pearl Street Farmers Market and the 16th Street Mall. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN SOUTH PEARL STREET FARMERS MARKET “This is the end of the farmers market, and the end of my day. When it’s over I do traffic control.” BRIAN’S MORNING VENDING SPOT “Start of the workday. It just struck me as a really good picture, the lighting and everything. It felt like the start of a good day.” 16TH STREET MALL “It was a peaceful morning. It gets so busy down there that sometimes you don’t recognize the beauty.” SOUTH PEARL STREET FARMERS MARKET “All the people at the South Pearl Street Farmers Market are friendly.” 16TH AND CURTIS STREETS, LOOKING UP AT INDEPENDENCE PLAZA BUILDING “The reflection of the clock tower in this building reminded me of mechanical monkeys you see in the movies.” 10 DENVER VOICE February 2023
NATIONAL STORY 40 YEARS OF HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA BY PAUL BODEN Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, writing from the perspective of having experienced homelessness at a young age, outlines the history of social disinvestment in the country since the ‘80’s. FORTY YEARS AGO, the federal government slashed affordable housing budgets of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), marking the beginning of the contemporary crisis of homelessness. It has become political fodder for local politicians to say they will end homelessness “in this city” with complete disregard for the fact that no one city created homelessness, and none will end it on their own. To understand why national rates of homelessness skyrocketed in the 1980s, we must ask: what systemic factors changed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to allow so many people to fall through the social safety net and end up living and dying on our streets? What has been happening over the last 500 years to result in Black and Indigenous people being disproportionately represented in the houseless population, and hit hardest by criminalization? Homelessness is a direct result of the decisions and funding priorities of the federal government, in a larger context of white supremacy, settler colonialism, and neoliberalism. If the federal government (LEFT) MAYOR AND HOUSING DIRECTOR OF NYC IN 1936, ARTWORK FUNDED BY WPA FEDERAL PUBLIC HOUSING ADMINISTRATION CREATED 1937 (RIGHT) ART HAZELWOOD AND WRAP 2022 OVERTHROW OF NEOLIBERAL GOVERNANCE – FREAKING SOON :) had chosen to support affordable housing, health care, anti-poverty wages and programs, worker’s protections, and quality education—rather than war, tax breaks for the wealthy, and corporate welfare—mass homelessness would not exist in our nation. In 1983, the Reagan administration tasked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with directing a national solution to the rising number of people without homes. FEMA, the federal agency responsible for disaster relief, did what they always do, which was to create thousands of short-term, emergency shelters. Given the economic downturn of the 1980s, popular sentiment was that the crisis would self-correct in time. But by 1987, the passage of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act marked the first federal legislation devoted solely to “managing” the epidemic of homelessness that was growing across the nation. As real affordable housing programs were being defunded by the federal government, funding for shelter programs grew exponentially. For four decades, homeless shelters that were meant to be a temporary solution to a temporary problem remained the primary response, along with criminalization, to people sleeping en masse in the streets. This ain’t no temporary problem, and the Federal Government never honestly thought it would be. Historical context is critical to understanding who is hardest hit by 40 years of social disinvestment. Ongoing systems of white supremacy and settler colonialism that affect everything from housing to healthcare, education to transportation, and especially the criminal (in) justice system, mean that homelessness and its myriad related traumas disproportionately impact people along intersectional lines of race, gender, sexuality, disability, immigration, and so on. This is no accident. It is exactly across these intersectional lines of difference that so many of us have joined forces in working for meaningful and deep change, building on ongoing fights for prison abolition, racial justice, disability justice, and countless other struggles. In 2005, for example, several groups organizing in the western ROONIE GODMAN, (2020)... REST IN POWER BROTHER U.S. came together to create the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) and across the country, other community groups are doing the same thing all fighting to give life to the realities of people with firsthand experience of these oppressive systems and to push for dignified solutions. We are continuing the fight to combat carceral shelters, end the criminalization of racialized poverty, stop the sweeps, and fight for actual housing, healthcare, education, and dignity that all human beings deserve. True community organizing brings allied local groups together to find common threads and strategize paths forward, mobilize legal resources for members, creates artwork and shared messaging, connects communities through coordinated direct actions, research and so much more. Seek out these groups and expand the Human Rights framework of dignity and respect for people as not a charity issue, it is the least we should demand and expect of our government. After 40 years, the system is still doing exactly what it was designed to do: manage and minimize the presence of homeless people. It was NEVER intended to address homelessness in any real way. I was here 40 years ago, and I’m still here today. The bunk beds and crash pads that FEMA funded weren’t implemented to create a new category of housing status for members of a community but that’s exactly what it has done. After 40 years of inhumane abject failure, it is past time to recognize “managing visible homelessness” isn’t a solution to shit. Homelessness is just a more visible manifestation of a society lacking in justice, not just the injustice of homelessness. Our organizing and public education must continue to build on the realities of all oppressed people so we lift our connection to each other and our power together! ■ The Western Regional Advocacy Project combines street outreach, movement building, and national policy work to help bridge local-national divisions that have hampered homeless advocacy and seeks to expose and eliminate the root causes of civil and human rights abuses of people experiencing poverty and homelessness in communities. Courtesy of the International Network of Street Papers February 2023 DENVER VOICE 11
IN YOUR OWN WORDS I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN 50 YEARS AGO BY RAELENE JOHNSON, VOICE VENDOR WHEN I WAS 16, I was in so much pain, I tried to commit suicide. I felt so bad and had no one to talk to, so I took a combination of sedatives and painkillers. After swallowing them, I ran from my parents’ house and through the woods nearby, so that I couldn’t be found. I just wanted to die. When they went looking for me, my sister pointed out the direction that she thought I would take. By the time they found me, most of the pills had already dissolved in my bloodstream, and my stomach had to be pumped. (To this day, I have not gotten over that feeling of having my stomach pumped.) After that, I was committed to a psychiatric ward for 10 months. And back then, mental health care was not good. The hospital didn’t know how to handle someone with all of my problems, so they released me. I had to suffer for so many years because no one would even look at me to help me. But deep down inside, I knew I could not attempt suicide again. RAELENE JOHNSON. CREDIT: CORTNEY TABERNA It has been 50 years since then, and I’m glad I survived and was brought back to life. If I had died, I wouldn’t have had my children or nine grandkids. I also wouldn’t have my eight great grandbabies. (My ninth great grandchild will be born towards the end of February!) I thank God today I’m alive! If you are in pain and life is hard for you, GO GET HELP!!! Today there are so many different ways to find the help you need. Once you take your life, it’s over. Problems seem bigger than they really are. I’m here to tell you I love life today. It took me so long to get here, but I have to keep asking for help until you get it. You are worth LOVE – both selflove and the love of others! Once you get past your pain, you can be a light for others. That is the reason we go through pain, cause once we overcome it, we can help others. PLEASE GET HELP if you need it! You can’t come back from death, and you may miss out on the joy that living brings – once you ask for help and receive it. ■ WE NEED FUNDING FOR BETTER MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS BY LANDO ALLEN, VOICE VENDOR IN 2004, CONGRESS PASSED A BILL to give tax breaks to the rich, which were paid for by funds that had been used for mental health programs. At that time, I was trying to get back to working as a nurse’s aide. It was a career that I enjoyed and spent years doing. When the Democrats took control of the House, they took away that tax break, but the bill didn’t include funds for mental health care like before. I remember the first time I was homeless. I was in Atlanta and met this guy from my hometown. After talking to him, I thought he was pretty cool. I ended up going to Tampa Bay to find work. I was gone a year then came back to see the guy in Atlanta. But he wasn’t the same person, and he had obviously lost his mind. I knew that people can [lose their minds] on the streets, and I wished then that there were places for him to go to find help because he was such a cool guy. LANDO ALLEN. CREDIT: JESSE BORRELL After a year or two, I was going through my own mental health crisis. I had a daughter, but I had lost touch with her mother and didn’t know where my child was. I was sitting in a motel, watching my friend, as he was going through an illness that caused his death. I woke up to a phone call from his employer telling me that he had to be at work. When I passed my friend the phone, I saw that he was no longer alive. That was a blow to me. I didn’t know that my friend was so sick. I think he wanted to die. I know there are times I have felt the same way, so, when I got to Denver, I found a place to go to for my mental health. But I thought to myself, how many cities don’t have resources for mental health? Can you imagine how many tragedies could’ve been avoided across America if we had access to better mental health resources country-wide? Well, after all these years, and with all I’ve shared here, I believe that we need to ask Congress for funding for better mental health programs. ■ 12 DENVER VOICE February 2023
EVENTS LAUGHS AT LUCI’S National touring comedians and the best local talent descend into Luci’s Shambles & Provisions for a luscious and lovely night of laughter hosted by Jeff Stonic of DeadRoom Comedy. WHEN: Feb 1, Feb 8, Feb 15, Feb 22, 7:30 p.m. doors; 8 p.m. show COST: Free, but a two-item minimum is strongly suggested. WHERE: Luci’s Shambles & Provisions, 1553 Platte St. INFO: deadroomcomedy.com THE DEATH OF NAPOLEON: A PLAY IN LESS THAN THREE ACTS Napoleon Bonaparte spends the last years of his life in exile on an island playing solitaire, arguing with insects, and refusing to get on his teeter-totter in this new comedy by Buntport Theater. WHEN: Various dates from Feb 3 – Feb 18. COST: Name your own price. WHERE: Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan St. INFO: buntport.com ACROSS LUNAR NEW YEAR PARTY FOR KIDS Celebrate the Lunar New Year! Make Lunar New Year decorations and crafts while enjoying traditional light refreshments. All ages up to 12 are welcome. WHEN: Feb 5, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Denver Public Library: Central Library, 10 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. INFO: denverlibrary.org/events FREE DAY AT THE DENVER ART MUSEUM Enjoy a free day at the museum! Advance ticket reservations are encouraged. WHEN: Feb 14, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. INFO: denverartmuseum.org FREAK TRAIN Held the last Monday of each month, Freak Train has remained Denver’s most unique live entertainment experience for more than 20 years. The fi rst 12 people to sign-up get 5 minutes to do anything they want on stage (well, just about anything). It might be the best 5 minutes of your life; it might be the worst. Either way, there’s free beer! WHEN: Feb 27, 8 p.m. COST: $5 WHERE: Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St. INFO: bugtheatre.org 1. Minute Maid drinks 5. Recipe amts. 9. Charged particle 12. British ___ (group of landmasses in the North Atlantic) 14. One with contacts, maybe 16. Bird word 17. Calligraphy tool 19. Choose 20. Congenital 21. Abridge 23. Relieves (of) 25. Founder of Carthage (or, in more recent times, British singer of “Here with Me”) 26. Brand mentioned by the Beatles in “Come Together” 30. Small incisions 33. Classic card game 34. Start of a refrain 36. Black piano key 37. Cylindrical building 39. TV control: Abbr. 40. Harvard rival 41. Th ere’s one on almost all of Weird Al Yankovic’s albums 43. A Stooge 46. Band performance 47. Wolfs (down) 49. Mexican salamanders 51. Only US president who was also chief justice 52. Opposite of sans 53. Judgment Day hymn title that translates to “day of wrath” 57. Driver’s lic., e.g. 61. Mr. Potato Head piece 62. Like Wyoming 64. Baptist leader? 65. Taj ___ 66. “All My Children” vixen 67. Indian lentil dish 68. MacLachlan of “Twin Peaks” 69. One-dish meal DOWN 1. LP player 2. “Help ___ the way!” 3. Association 4. Lady of Spain 5. “Ew, I didn’t want to know that!” 6. Harmony 7. Fuzz 8. Shells out 9. Counterculturist 10. “My bad!” 11. Written reminder 13. Unbending 15. What a spoiler might spoil 18. Choice words 22. Instruct 24. Poles, e.g. 26. Th resholds 27. Vegetable that may be red, green, white, or yellow 28. Security for a loan 29. Hello or goodbye 31. Superman’s birth name 32. “Keep it in” marks 35. Amazon assistant 38. Gumbo vegetables 42. Ratify 44. “___ Out” (Billy Joel song) 45. Swear 48. Run of luck 50. Comes to pass 53. Not working 54. Collection: Suffi x 55. Hurting 56. And others, for short 58. Came down to earth 59. Dash 60. Attraction 63. Ginger ___ COURTESY OF DEBORAH LASTOWKA PUZZLES COURTESY OF STREETROOTS ANSWERS ARE ON PAGE 15 February 2023 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 $10,000+ Rose Community Foundation Max and Elaine Appel The Christian Foundation Acorn Hill Foundation Inc. $5,000 - $9,999 Bank of America Charitable Foundation Francis Trainer and Trainer Family Sustainable Housing and Development Foundation $1,000-$4,999 Katherine Standiford Walker Family Foundation Jill Haug Whole Foods Foundation Russell Peterson Pivotal Energy Partners USA, Inc. Meek-Cuneo Family Fund Chris and Susan Pappas Michael Dino Sidney B and Caleb F Gates Fund Frederic K Conover Trust Megan Arellano Keyrenter Property Management Denver The Credit Union of Colorado Foundation Jana and Jim Cuneo Kroger Paul Manoogian Lori Holland Gaspar Terrana Warren and Betty Kuehner Maggie Holben Matthew Seashore Michael J. Fehn and Jan Monnier Jim Ashe Courage and Community Foundation George Lichter Family Foundation Lisa Wagner Joshua Kauer Elsbeth Williams $500-$999 John Gibson Fire on the Mountain Christopher Boulanger Sheryl Parker Laura Saunders Robert E and Anne T Sneed Family Foundation Barbara and Robert Ells Carol and Louis Irwin Donald Weaver Edwina Salazar James Stegman Jennifer Stedron Jeremy Anderson Stephen Saul WalMart Peter Iannuzzi Nikki Lawson 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 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! 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 February 2023
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 February 2023 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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