VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY OUR Streets: BILLY MCAFEE BY PAULA BARD AT 72, BILLY MCAFEE IS FRAGILE. He negotiates the world in a wheelchair piled high with his belongings – a precarious balance. He spends his days on Denver’s 16th Street Mall, seeking out shade in the summer. He makes his way to the Rescue Mission at night and catches their bus out to the 48th Avenue “I WISH I HAD SOMEONE TO HELP ME. ” CREDIT: PAULA BARD Center shelter to sleep. “I had a camera, used to videotape the eagle nests out at Barr Reservoir. Did photography for years. Had my first photo published in the New York Times when I was seven! I Grew up in Capitol Hill. Worked at Jefferson County Schools and the Parks and Rec. Retired in my 50’s. My brother, David, died of COVID last year, [at age] 68. Didn’t go to the hospital. They found him right inside his door. I just cry. My other brother is in Arizona with cancer. No more family. I pray every day — ‘God, why is this my path?’ I have been in car wrecks, and I have brain injuries. I have trouble getting stuff done. I wish I had someone to help me. Just got out of the ER. Yep, just turned me out. Sometimes, I stay with my friend out on Parker and Havana. I take buses. I spend time out at the church on South Pearl.” McAfee waits, while Jessie, who works for Allied Security, stops by and then calls the Rescue Mission to get McAfee some transport help. “Yeah we know him,” Jesse explains. “He was showing me yesterday how he used to box. Used to be a boxer. Everybody knows him down here. The kids all help him. If he starts yelling they will come running to help.” It turned out, there was no transport available to help Billy make it the 10 blocks back to the Rescue Mission. ■ OUR Streets are stories of Denver’s unhoused residents as captured by Paula Bard, who walks the streets of Denver to photograph the faces and collect the stories of those our city has abandoned. 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. DONATE Donations to the Denver VOICE are tax-deductable. 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 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 @denverVOICE 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. VOLUNTEER SUBSCRIBE We need volunteers to help with everything from newspaper distribution to event planning and management. Contact program@denvervoice.org for volunteering information. 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. August 2021 DENVER VOICE 3
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