Hunger Relief Center Opening
By Gina Tron

Metro CareRing will open a new Hunger Relief Center this month. “We believe that it’s really a travesty that one out of every four children in Denver, approximately, is suffering from food insecurity or going hungry,” Lynne Butler, executive director of Metro CareRing said.  That is one reason for the opening of the hunger prevention center, which Metro CareRing hopes can make a difference.

By Nancy Layne | Photos by Stanley Sigalov

There is a desert in the heart of north Denver. A food desert to be more exact—an area without access to fresh produce. GreenLeaf hopes to change this.

GreenLeaf empowers communities through food justice by growing fresh produce while at the same time fostering youth leadership. Currently there are no grocery stores in north Denver with the exception of a Safeway at the edge of Five Points. Nationally, this is a common problem in urban areas. “Across the country there are 23.5 million people without access to healthy produce. This is seen a lot in low-income communities,” said Cody Meinhardt, executive director of GreenLeaf.

By Sarah Ford | Art by Book Williams, Jr.

The lights of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless are long dark when the two men meet outside its doors, silhouetted by the dim streetlights of Broadway. They wear light coats against the brisk night, each carrying a bulging backpack and a clipboard under his arm. Although it’s 8 p.m. on a late January night, their breath does not mist as they laugh, standing close together in a companionship built by ten years of partnership. 

Interview by Sarah Harvey | Photos by Giles Clasen

Marcus Hyde and Kristen Brunelli began building their tiny home last March. What started out as a personal project for Hyde and Brunelli is gaining momentum and turning into a movement. Over the past year, a diverse group of organizations and individuals ranging from Mesa Middle School in Castle Rock to Architecture for Humanity have taken an interest in the idea of tiny homes as a solution to the shortage of affordable housing in the Denver area.

By Robert Lee Payne, Denver VOICE vendor

Panhandlers and sign flyers are everywhere, standing between buildings and standing on street corners here in Denver. Circumstances in life such as divorce, the loss of a job, and the loss of your home can cause people to go to drastic measures to survive.

By Patrick Balerio, Denver VOICE vendor

I did not know him, but I didn’t have to know him. One would think that suicide is incomprehensible, and most people would state that that goes without saying. Then there are the untold numbers of people who seriously ponder the very act of taking their lives…which raises the question of what would compel one to act in such a morbid, deleterious manner?

This month street papers around the world are celebrating our vendors. Many are holding Big Sell events, during which they’ll ask local politicians and celebrities to sell their publications for an hour. Follow along with the international action on Twitter (#VendorWeek). 

The Denver VOICE will hold our own version of the Big Sell on Feb. 4. During the event, VOICE staff, board members, and community supporters will team up with vendors for an hour on the 16th Street Mall, learning more about the hard work they do every day.  

It’s not an easy job, selling the VOICE. For every sale that vendors make they also get plenty of rejections, yet they take these in stride with grace and dignity. The vendors are a continuous source of inspiration to those of us working behind the scenes to put the paper together. 

By Lynn Farquhar  |  Photo by Jesse Borrell

The first time I met Rodney Woolfolk was at the Rise & Thrive fundraising breakfast for the Denver VOICE last fall. 

I met up with him for an interview while he was selling the paper. It was evident that his easy smile and respectful approach were winning people over quickly, and very quickly he was out of papers. Once we had a chance to really talk, he attributed his stick-to-it-ivity to the guidance of his parents who raised a large family while holding down jobs. He grew up with seven brothers and two sisters, and sorely misses his oldest brother who passed away recently. A Denver native, Rodney was born in 1964, attended Park Hill Elementary School, and graduated from George Washington High School in 1982.

More Resources for Coloradans in Crisis
Story and Photo by Matthew Van Deventer

Peer specialist Terri Veliz.After launching last year, Colorado’s first ever statewide mental health crisis hotline is fully operational and entering the last phase of its program rollout.  

The Colorado Crisis Support Line, 844-493-TALK (8255), is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with both peer specialists and professional clinicians standing by, ready to talk, coach, follow-up, and provide referrals to all in need and for whatever they need. 

The hotline is a big part of the commitment made in 2013 when Senate Bill 266 was passed outlining how $20 million dollars would be spent to improve Colorado’s mental health crisis response system.