LOCAL STORY the second-highest group with 51% of respondents. Overall, 43% of Americans reported feeling increasingly lonely. And increased loneliness and isolation come with serious health costs. According to the study, loneliness is linked to “early mortality and a wide array of serious physical and emotional problems, including depression, anxiety, heart disease, substance abuse, and domestic abuse.” Brogan admitted she’s been feeling irritable lately, which she knows to be a sign of her depression. She began battling depression more than 20 years ago, before her first stint in homelessness. She’s seeing a therapist now and is fostering kittens to help abate the loneliness. However, Brogan also developed an infection in her GI tract because of the stress and anxiety she’s felt since midMarch of last year. Over the summer, her condition was so bad that she only ate bowls of chicken stock and white rice. Some therapists say that this loneliness can also manifest in misdirected anger, from sharp tones in casual conversation to episodes of outright rage online. In an interview with Vice News, Therapist Ashley McHan reported that she’s noticed an increasing number of incidences of misdirected anger among her patients. According to McHan, “Over time, we get fatigued. If there hasn’t been change happening around us or there hasn’t been improvement of situations, our ability to tolerate them is going to decrease...our ability to cope might eventually piddle out.” Andrea Bonior, a therapist and author of the upcoming book “Detox Your Thoughts” shared similar insight. “We are, right now, just chronically living under threat; even the smallest decisions that normally we would take for granted now feel very threatening,” she told VICE News. ROCHELLE BROGAN SITS IN HER APARTMENT BENEATH A PAINTING MADE FOR HER BY JOSE ACEVES, WHO PAINTED MURALS AS PART OF THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION. BROGAN, LIKE MANY, HAS FELT GREATER ISOLATION AND LONELINESS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN “We’re also just more irritable because most of us are in situations where we’re stifled, we maybe feel trapped, and we’re not able to actually do what we want to do.” COMMUNITY LIVING OFFERS SOLUTION TO LONELINESS EPIDEMIC BY GILES CLASEN AND ROBERT DAVIS ROCHELLE BROGAN, 60, still talks about the hug she shared with her son last October. “That hug was great. It was the best; my kids give good hugs,” she told the Denver VOICE. She said she could feel the weight of the pandemic lift off her chest as she held him tight. Prior to that day, Brogan struggled to cope with the social isolation caused by the pandemic. As a self-proclaimed extreme extrovert, she clamored for her former life—one filled with people: hugs, handshakes, and all. Before the pandemic hit, Brogan worked as a peer resource navigator at Denver Rescue Mission. In her role, she helped 10 DENVER VOICE April 2021 people find resources to escape homelessness or get substance abuse treatment. She also worked shifts at the Denver Public Library until her physical health began to decline. Brogan was also active in her church and volunteered with the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative, a campaign to allow people experiencing homelessness in Denver to sleep in a legally parked car that they own. As she held her son, Brogan thought about how she had not seen either of her children in over six months. Her daughter was pregnant with Brogan’s first grandchild, and to be safe and maintain social distancing, Brogan did not go near them. She always wanted to be a part of her daughter’s pregnancy journey, from rubbing her feet when they hurt to watching her grow into her new role as a mother. To Brogan, these are more would-be memories that COVID-19 prevented from becoming reality. “My energy and life are enhanced by interacting with people. I wasn’t getting my energy and stimulation,” Brogan said. “I couldn’t see my kids and it was killing me. I couldn’t see my granddaughter and it was killing me.” It would be another three months before the family could reunite. THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC Recent research by the Harvard Graduate School of Education describes feelings of loneliness as a new epidemic sweeping the country. The study found that 36% of Americans, like Brogan, are experiencing “serious loneliness.” This condition is defined by researchers as being isolated “frequently, almost all the time, or all the time.” This epidemic is primarily impacting young people aged 16 to 25 years old. Sixty percent of respondents in this age group reported feeling increasingly isolated. Mothers were COMMUNITY LIVING, COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS Social isolation and loneliness are causes for significant concern, especially in regard to persons from vulnerable and marginalized groups who are at risk of experiencing homelessness. However, some alternative housing advocates in Denver say a solution to the city’s ailments is right underneath its nose: community living. The term “community living” often refers to three types of living arrangements—collectives, cooperatives, and co-housing properties. There are several types of each living arrangement, but some of the most common are rental collectives, market-rate cooperatives, and nonprofit cooperatives. Rental collectives can be operated in single-family homes, apartments, townhomes, or condos. Oftentimes the building is owned by an offsite landlord. Roommates often vote on cable and internet packages or rules regarding food storage and common space usage. For example, an individual who purchases a share of a group equity cooperative is required to return an agreedupon percentage of their share’s equity to the cooperative once the share is sold. This arrangement helps ensure the cooperative stays affordable for future members. Market-rate cooperatives allow residents to purchase a share of the corporation that owns the building. An example of this is the Holly Street Townhomes, a potential project developed by the Co-Own Company in Hilltop that will bring 24 affordable units to the neighborhood. Nonprofit cooperatives offer subsidized affordable housing to people earning between 30% and 60% of an area’s median income. The building is owned and operated by the nonprofit organization to ensure affordability. These arrangements sometimes come with “group equity” arrangements, which prohibit property owners from draining a property’s equity after selling it.
11 Publizr Home