$ 2 SUGGESTED DONATION @DenverVOICE FEEDING THE COMMUNITY WITH ITS 200TH BUILD, DUG CONTINUES TO HELP COMMUNITIES GROW AND SHARE FOOD. PAGE 6 COLORADO NONPROFITS EXPAND SELFSUFFICIENCY BENEFITS MERCY HOUSING PARTNERS WITH COMPASS WORKING CAPITAL TO ADMINISTER FAMILY SELFSUFFICIENCY PROGRAM. PAGE 5 FREEDOM FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: WOMAN WRITES ABOUT ESCAPING FROM HER ABUSIVE MARRIAGE OF 29 YEARS. PAGE 8 NEW MIGRANTS REMAIN HOPEFUL DESPITE CHALLENGES DENVER VOICE CONTRIBUTOR GILES CLASEN DOCUMENTS HIS INTERACTIONS WITH NEW IMMIGRANTS. PAGE 10 VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY PAGES 3, 10, 11, 12 EVENTS / PUZZLES PAGE 13 RESOURCES PAGE 15 MARCH 2024 | Vol.29 Issue 3 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: PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA
EDITOR’S NOTE ELISABETH MONAGHAN MANAGING EDITOR IT SEEMS I WAS JUST WISHING FOLKS A HAPPY NEW YEAR, and now, I am writing this column that will wrap up the first quarter of 2024. That’s probably why I appreciate the twopart question Raelene Johnson suggested for this month’s Ask a Vendor, “How is your 2024 going so far? What is something you’re hoping for between now and the end of the year?” For those who set New Year’s seem so resolutions, those goals possible early in the year, but once everything is in motion, it can be difficult to keep up with goals for better health, a more positive outlook on life, or taking up hobbies — especially when we didn’t have much time for these goals before we set them. To anyone who remains committed to meeting their resolutions for 2024, congratulations! To folks who haven’t been able to follow through on their resolutions, give yourself a break. Maybe you can set an easier goal to meet over the remainder of the year. Speaking of Raelene Johnson, if you’ve read the series of Self talks she’s written over the past few years, you’re familiar with her words of encouragement. Based on overcoming drug addiction, finding stable housing, and discovering that her relationship with God and her Self make a difference in how she approaches life, Raelene is an inspiration. As you will read in her latest update, 2024 did not begin well for Raelene. Not only did her rent go up significantly, but she was diagnosed with cancer. She also recently learned that a separate medical issue required surgery, which would interrupt her chemo treatments. Add to that, she totaled her car in early February. Despite these setbacks, Raelene remains hopeful. We miss seeing her at the office, and no doubt, her regular customers miss seeing her vend on the Pearl Street Mall, but until she can return to vending, she will stay in touch through her updates. ■ THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS 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. ROBERT DAVIS is an award-winning freelance reporter for the Denver VOICE. His work has also appeared in Colorado Newsline, Business Insider, Westword, the Colorado Sun, and Medium.com. GRACE THORBURN is a journalism student at the University of Colorado Boulder. She hopes that her writing will make a difference in the community by covering social justice issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, homelessness, and racial equity. DENVERVOICE.ORG E.ORG @deeOCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR James Kay MANAGING EDITOR Elisabeth Monaghan PROGRAM COORDINATOR Connie Gaitan GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hannah Bragg VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Lanie Lee Cook Aaron Sullivan ARTISTS/PHOTOGRAPHERS Giles Clasen Gigi Galen 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. 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. 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 OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Orientation is held every day we are open, but prospective vendors must arrive by 10:00 a.m. WRITERS Lando Allen Giles Clasen Robert Davis Raelene Johnson Jerry Rosen Grace Thorburn BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chris Boulanger, Vice President Jeff Cuneo, President Zephyr Wilkins, Secretary Antonio Diaz, Treasurer Michael Burkley Cassandria Carmouche Robert Davis Nikki Lawson Julia Watson Cabal Yarne 2 DENVER VOICE March 2024 STAFF CONTRIBUTORS BOARD CONTACT US
ASK A VENDOR THIS COLUMN IS A PLACE FOR DENVER VOICE VENDORS TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS AND STAFF. THIS MONTH’S QUESTION WAS SUGGESTED BY DENVER VOICE VENDOR RAELENE JOHNSON. Q A How is your 2024 going so far? What is something you’re hoping for between now and the end of the year? LANDO ALLEN The beginning of the year has been a nightmare for me. My camper got towed. I tried to get a painting sold but didn’t. I wanted to get some fliers done on my paintings, and I failed at that. I was doing too much. I was working for a friend who cheated me out of money, and the sad thing about it is he knew about all of the stuff I was going through. People! I don’t want to play the victim. My main goal is to get things on track, like doing my music, getting more and better paintings done, and moving out of state. I already did one thing. I bought a camper, and this time, I’m going to pay for parking and not make the same mistake [I did with my old camper]. I will need to finish the rest of the goals I set for this year. RAELENE JOHNSON The first half of the year is going to be dealing with surgery and cancer. In the second half of the year, I hope to have nothing but happiness and good health! JERRY ROSEN 2024 is going very well for me, as I’m accomplishing some of my goals. I have received some miracles so far with finances and a few other things. I hope for better health and better things for the coming year. 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. March 2024 DENVER VOICE 3
NATIONAL STORY use algorithms to judge whether you are a beer person or a wine person to send you targeted offers. Every online payment transaction is assessed by an AI in real time to decide whether it could be fraudulent. If you’ve ever tried to buy something and ended up triggering an additional security measure – be it a password prompt or request for authentication on a mobile app – your bank’s AI was judging your attempted transaction as abnormal or suspect. Our research shows that abundant AI capacity is available to make judgments on whether people’s behavior is deviant or abnormal. To return to our opening example, in a world where early retirement is not the norm, an early retiree has the scales tipped against them. Such social sorting, carried out by AI-based judgments, could be interpreted as a latent or soft form of majoritarian gerrymandering. Traditional gerrymandering is the unethical practice of redrawing electoral district boundaries to skew electoral outcomes. AI-based social sorting could disenfranchise people for behaving in a way that deviates from the majority. The patterns in the Wisconsin case should have us concerned that voters from ethnic minority backgrounds were systematically being classified as deviating from cultural norms. WHO GETS A VOTE? In an ideal world, the electoral roll would include all eligible voters and exclude all ineligible voters. Clean voter lists are vital for democracy. Having ineligible voters lurking on lists opens the PHOTO COURTESY OF RED DOT HOW AI COULD DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS BY DEEPAK PADMANABHAN, MUIRIS MACCARTHAIGH, AND STANLEY SIMOES IMAGINE: THE YEAR IS 2029. You have been living at the same address for a decade. The postman, who knows you well, smiles as he walks to your door and hands you a bunch of letters. As you sift through them, one card grabs your attention. It says: “Let us know if you are still here.” It’s an election year and the card from the electoral office is asking you to confirm that you are still a resident at the same address. It has a deadline, and you may be purged from the voter list if you don’t respond to it. You read about the government using AI to detect and eliminate electoral fraud through selective querying. Is it the AI pointing fingers at you? A quick check reveals that your neighbors haven’t received any such cards. You feel singled out and insecure. Why have you been asked to prove that you live where you’ve lived for so long? Let’s look under the hood. You received the card because election officials had deployed an AI system that can triangulate evidence to estimate why some voters should be contacted to check whether they are still residents at their address. It profiles voters based on whether they display the behavior of a “typical” resident. In this case, you had taken early retirement and not filed tax returns in the past few years, and you had been on holiday during the previous election in 2024. These actions led the AI to conclude that you could be lingering on the electoral list illegitimately and triggered the system to contact you. This fictional story is more plausible than you might think. In 2017 and 2018, more than 340,000 Wisconsin residents received a letter asking them to confirm if they needed to remain on the voter list. This was at the behest of a US-wide organization called Eric, which had classified these voters as “movers” – those who may have ceased to be residents. Eric used data on voting history to identify movers – but also administrative data such as driving license and post office records. Eric may not have used any sophisticated AI, but the logic it employed is very much the kind of logic that an AI would be expected to apply, only on a much larger scale. The approach seemed highly effective. Only 2% of people responded, suggesting that the vast majority of the people contacted were indeed movers. However, research later showed systematic demographic patterns among Eric’s errors. The people erroneously identified as movers (who ended up showing up to vote) were far more likely to be from ethnic minorities. AI AND “MAJORITARIAN GERRYMANDERING” AI algorithms are used in a variety of real-world settings to make judgments on human users. Supermarkets routinely possibility for spurious voting, skewing the result and damaging electoral integrity. On the other hand, leaving eligible voters off a list disenfranchises them and could result in election results that don’t reflect the true will of the people. Ensuring access to the franchise to every eligible voter is therefore very important, and efforts towards clean voter lists need to spread their focus reasonably between integrity and access. The question, therefore, becomes whether AI is capable of doing this. As it stands today, AI is fundamentally a datadriven technology – one that is adept at looking at existing data and identifying regularities or irregularities. It is much better equipped to spot issues with existing data than to identify instances of missing data. That means that it is good at identifying people who may have moved from their registered address, but not good at identifying new residents who have not registered to vote. In a world of AI-driven electoral cleansing, you are much more likely to receive a “Are you still here?” card than your new neighbor is likely to receive a “Have you considered registering to vote?” card. What this means for using AI to clean up voter lists is stark. It risks skewing the balance towards checking for integrity and away from enabling access. Integrity-focused efforts in essence involve pointing fingers at people and putting the onus on them to confirm that they are legitimate voters. Access-focused efforts are like a welcoming pat on the back – an invitation to be part of the political process. Even if widespread disenfranchisement doesn’t happen, states still risk undermining trust in elections by using AI on a larger scale. It could lead voters to feel that electoral offices are obsessively oriented towards fault-finding and much less interested in democratic inclusion. And at a time when trust in elections is needed more than ever, that perception could be just as damaging as actually cutting people from electoral rolls. ■ Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo 4 DENVER VOICE March 2024
LOCAL STORY SPRING WISH LIST Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., or by appointment. CREDIT: SIGMUND ON UNSPLASH COLORADO NONPROFITS EXPAND SELF-SUFFICIENCY BENEFITS AS NEED GROWS BY ROBERT DAVIS RESIDENTS AT THREE APARTMENT COMPLEXES with subsidized housing options for people exiting homelessness and those with Section 8 housing vouchers are now able to access additional self-sufficiency benefits just as a majority of renters in the Denver metro area are struggling to afford rent. In early February, Mercy Housing Mountain Plains, a nonprofit that offers affordable housing at 17 properties in Colorado, and the national nonprofit Compass Working Capital entered into a partnership to administer the federal Family Self-Sufficiency program. FSS helps connect those with housing vouchers and public housing residents with employment opportunities that enable them to “achieve economic independence and reduce dependence on welfare assistance and rental subsidies,” according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The benefits will be available for residents of the Decatur Place Apartments at 115 Decatur St. in Denver, the Clare Gardens at 2626 Osceola St. in Denver, and the Holly Park Apartments at 5524 East 60th Ave. in Commerce City. All of the apartment complexes are owned and operated by Mercy Housing. “Through the efforts of our Resident Services teams and with the support of Compass Working Capital, our financial services programming is helping to meet residents where they are in their financial journeys and allowing them to build a solid financial foundation,” Mercy Housing Mountain Plains Resident Shelly Marquez said in a press release. The new partnership was forged at a time when data from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that more than 51% of renters in the metro Denver area are “cost-burdened,” meaning they pay at least 30% of their monthly income on rent and utilities. One out of four renters in metro Denver were also described as being “severely cost-burdened” because they pay at least 50% of their income on housing costs. Denver’s median rent for an apartment was more than $1,700 per month as of January 2024, according to ApartmentList.com. This means that renters must earn a minimum annual salary of $68,000—or about $32.69 per hour—to avoid being cost-burdened. However, there are relatively few jobs in the metro area that pay enough for renter households to comfortably afford housing. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the metro area’s median hourly wage is $32.09, which is 15% above the national average of $28.01. But nearly two-thirds of jobs available in the metro area pay less than the average hourly wage and the jobs that do pay enough require specialized education and licensure like software engineering, architecture, and legal professions. Markita Morris-Louis, the chief executive of Compass Working Capital said state data suggests there are about 28,000 people in Colorado who are receiving rental assistance and qualify to receive additional FSS benefits. However, only 800 people participate each year, she said. Morris-Lewis added that the partnership between Compass Working Capital and Mercy Housing Mountain Plains could be a “game changer” for expanding FSS access in Colorado going forward. ■ @DenverVOICE NEW ITEMS NEEDED: Socks Toiletries (individual or travel-size) Toothpaste, deodorant Chapstick, sunscreen Hand warmers GENTLY-USED ITEMS NEEDED: Men’s shoes or boots (sizes 8-12) Men’s jackets (sizes L, XL, XXL) Women’s jackets (sizes M, L, XL) Backpacks, carrier bags USB-C charging cables VENMO YOUR VENDOR: If you would like to help out a specific 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! March 2024 DENVER VOICE 5
COMMUNITY PROFILE PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA FOR 40 YEARS, DUG HAS HELPED COMMUNITIES GROW AND SHARE FOOD BY GRACE THORBURN BUILDING A GARDEN PLOT FROM THE GROUND UP IN ONE DAY is no easy feat. Fortunately, the community members who showed up to Denver Urban Garden’s 200th plot build were willing to get their hands dirty. DUG, a 40-year-old nonprofit, built its 200th garden at 48th Avenue & Julian Street in Denver on October 13, 2023. Volunteers at the build included DUG community members, leadership from the Denver Parks and Recreation Department, and dedicated volunteers from Love, Tito’s, the vodka brand — who also sponsored the event with food drinks, and music for volunteers. As the largest independent network of food-producing gardens in the United States, DUG’s reinspiring communities to grow and share food. All of DUG’s gardens are community-run. Their mission is to provide access, resources, and skills for communities to grow food in regenerative urban green spaces. According to a 2022 survey, 81% of the food that was harvested by DUG gardeners was donated or shared with others. PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA 6 DENVER VOICE March 2024
COMMUNITY PROFILE Forty-four new plots were built in 2022, which allowed space for 176 new community gardens. Come spring, 20 plots at the 48th & Julian community garden can be utilized for fresh produce. The plot where DUG’s most recent garden was built is city-owned land that had originally been part of Rocky Mountain Lake Park. It was vacant for about 60 yeaars, due to construction along I-70, which separated the land from the park. “One of the amazing benefits of our partnership that we have with Denver Urban Gardens is the fact that we identify opportunities,” said Chief of Staff at Denver Parks and Recreation Mark Bernstein. “We collectively have that vision for how we can take underutilized spaces like this parcel here and sort of reimagine it to have a much greater purpose that will serve the community.” The Pecos Community Garden was birthed by four Hmong families who immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s and was established as DUG’s first garden in 1978. These families have stuck together since the beginning to maintain the garden as a source of fresh food and to hold onto the ageold tradition of bonding with each other. On May 3, 2023, when the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murphy released an advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and the lack of connection in the U.S., DUG’s work became more important than ever. Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. According to Dr. Murphy, loneliness increases our risk of mental health challenges and premature death, amplifying the need for community gardens to regenerate the land and increase community engagement and food access. Community gardens that take the place of grass “capture way more carbon, require a lot less water, and the temperature when you have dense plantings like this [is decreased], so the heat island effect is reduced, and the biodiversity gets increased,” said Linda Appel Lipsius, DUG’s CEO. “There are so many climate benefits, and when you take these times the 200 gardens we have, that’s some serious acreage.” The heat island effect refers to urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than other outlying areas. DUG supports its gardens in a variety of ways, mainly by providing approved access to land where communities can come together to grow food and by coordinating volunteer groups to help maintain the gardens. “Increasingly, there are fewer opportunities for you to interact with your neighbor, and your neighbor is maybe a different age, PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA background, or socioeconomic status,” said Lipsius. “In these gardens, people come together who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to work together, and it’s a thing of beauty. We [DUG] think that community is a lost art or skill, and these [urban community gardens] help bring them back.” “Having more outdoor space instead of just an open lot is awesome,” said Carl Keating, a volunteer at DUG’s 200th garden build, who said he enjoys helping with a community movement that’s fostering more engagement in the community. “People might just figure out they have a green thumb.” ■ To apply for a plot at 48th & Julian in Denver, email i48thandJuliancommunitygarden@dug.org FOOD FORESTS TO ADDRESS FOOD DESERTS ADJACENT TO THE RECENTLY BUILT COMMUNITY GARDEN is DUG’s 19th food forest in the metro Denver area. The freshly planted trees that make up this food forest at 48th Avenue and Julian Street were planted in September as a regenerative food source for the community. So, what are food forests and how do they address food deserts? Food deserts are exactly what they sound like — places where affordable produce is hard to come by. The Etkin Family Food Forest Initiative was launched in the spring of 2022 to plant accessible food forests in small and underutilized areas in both public spaces as well as alongside community gardens. This initiative is one of many DUG programs that benefit residents in underserved communities. DUG’s food forests are shade-producing and are planted with water-conscious dryland techniques and are thus built to thrive in a changing climate. Food forests usually are made up of seven layers: canopy/tall trees, understory, shrub, herb, groundcover, root, and vertical climber. Each food forest in Denver is maintained by at least two “Tree Keepers” who will ensure the survival and establishment of these trees and plants. ■ PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA PHOTO COURTESY OF FEED MEDIA March 2024 DENVER VOICE 7
INTERNATIONAL STORY Suddenly, a muddled thought flashed through my mind: “My vaccinations aren’t valid in Germany. What now?” I stood at the Frankfurt railway station with only €20 in my pocket. I didn’t see anywhere to warm up until the train left. The station’s charitable mission was the only place I could go. The young woman at my table gave me a piece of chocolate cake. I felt like a failure then, just like everyone who walks through those doors. And that’s exactly why I was so grateful to be there. I knew that I had exchanged the false security with my violent husband for freedom – but it didn’t seem to offer me any support. Loneliness, emotional turmoil, feelings of guilt towards the children who themselves had suffered so much from his violence, feelings of guilt towards my entire family. Why did it take so long to open my eyes? And at the same time, I felt an almost inexplicable yearning to be with him, to go back to the old cycle of violence and regret. PHOTO COURTESY OF AIDA L ON UNSPLASH FREEDOM FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: “HOW COULD I LOSE MYSELF LIKE THAT?” BY CHRISTIANE ROSENMUTH I WANTED TO EMIGRATE – to spend my twilight years in my husband’s home country, which had become my second home over the course of our 30 years together. But when the time came, we only managed eight months. Then we separated, at long last. For almost 29 years, our marriage was defined by physical and psychological violence and my husband’s narcissism. I used to be a teacher. Ever since I was signed off from therapy and recovered from an operation on my hip, I have been supporting disabled people and studying social work. I want to help children and young people learn to love themselves, acknowledge their them seriously. feelings, and take WE WERE HITTING EACH OTHER, NO LONGER HOLDING ANYTHING BACK 3 January 2022. It was one of those nights: drunk, stoned, coked up, and full of Bazooka [a dangerous cocaine paste]. My husband had already snorted it all, and I was pumped full of alcohol and coke too – it had become the only way to make it through these nights. But this night, he was more violent than the others; there were so many of them in our marriage. I don’t remember how it happened this time – we were fighting, hitting each other, no longer holding anything back. I hit back. This is something I had “learned” in the last few months: to stop putting up with everything, to stop being scared and silent. I too had crossed the line, and we were about to go over the precipice. Eventually, he fell asleep, and I prayed: “God, if you want all this to end, let me go without waking him up.” I left. My packed bag had been waiting for this moment for months. I grabbed a few more things and headed out into the 8 DENVER VOICE March 2024 dark, with just enough money to pay for the bus to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Our daughter, who was 10,000 kilometers away, stayed on the phone with me the whole time and paid for the first hotel remotely. THE DECISION TO LEAVE It would take another two weeks until I could leave behind my old life of emotional and physical hell. You couldn’t just up sticks and leave like that. There were documents I needed to leave the country, and I had forgotten them. Besides, I couldn’t really let go yet. The few times we met before I finally left him and the country I’d come to know as my second home were filled with last-ditch attempts to save what was no longer savable. There were fears and threats of death and a final embrace with my husband that is burned into my mind. It was perhaps the only embrace in which our souls felt our pain, our sadness, and also the little love we had left for each other, for a few minutes in our 30-year marriage. I was fortunate to have help from some selfless, kind people, without whom I would not have been able to leave. AN UNCERTAIN FREEDOM 19 January 2022. Back in the winter in Germany. From the warm equator to the sub-zero temperatures of Frankfurt. I had my suitcase and a backpack; nothing else was left from those 30 years. I didn’t want anything else. For a long time, the only feelings I had were loneliness, of having uprooted myself: of not belonging anywhere and no longer wanting to belong anywhere. Our children had already given up a long time ago. They couldn’t watch it, couldn’t stand it anymore. Quito – Madrid – Frankfurt – Stuttgart. A 40-hour journey. FINDING YOURSELF AGAIN The next 18 months led to an inner journey that sometimes caused just as much terrible pain as my previous life. Inpatient therapy, facing up to my life, to my failure, to myself. It wasn’t just the hellish years of my marriage that needed to be looked at, but mainly the 30 years that preceded them. I realized that I had drifted through life for 60 years without any self-worth. I hadn’t learned to recognize, appreciate, and take myself and my feelings seriously. Loss How could I lose myself like that? Wasn’t I on the right path? That old fear of not feeling loved Was stronger and was leading me onto a dangerous bridge that broke beneath me Hope and illusion – two powerful drugs – until I fell apart But they carried me through pain and torment The voice saying stop fell on deaf ears I haven’t felt like myself for a long time. STARTING LIFE ANEW 12 September 2023. I have an appointment with a lawyer in a few days. I’m filing for divorce. And I’m trying to forgive myself. The responsibility never lies with just one person. That will never justify his violence, but I also had my reasons for staying and maintaining the relationship for so long, and for not sparing my children the misery much earlier. I am well on my way to coming to terms with my past and becoming a part of society again. But it’s not over yet. I have to slowly nurture a new relationship with my children and rebuild the trust that we destroyed. It will be a long and painful process. But I dream of one day sitting down at a table with them and laughing together warmly, happily. We have a long way to go, but I know that this moment will come. That’s what I’m working for, and it will only happen like this: When I’ve managed To overcome all my fears To find myself and appreciate her To no longer walk in his footsteps But rather follow my heart. When his blood no longer flows in my veins only then will I be free and we can talk again 3 November 2023. I no longer need him to know who I am. ■ Translated from German by Sarah G Robinson Courtesy of Trott-war / INSP.ngo
NATIONAL STORY TOLEDO’S JAZZ LEGACY: THE BLACK MUSICIANS WHO SHAPED THE OHIO CITY’S SOUNDSCAPE BY ANGELA JENNINGS ART TATUM. ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF TOLEDO STREETS / INSP.NGO ART TATUM A name synonymous with virtuosic, Art Tatum took jazz pianism by the reigns and flipped it upside down. He took inspiration not only from jazz’s primary melodic aspects, but those that weren’t and still aren’t typically focused on, such as bass lines and percussive elements. He approached musicianship from an innovative different angle and was truly a force to be reckoned with. Local jazz expert Doug Swiatecki highlighted that Tatum’s “unbeatable piano stylings were developed in Toledo,” rather than after his introduction to more mainstream jazz communities in New York and Chicago. “When he left Toledo, he overwhelmed all of the pianists in New York,” added Swiatecki. “Going forward, every jazz pianist in history, no matter how creative they are, stands in the shadow of what Tatum did.” CLAUDE BLACK Although he did not share Tatum’s level of recognition, Claude Black was a true icon among Toledo’s most influential jazz pianists. After leaving Detroit, rather than choosing to move to New York, Black chose Toledo – a testament to his love for the city. According to Swiatecki, he was well respected and liked among his peers, and had a wide range of rich experiences with jazz greats. He was Aretha Franklin’s original keyboard player, and “talked about going to New York and jamming with all these famous guys, and the likes of Billie Holiday.” Kim Buehler of Toledo School for the Arts worked with Black directly and describes him as one of her biggest JEAN HOLDEN. COURTESY OF JEANHOLDEN.COM influences as a young jazz artist. “Claude Black could instruct you with just one eyebrow,” she said. “If you did something that he really liked he would kind of sit up and look at you, and you were like, ‘I did it, he looked at me!’” CLIFFORD MURPHY Clifford Murphy is recognized nationwide for his work as a jazz bassist. Both Swiatecki and Buehler credit the blossoming of Toledo’s jazz scene to the opening of jazz club Murphy’s Place, which he co-ran with his partner Joan Russell, who took charge while he travelled with his band. Murphy “brought a level of jazz musicianship into downtown Toledo that hadn’t been there since the late 40s or 50s,” said Swiatecki. JEAN HOLDEN A truly versatile entertainer, Jean Holden is widely considered one of the most important vocalists in Toledo to this day. “In terms of jazz, she can turn it on with the best jazz vocalist you can name and stand her ground,” said Swiatecki. With her vast knowledge of many other musical genres, such as blues and country, Holden has also worked as a vocal coach, and “the list and the names of people that have come out of her vocal studio is kind of staggering,” Swiatecki added. JON HENDRICKS Having grown up just down the street from Art Tatum, Jon Hendricks was destined to make an impact not only on a CLAUDE BLACK. COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO RAMONA COLLINS. COURTESY OF RAMONACOLLINS.COM March 2024 DENVER VOICE 9 RAMONA COLLINS Widely known as “Toledo’s hardest working vocalist,” Ramona Collins paved the way for the area’s female performers and vocalists. Buehler is one of the many young women who Collins mentored throughout her career. She described Collins as “a great mentor to her about how to be a woman in the industry. To this day, I still gig with her, and she does not take a break.” “I don’t think she suffers fools, and that’s refreshing,” Swiatecki added. “I’ve watched her adapt to the most professional orchestras and the most inexperienced players. She is such a vibrant person and a great advocate for all things jazz in Toledo.” ■ Courtesy of Toledo Streets / INSP.ngo local but on an international scale. With his invention of Vocalese, a style of jazz involving writing lyrics to songs or compositions that are typically instrumental, Hendricks made groundbreaking strides in his career. For four semesters, Buehler was Hendricks’ teaching assistant at the University of Toledo, which gifted her the opportunity to tour and perform with him in Europe. She described him as possessing great kindness. “Whether it was a person on a corner, a person passing him in the airport, the garbage man, or somebody really famous, he treated everybody the same,” she said. “He treated every person as if they were a king.” “I’m certain that Jon was truly one of the titans in the American jazz pantheon,” said Swiatecki.
SPECIAL FEATURE ON WARMER DAYS FAMILIES GATHER IN PARKING LOTS IN FRONT OF THEIR HOTELS. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN NEW MIGRANTS REMAIN HOPEFUL DESPITE CHALLENGES BY GILES CLASEN THE CITY OF DENVER has served nearly 40,000 new immigrants often by offering shelter in hotels. New immigrant families were allowed to spend up to 42 days in a hotel before being released, while single men and women were often housed for up to 14 days. Denver sheltered 5,205 individuals at the peak of service on January 11, 2024. Since then, the number of individuals sheltered in hotels has decreased significantly. The long wait for a work permit has left many struggling to earn a living. Those who are unable to work have often turned to living in homeless encampments once they lose the city’s shelter. Since I began volunteering at new immigrant camps around Denver, there are three things I’ve noticed among most of the new immigrant communities: 1. Most of the new immigrants I have met participated in CBPOne [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] appointments before entering the United States. ONE ENCAMPMENT WAS FORCED TO RELOCATE MULTIPLE TIMES AFTER POLICE WARNED OF EMINENT SWEEPS. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN 10 DENVER VOICE March 2024 ONE ENCAMPMENT WAS FORCED TO RELOCATE MULTIPLE TIMES AFTER POLICE WARNED OF EMINENT SWEEPS. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN
SPECIAL FEATURE NEW MIGRANTS FEEL A MIX OF EXHAUSTION AND HOPE AS THEY END UP LIVING ON THE STREETS. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN VOLUNTEERS AND NEW IMMIGRANTS MOVE A CAMP LATE INTO THE NIGHT BEFORE A SWEEP. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN THOUSANDS OF OF NEW MIGRANTS ARE RELEASED FROM HOTELS, INCLUDING CHILDREN. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN NEW MIGRANTS MOVE INTO ENCAMPMENT SWEPT EARLIER IN THE WEEK. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN They crossed the border legally and are scheduled for immigration hearings, which in time, will determine their eligibility to remain in the U.S. 2. Almost everyone I’ve spoken with wants to work. Every day, I receive several texts and messages from new immigrants through WhatsApp, asking how they can find jobs. 3. Despite living on the streets and in tents, the majority of the new migrants are thrilled to be in the U.S. One person told me that even though they live in a tent, they are in a better situation than when they were in Venezuela. In Venezuela, they had they had little opportunity and no hope that their circumstances would change. In Denver, individuals and families are looking past their short-term struggles and are hopeful for future opportunities and success for themselves and their families. ■ VOLUNTEERS AND NEW IMMIGRANTS MOVE A CAMP LATE INTO THE NIGHT BEFORE A SWEEP. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN NEW MIGRANTS FEEL A MIX OF EXHAUSTION AND HOPE AS THEY END UP LIVING ON THE STREETS. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN March 2024 DENVER VOICE 11
IN YOUR OWN WORDS GOING THROUGH CANCER BY RAELENE JOHNSON, VOICE VENDOR ACCEPTING MY BALDNESS Today, I had to come to terms with losing my hair. The first few days after chemo treatment was hard. Then, 10 days later, my hair started to fall out. I couldn’t watch it fall out slowly. It hurt my heart. I had to come to terms with losing my hair. ALL OF MY HAIR. I had grown my hair to about 10 inches long. From that to no hair was hard to take. People put a high value on hair, but cancer said, “Surprise! You will go into this New Year BALD!” I found out that Great Cuts in Lafayette would cut my hair for free. They do that for cancer patients to give them peace of mind over hair loss on their terms. When I went into Great Cuts to have them shave my head, the gentleman who took me said he had never done a head shave. This was a first for both of us, so we comforted each other through the process. When I got up to leave, we gave each other a big emotional hug. So why should I cry about this? In time, my hair will grow back. So it’s okay, I will overcome this new bump in the road. I have to keep telling myself, “Sit, wait, hope, and pray.” I have to keep my mind strong to deal with all of the pain and discomfort. PAUSING CHEMO TO DEAL WITH AN ADDITIONAL MEDICAL ISSUE I found out that I have to have surgery for another healthrelated issue. Sooner, rather than later. They tell me before I can have the surgery, I have to stop chemo. Then, after the surgery, I have to wait four to six weeks to get back on my chemo treatment, so my recovery will be longer than first thought. I was in pain (not related to my cancer) for nine months before they found out what was wrong, and now the pain has gotten worse, and it’s harder for me to use my mind to keep the pain at bay. It takes a lot of mind power to keep up with the pain I’m in. I just wish the doctors or hospital had really listened to me. Maybe I wouldn’t be in so much pain for this long. When you’re going through medical problems, you sometimes have to remind yourself it has to get worse before it gets better. It’s scary when they tell you they don’t know how bad it is and that they will probably have to do reconstructive surgery while I’m still in the operating room. You never know how strong you really are until you are in it! CARING FOR MY DOGS Last night, my friend and sister Missy said that she and her husband will keep my babies until I can walk and bend down. That is the biggest help to me while I recover from surgery. It is a big deal for someone to take care of my dogs for a long time. RAELENE JOHNSON. CREDIT: KAREN BEEMAN I just got back from Denver, where I went to give Missy my babies to keep until I heal. I know she will take good care of them. She has done it before. I feel blessed to have real friends who will be with me through the hell yet to come to my body. GOING FORWARD When this is finally behind me, my life will get back to the way it was before all of this stopped me. I know I will feel better when this is over. Then, I have to start the chemo treatment again. Not looking forward to doing that again, but it is what it is. I thank God today that I’m strong enough to get through all of these medical issues. I believe in the power of prayer and hope you will consider keeping me in yours. ■ COLORING PAGE BY GIGI GALEN 12 DENVER VOICE March 2024
EVENTS GUIDED MEDITATION A regular meditation practice can help you cultivate kindness and inner peace—two things we desperately need in stressful times. Each class will include instruction on mindfulness themes, followed by 30 minutes of practice. All are welcome! WHEN: Mar 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. COST: Free but registration is required. WHERE: Online INFO: denverlibrary.org/events SOUTH SOUTH BROADWAY VARIETY SHOW Every Thursday, enjoy a free night of stand-up comedy and live music down on South Broadway. WHEN: Mar 7, 14, 21, and 28, 8 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Western Sky Bar & Taproom, 4361 S. Broadway INFO: westernskybar.com COLORADO DRAGON BOAT FILM FESTIVAL Founded in 2016, this four-day festival will feature in-person film screenings, community conversations, and special events celebrating the power of filmmaking within Asian communities. WHEN: Mar 14 – Mar 17 COST: Prices vary; see website for details. WHERE: Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax INFO: denverfilm.org ACROSS Across 1. Loud 7. Annoyance 13. Apple juice brand 14. Evoking strong feeling 16. They hold your horses 17. Tackle or guard 18. Literally three 19. Give way, as to pedestrians TATTERED COVER WRITERS’ CLUB Join fellow writers once a month to discuss processes, goals, publishing logistics, and techniques. This event is held the last Monday of every month. WHEN: Mar 25, 6 p.m. COST: $5 WHERE: Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave. INFO: tatteredcover.com 21. Smart-alecky 22. Paper covering the NYSE 23. Inc. relative 24. Game with matchsticks 25. Bucket of bolts 27. Spanish “Enough!” 29. ___ voom 30. Crew member 32. Scuffles 34. Picnic pest 35. “Who, me?” 36. South American river in an Enya song title 40. Drooping 44. Rip apart 45. The fourth letter in “circle,” but not the first 47. Final Four org. 48. World finance org. 49. Center X or O 50. Sixth sense, for short 51. Standard 53. Attack ad, maybe 55. Confront 56. Band follower 58. Salon treatment 60. “Evil Ways” band 61. Muffles 62. Unsaturated alcohol (anagram of OSTLER) 63. Least ingenuous DOWN 1. Shrinking Asian lake 2. Glass cover on a Sylvia Plath novel 3. Response to “Shall we?” 4. Had a meal 5. One of the titular Gilmore girls 6. Greek letter 7. Patsy Walker’s comics alter ego 8. In the center of 9. Prince, to a king 10. Fret 11. In-between 12. Slippery 13. “Tommy” rockers 15. Colonic treatments 20. “A Nightmare on ___ Street” 26. Mind your ___ q’s 27. “Obvi!” 28. Poison plant 29. Churchill’s gesture 31. 6 on a phone 33. Saturate, in dialect 36. Rubber gaskets 37. Shark-riding fish 38. Ahead (of) 39. Breakfast staple 40. External memory holders for digital cameras 41. Mountain climbing tools 42. In the beginning stages 43. Rubberneckers 46. Carly ___ Jepsen 52. Setting you might turn on and off throughout a videoconference 53. ___-Japanese War 54. Fishing rod attachment 55. Grow dim 57. Golfer’s goal 59. Set (down) COURTESY OF DEBORAH LASTOWKA PUZZLES COURTESY OF STREETROOTS ANSWERS ARE ON PAGE 15 NERD NITE If you’re a fan of TED talks, the Discovery Channel, and/or Wikipedia binges, Nerd Nite is the show for you! Three experts will present on three different topics, while the audience drinks and thinks along the way. Be there and be square! WHEN: Mar 29, doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. COST: $10 in advance, $15 at the door WHERE: Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St. INFO: bugtheatre.org March 2024 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
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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, VETERAN SUPPORT COUNSELING, EDUCATION, SHELTERS, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE, AND MORE. EMAIL EDITOR@DENVERVOICE.ORG WITH CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS. MEDICAL / MENTAL HEALTH / DENTAL SERVICES ALANON FAMILY GROUPS: al-anon.org; Find a meeting: al-anon.org/al-anon-meetings/find-an-al-anon-meeting ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: aa.org; Colorado Service Centers; daccaa.org/central-office/other-central-offices DENVER HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER: 777 Bannock St.; denverhealth.org DETOX LOCAL: Features information including mental health and substance use resources specifically for the AAPI (American Asian and Pacific Islander) community; detoxlocal.com DRUG REHAB USA: Addiction hotline 888-479-0446; Organizations that take Medicaid: drugrehabus.org/rehabs/ treatment/medicaid/united-states/colorado/denver HARM REDUCTION ACTION CENTER: 112 E. 8th Ave.; 303-572-7800; HIV/Hep C/ Gonorrhea/ Chlamydia testing available. Services are restricted to active IV Drug Users. Offers clean syringes to active users, as well as safety training on proper disposal of dirty syringes; M-F 9am-12pm: harmreductionactioncenter.org INNER CITY HEALTH CENTER: 3800 York St.; Emergency walk-ins 303-296-1767; Dental 303-296-4873; M-F 8am-2pm LIVE ANOTHER DAY: 877-596-6866; Equal access to life-saving mental health and substance abuse resources; 24/7 helpline: liveanotherday.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, 800-359-9272; info@hepc-connection.org; viventhealth.org NATIONAL AIDS HOTLINE: 800-342-AIDS/800-344-7432 NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE: Text or call 988; 988lifeline.org NATIONAL RUNAWAY SAFELINE: 800-RUNAWAY/800-786-2929; 1800runaway.org RAPE ABUSE AND INCEST NATIONAL NETWORK: 800-656-HOPE; rainn.org SALUD CLINIC: 6255 Quebec Pkwy, Commerce City; 303-697-2583, 970-484-0999; saludclinic.org/commerce-city STOUT STREET CLINIC: 2130 Stout St.; 303-293-2220; Clinic Hours: 7am-4pm M/T/Th/F; 9am-6pm Wed; coloradocoalition.org/healthcare SUBSTANCE ABUSE REHAB GUIDE: Helpline 888-493-4670; detoxrehabs.net/states/colorado/ URBAN PEAKS REHAB: 490 Lafayette St., #104; 303-599-5131; Medication management and therapy center specializing in opiate addiction; M, T, Th – 9am-12pm, 1 pm-4pm, W – 9am-12pm, 1 pm-7pm; urbanpeaksrehab.com U.S. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: 800-799-7233 (English and Spanish); 800-243-7889 (TDD); thehotline.org CAREER SERVICES BAYAUD ENTERPRISES CW-STEP: (Colorado Works - Subsidized training and employment program); 333 W. Bayaud Ave.; 303-830-6885; Mon-Fri: 8am-4:30pm; Provides re-entry to the workforce for individuals with TANF eligibility; info@bayaudenterprises.org COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER: Level 4, Denver Central Library, 14th Ave. & Broadway; 720-865-1706; M & T - 10am-8pm; Wed., Th &F - 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 Dept of Human Services, 1200 Federal Blvd.; M-F 7:30am-4:30pm; Employment counseling, assisted job search, résumé prep, job/applicant matching, phone bank for calling employers, access to computers, copiers, fax, etc.; careercenteroffices.com/center/231/denver-westside-workforce-center WORKNOW: 720-389-0999; job recruitment, skills training, and job placement work-now.org LGBTQ+ SUPPORT THE TREVOR PROJECT: 866-488-7386: thetrevorproject.org LGBT NATIONAL YOUTH TALKLINE: 800-246-7743: lgbthotline.org/youth-talkline PRIDE INSTITUTE: 800-547-7433 TRUE COLORS UNITE: 212-461-4401 truecolorsunited.org VETERANS & SENIORS DENVER INNER CITY PARISH: 1212 Mariposa St.; 303-322-5733; VOA Dining Center for Seniors, aged 60 and older, Wed.-Sat. 9am-12pm; Food Bank, Wed.-Fri.; Tickets at 9am, food bank open 10am-12pm; dicp.org SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES: 846 E. 18th Ave.; For those aged 60 or older; TV room, bus tokens, mental/physical health outreach, 3 meals, M-F -7am-7pm; Sun. 11am-4pm; seniorsupportservices.org VA MEDICAL CENTER: 1700 N Wheeling St.: Aurora 303-399-8020: va.gov/findlocations/facility/vha_554A5 VETERANS GUIDE: Veterans Disability Calculator veteransguide.org/va-disability-calculator YOUTH SERVICES SOX PLACE: 2017 Larimer St.; 303-296-3412 Daytime drop-in shelter for youth 12-30; Meals, socks, clothing bank, personal hygiene supplies, internet access, intentional mentoring and guidance, crisis intervention, referrals to other services. T-F - 12-4pm & Sat. 11am-2pm. Instagram: @Soxplace THE SPOT AT URBAN PEAK: 2100 Stout St. 303-291-0442; Youth aged 15-20 in need of immediate overnight shelter services, 303-974-2928; Drop-in hours M-F 8-11am urbanpeak.org/denver/programs-and-services/drop-in-center SUNSHINE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: 833-931-2484; Services for youth facing substance abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or a combination of these conditions; sunshinebehavioralhealth.com TGTHR (FKA ATTENTION HOMES) Shelter: 3080 Broadway, Boulder; 303-447-1207, 303-447-1207; For ages 12-24; Offers safe shelter, supportive programming, and other services; M-Sun, 12:30-5pm; tgthr.org March 2024 DENVER VOICE 15 URBAN PEAK: 730 21st St., Denver; 303-974-2900; Ages14-24; Serving Denver & Colo Springs; Overnight shelter, food, clothing, showers, case workers, job skill/straining, ID and birth certificate assistance, GED assistance, counseling and housing; urbanpeak.org DROP-IN & DAYTIME CENTERS CITYSQUARE DENVER: 2575 S. Broadway; 303-783-3777;; Helps with employment, IDs, birth certs, mail services and lockers; M-Th - 10am-2pm; citysquare.org HAVEN OF HOPE: 1101 W. 7th Ave.; 303-607-0855; M-F - 7am-1pm; Private showers & bathrooms, laundry, lunch, etc.; thoh.org THE GATHERING PLACE: 1535 High St.; 303-321-4198; 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, etc.; M, W, Th, F - 8:30am-5pm, T - 8:30am-1:30pm; tgpdenver.org HARM REDUCTION ACTION CENTER: 231 E. Colfax; 303-572-7800; Provides clean syringes, syringe disposal, harmreduction counseling, safe materials, Hep C/HIV education, and health education classes; M-F - 9am-12pm; harmreductionactioncenter.org HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH: 1900 California St.; Help with lost IDs and birth certificates; holyghostchurch.org HOPE PROGRAM: 1555 Race St.; 303-832-3354; For men and women with HIV; M-F 8am-4pm 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.; bathrooms, coffee/tea, snacks, resources, wifi; M-F 7a-5:30p; odmdenver.org ST. FRANCIS CENTER: 2323 Curtis St; 303-297-1576; 6am-6pm daily; Storage for one bag (when space is available); Satellite Clinic hours- M, T, Th. F - 7:30am-3:30pm; Wed. 12:30-4:30pm; sfcdenver.org 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: mealsforpoor.org CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: 1530 Logan St.; sandwiches & coffee M-F. 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, weekly; Lunch in the Park is on Wednesdays from 12-1 at Benedict Fountain Park (Tremont and 22nd); christinthecity.org CITYSQUARE DENVER: 2575 S. Broadway; 303-783-3777; Food pantry Tues. 10am-6pm; citysquare.org CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY SERVICES: 1820 Broadway (in front of Trinity United Methodist Church); Hot meals served M, T, Th., F - 11:45-12:15; mealsforpoor.org DENVER RESCUE MISSION: 1130 Park Avenue West; 303-294-0157; 3 meals 7 days/week, 5:30am, 12pm, 6pm; denverrescuemission.org HAVEN OF HOPE: 1101 W. 7th Ave.; 303-607-0855; M-F only: 7am-1pm. 8am breakfast, 11am lunch; havenofhope.org FEEDING DENVER’S HUNGRY: Food service on second and fourth Thursdays; feedingdenvershungry.org/events.html FOOD NOT BOMBS: Sun. 4 p.m.; 22nd St. Stout St (near Mercury Café); Instagram: @denverfoodnotbombs HARE KRISHNA TEMPLE: 1400 Cherry St., free vegetarian feast on Sun., 6:45-7:30pm; krishnadenver.com HIS LOVE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH: 910 Kalamath St.; 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, M-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.; 303-830-2201; Sat. morning breakfast: 8am, Sun. dinner (required church attendance at 4:30pm); meal served at 6pm; odmdenver.org/home ST. CLARE’S MINISTRY AT ST. PETER AND ST. MARY: 126 W. 2nd Ave.; 303-722-8781 Dinner at 4pm on Tues; Also offers a change of clothes, toiletries and sleeping bags when available; stpeterandmary.org ST. ELIZABETH’S: Speer Blvd. & Arapahoe St. (Auraria Campus), 11am 7 days/week; 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; 720-530-6853;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; soallmayeat.org 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-denvermetrofoodnutrition-themission DON’T LOOK NOW! PUZZLES ARE ON PAGE 13
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