COMMUNITY PROFILE JESSE She bought her current RV a year ago, and everything was supposed to work. It doesn’t. BURSTING WITH STORIES, Jesse laughs easily, “I have literally been robbed like five times here. I’ve had to replace all my clothes and jewelry, and all I have, all the beads and stuff. So, they steal the beads and whatever they can get their freaking hands on. They will take it if you turn your back.” Ah yes, life on the road. Friendly and engaging, Jesse talks a mile-a-minute, all the while doting on her two companionable little dogs. It’s cold in Colorado, and the shivering little dogs need jackets, she said. They all live in her RV, currently parked at the Rainbow Trout Campground just off Highway 285 in Jefferson County. It is one of the few winter RV campgrounds in the state. She migrates between the campground, which costs $600 a month, to the free dispersed camping out on Jefferson County’s vast National Forest and BLM lands — camping is free for 14 days at a time. Sometimes. she travels down to the Colorado state campgrounds, like Chatfield. But she finds the city often dangerous — more drugs, less safety. After 10 years as a Head Start teacher and a stint at Denver’s Purina Plant, she “snapped her foot pushing a thousand-pound cart;” no workers comp. At 54, after work injuries and debilitating migraines, Jesse is living on disability. Her last job as a West Colfax hotel manager didn’t last, she said. She was too kind. Then she was jailed after rescuing her mother-in-law from a nursing home, another story that comes with a bemused smile. CREDIT: PAULA BARD Jesse and her partner, Derrick, a commercial electrician who “knows how to do everything,” live in two uninsulated 1980’s RV’s that require endless repair and clever innovations. The roofs leak, the four batteries alternately go out, the generators break down, they run out of gas when the temperature plummets, leading to emergencies with no heat and no cooking. Jesse is insulating the walls, which, she says laughingly are just, “metal and wallpaper.” But it’s no joke when temperatures are below freezing. She bought her current RV a year ago, and everything was supposed to work. It doesn’t. And now it won’t pass emissions. After growing up in LA, she raised her five children in CREDIT: PAULA BARD Northern California. She stays in touch with all of them and tells everyone she hopes fervently for grandchildren. An ambitious cook, she treats everyone in her vicinity with generous home-cooked meals and sometimes, even pies. Capable and buoyant, she is at peace with her current life. BLAIR Aligning her activism with freedom of movement. BLAIR LIVES THE COMMITTED LIFE of an activist and online graphic designer, all from her car — as long as she can maintain internet access. With her souped-up jeep, she has lived the vehicle life for almost a year. Her Colorado activism began with a legislative research job and has moved on to support the Safe Parking Initiative, where she helps organize sanctioned parking spaces for fellow vehicle dwellers. She supports Denver’s unhoused with Allies to CREDIT: PAULA BARD Abolitionists. Currently, she is offering haircuts on Mutual Aid Mondays to those in Denver’s unhoused encampments. Originally from Alabama, she enjoyed summer church visits to Colorado and eventually migrated to the state. Now she has managed to align her activism with freedom of movement and huge doses of the outdoors, while avoiding Colorado’s prohibitive housing costs. With glorious views, she is currently nestled up on a jeep trail overlooking Idaho Springs. Her strong environmental leanings drive decisions; she has fashioned a sturdy rock fire-pit and cleaned up the area around her campsite. With creativity, Blair has fashioned a life that suits her. CREDIT: PAULA BARD CREDIT: PAULA BARD Next, she heads to Arizona to help stave off international mining giant Resolution Copper’s exploitation of sacred Apache lands, called Oak Flat. She can hit the road in a flash. May 2021 DENVER VOICE 9
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