DENVER’S HIDDEN GEMS OF HUMANITY CREDIT: GILES CLASEN COMPASSIONATE COLORADO LIVES UP TO ITS NAME BY GILES CLASEN LUCAS GARCIA HASN’T HAD ANY SECOND THOUGHTS about starting an organization to provide aid to Navajo Nation and other tribes during the coronavirus pandemic. He has not backed down from the hard work or the challenges. There were no second thoughts when towing his trailer to Page, Ariz., broke down at 6 a.m. trying to haul a trailer up I-70. There were no second thoughts when the whole team had to pull over, brakes smoking, after hauling trailers over Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs, Colo. There were no second thoughts even when learning that the hotel they booked in Page had closed. “[Members of the Navajo Nation] need our help, so we’ll do what it takes to help,” Garcia said shrugging off the adversity. Garcia started Compassionate Colorado in the Spring of 2020, but the initial goal had nothing to do with helping Native Americans. “I’m a high school teacher. When school was out [because of COVID-19 shutdowns], my job was kind of null and void,” Garcia said. “I wanted to help out people with the virus. I went to Safeway, and I saw a lot of elderly people there. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN I started that day just shopping for people. I stood outside Safeway, and when people came into the parking lot I would hand them my card and volunteer to shop for them so they didn’t have to risk their health in the store.” Garcia continued to help elderly people shop for a couple weeks, eventually putting a notice up on Facebook volunteering to help anyone in need. While looking at Facebook, Garcia noticed it wasn’t just people in his neighborhood who needed help. He also noticed the people needed more than just having someone shop for them. Through Facebook, Garcia learned about the needs of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona. The Navajo Reservation has had a higher rate of COVID-19 transmission than almost any other region in the country. Part of the problem is that most individuals living on the reservation don’t have access to running water, making sanitation against the virus an even more difficult feat. The Navajo Reservation has also shut down most economic activity due to COVID-19. This has had a disproportionate financial impact on a community already 8 DENVER VOICE July 2020
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