12

IN YOUR OWN WORDS COMPLACENCY BY JOHN ALEXANDER, VOICE VENDOR ILLUSTRATION BY GIGI GALEN The dentist sits you in the chair, and then he gives you drugs JOHN ALEXANDER. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN IN SPITE OF ALL OF THE HARDSHIPS HOMELESS PEOPLE ENDURE DAILY, why do so many become complacent? To understand why, we must understand the how, what, where, and when. In our society, we see homeless people climbing in and out of dumpsters, living and sleeping on the streets or in shelters, and eating whatever, whenever, and wherever they can. We see them panhandling, battling drug addiction, or alcoholism, and on, and on, and more. But, if it is true and safe to believe in what we see, and if we see only what we look at, then society as a whole is looking only at the surface. We must look beneath the surface to see clearly and to see all. For example, alcoholism or drug addiction among those who are homeless is something we see every day. How did these people end up in the situation they are in? The majority of homeless people once lived in homes. Their own homes. They watched Monday Night Football, Thursday, Saturday Night Football, and Sunday Night Football. Yes, there was a time these homeless people slept in their own beds, which looked pretty good in their own bedrooms and in their own homes. These were people who had jobs and paid bills themselves. This is where many homeless people came from, but you won’t find the banker standing very patiently, next to some dumpster, waiting on a bunch of homeless people to come climbing out of the dumpsters so the banker can serve them foreclosure papers on their houses. Today, not only do you see people who are newly homeless; you see very frightened people who are newly homeless, who are standing on the threshold of a new situation — the world of homelessness. Here, they find themselves at nighttime, waiting in line to get something to eat, as well as a nice bed to get some sleep at a neighborhood shelter among strangers, wondering where they will eat and sleep tomorrow. Only, this is not the whole picture. The same people are about to embark on a situation that may take them to another universe, where, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 38% of them will abuse alcohol, while 26% will abuse other drugs. What are drugs? What is their purpose? Drugs are mindaltering chemicals, and their job and only purpose is to take you away from reality. You may wake up tomorrow with a toothache. The pain is so bad, you can feel it in your ears and the side of your face, and it is terrible. You rush to the dentist seeking relief. Right now, this is your reality. This pain. LANDO ALLEN. CREDIT: JESSE BORRELL GOOD DAY, PEOPLE, My name is Lando, and I work for the VOICE. My journey has been long and hard. It hasn’t been easy for me. I’ve been on the streets for a long time. A friend called me a warrior from the streets. I’m not proud of that title. I’ve seen a lot of people go crazy from the streets and thank God that didn’t happen to me! It’s so easy to get on drugs or drink yourself to death. I chose not to. I’ve tried everything to get my life better. The big mistake I made was to take on a girlfriend that wouldn’t do anything to make our life better. I had a girlfriend that was a VOICE vendor and made money, but she drank too much, and she liked to fight. 12 DENVER VOICE August 2022 to help you relax and ease the pain. The pain has gone nowhere, but these drugs not only change your mood and minimize the pain, they also prepare you for some even greater pain the dentist is about to inflict on you — the drilling in your mouth. As smoke comes out of your mouth, the dentist is still pulling and poking at your teeth, but there you are, sitting in the chair, all relaxed and enjoying your good mood, while the dentist and you are having a conversation. That is the power of drugs. Reality works on people experiencing homelessness the same as it works on people with homes. When you look at homeless people eating, literally sleeping on the streets, and suffering the discomforts of being homeless, you are looking at their reality and pain. Drugs give all of us a mind, mood, and complacency to help cope with our reality — physical, emotional, and mental. ■ WHERE I PARKED MY CAMPER BY LANDO ALLEN, VOICE VENDOR All I want is a normal life. I think the greatest thing I did was to buy a camper to live in. I’m almost done fixing the camper to make it livable. It made me mad when one of my friends told me to sell the camper and go to the shelter. He tried to sell me on that idea, even though he wouldn’t live in the shelter.. There’s nothing wrong with the shelter, if you don’t have anywhere to go, but it’s not cool that you have to deal with a lot of negative attitudes when you stay there. Where I’d parked my camper, there was a group of guys that decided they wanted to live in the same area, and that brought unwanted attention to my camper. So, when people with the city came to talk to me, I told them that I’d been parked there for a year and had not encountered or caused any problems. I also told them I work for a living and asked them not to put me in the same boat as the people camping in the nearby tents. Then, a couple of days later, one of those city workers saw me, as I was vending the VOICE. Even though he saw me doing my job, he still didn’t consider me any different from the group in the tents. Now that he knows where I vend and where I park my camper, I think I’m going to have to find a new spot to live. ■ YOU CAN’T HOLD ME HOSTAGE! BY RAELENE JOHNSON, VOICE VENDOR RAELENE JOHNSON. CREDIT: CORTNEY TABERNA YOU CAN’T HOLD ME HOSTAGE by playing emotional games and saying things just to hurt me. You can no longer hold my past against me. I’m not that person anymore! You will not make me worry by telling me goodbye and saying you’re going to kill yourself. When you won’t ask for help or get help for yourself, then that is on you. All I can do is turn the situation over to God because I can’t do anything to change you. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If you don’t get help and do end up killing yourself, I will be sad, but it will not destroy me. So, if you do it, that is your choice. I wish you would get help. Just know, I did love you! Sincerely, Someone Who Cared ■

13 Publizr Home