IN YOUR OWN WORDS Words from our vendors on their life and times, what they’re thinking and feelings, for their neighbors to know and share. RAELENE JOHNSON DENVER VOICE VENDOR WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG, patience is the hardest thing to have sometimes! You wait for the things you want during the holidays, only to get impatient. When you’re in pain, it’s hard not to be impatient; you have to be quick. You may have been patient in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. When you’re almost 70, you’re like a child again. You can’t wait; you’re impatient, and answers don’t always come easily, but you have to be patient. When I was young, I never understood why patience was considered a virtue. It’s still hard to be patient, especially as a senior. I have to be patient with medical tests or as a patient waiting to have surgery. I try not to be worried when I’m waiting for the test results to come in or don’t feel that I’m getting answers quick enough I have to remember it takes time for medical appointments to be done, followed by a lot of tests to try to figure out what’s wrong with you, and then, you have to wait some more for them to decide how they’re going to treat your medical issues. So, being patient is important. You can’t rush time. It’s going to come on its own time, not yours. You have to keep calm and remain patient as you wait for test results. One thing is for sure: you’re finding out how strong you really are, how patient you end up having to be, and that worrying won’t help anything! It won’t be easy at times to be patient for what you are going through, but just know you are strong enough to handle it! As they say, you don’t know how much you can handle until you have to go through something, and then, you’ll find the strength to keep going. That’s the way I am right now since being diagnosed with cancer. Today, I’m waiting on more medical results, so some days, I have to do everything I can to remain patient - but we can do it, Self. I believe in you and will never give up on you. Patience is Hard Sometimes, Self Changing the Narrative I’VE SPENT MOST OF THE LAST 40 YEARS trying to wrestle with the complex issue of our nation’s homelessness. In doing so, I’ve co-edited one book on the topic and co-authored three others. A fifth book is on the way. My expertise comes from DONALD BURNES VICE PRESIDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS DENVER VOICE many years of working in the field, including as the executive director of a homelessness service agency. I’ve given many presentations on the topic and written almost a dozen articles on various aspects of the issue. So, what have I learned over the years of research and writing? The overarching conclusion: Despite the billions of dollars spent, and the millions of hours of staff and volunteer time dedicated to providing assistance, we really are not appreciably closer to ending homelessness than we were 40 or 50 years ago. Why? There are too many people across the country who either don’t care about homelessness or harbor a negative perception of this national tragedy. Reasons for this vary. Some people claim that poor people, Black and Brown people, folks with disabilities, convicts, and others simply do not deserve any assistance. Others worry that providing too much help is either too expensive or will create an aura of dependency on assistance that will have a negative impact on society. Still others argue that helping those in need will negatively affect their own personal economic and social circumstances. Or, as Celeste Watkins-Hayes says in her book “Remaking A Life”: “The public rhetoric that denigrates [efforts to address social ills] … has conditioned us to believe that every supportive service offered to a disadvantaged population is a hammock rather than a ladder, that every form of assistance encourages dependency and rewards those who evade the rules.” We must roll out of our hammocks and build ladders to reach successful outcomes. But to do this, we must change the narrative; the current one resists change and keeps us rolled up in our hammocks. This is the first of many columns that will run in this newspaper, and changing the homelessness narrative is what this column is about. As a first step up the ladder, here are 10 myths about homelessness that we must overcome: 1. All people experiencing homelessness are alcoholics or drug addicts. 2. All people experiencing homelessness are mentally ill. 3. All people experiencing homelessness are lazy and don’t want to work. 4. All people experiencing homelessness just make bad decisions. 5. They are all “lazy, crazy, drunks, druggies, or they’ve made bad decisions.” 6. They all want to live on the streets. They choose to be without housing. 7. All people experiencing homelessness are like those who are chronically homeless – the people we see on our city streets. 12 COLUMN 8. If you give them money, they will spend it on alcohol and drugs. 9. They are not part of our community; they are not from here. 10. The whole problem is too complex, too insoluble, so why care? Over the next several months, I will examine each of these myths in turn and explain why they are far from the truth. These will be followed by columns that explore other parts of the narrative that must change. However, simply writing about these issues isn’t enough. Each of us must understand the myths, internalize why they are myths, and then be willing to say to our friends, neighbors, and others we meet that their understanding of the problem isn’t entirely accurate. Maybe, if enough of us climb on board, we can persuade the rule makers and those who give out the money to recognize our country’s lack of success in dealing with homelessness and to shift gears toward policies and practices that may actually work, allowing our unhoused neighbors to thrive in safe, secure, and stable housing. As we embark on this journey together, I welcome your thoughts. Please feel free to contact me at donwburnes@ denvervoice.org, | Substack: substack.com/donaldburnes Donald Burnes is the co-author of four books on poverty and homelessness and has served as executive director for various nonprofits. He joined the Denver VOICE board of directors in June of 2025. Burnes is a historian, researcher, and consultant on policy and philanthropy. Burnes received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and a PhD from Columbia University Teachers’ College. He has studied poverty and homelessness-related issues and policies for more than 40 years.
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