Each year, volunteers scour the streets of Metro Denver in an attempt to count the number of people experiencing homelessness on a particular night. It’s the best method currently available to predict the number of people that will need services in an area.
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By Danielle Krolewicz
People Rising Against Poverty (P-RAP) is a collaborative group born from what was formerly the Homeless Advisory Committee (HAC) Network. P-RAP includes representatives from agencies such as Denver Homeless Out Loud, BHAC, Cities of Refuse, 9to5 Colorado, El Centro, and Buck Foundation, among others.
Originally, HAC Network operated under the intention of reaching out to service providers in the Denver area to assist in developing more HACs at their respective agencies. However, it was discovered that most service providers do not have the capacity to develop a HAC network as an individual agency. P-RAP is a response to this.
By Sarah Ford
Though Dana Niemela had given eight years of service to the military when she left in 2005, it took another five for her to call herself a veteran. In fact, it wasn’t until she had spent five years working in the private sector that fellow veterans encouraged her to visit Veterans Affairs (VA), where she found out she qualified as a disabled veteran.
“It took that long for somebody to finally pound it into my head that, number one, I was a veteran, and that, number two, I was entitled to benefits,” said Niemela. “I thought ‘well, what’s happening to other people?’’’
By Jamie Swinnerton
The Denver VOICE takes a closer look at some of the partnerships between organizations serving homeless veterans.
For many homeless veterans, the journey to find resources starts at The Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC), run by the Department of Veterans Affairs at 3030 Downing St. The CRRC was set up to be an easy and accessible drop-in center for all homeless veterans in the area. Its initial goal was to reach out to those who had yet to engage with the VA and its services by reaching them where they are. An outreach worker in the area works to identify veterans and bring them to the CRRC, or give them an assessment in the field that informs them of the services they are eligible for.
By Bill Powers, VOICE vendor
Vendor Bill Powers has become an expert on flying “flags.”
Flag flying—also known as flying signs—has a bad stigma. Some people think it’s easy money for the lazy. I would suggest they try it sometime and see for themselves. It is not easy, and it makes me feel strange due to I’m the kind of person who’d rather do something for others than ask for something from others.
I’ve had very hard jobs, yet they’ve been very rewarding. One of these was working on the Mississippi River on a fleet boat. I learned to fly flags while working for carnivals. When you’re working a carnival, you have three months of downtime every winter.
Research by Ilse Reardon | Source: Trulia.com
Graphics by Hannah Bragg
According to data from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, the average price of a home in metro Denver increased to $390,067 in February, up from $326,958 in February 2014.
By Matthew Van Deventer
“Pedestrian friendly” is not a phrase typically used to describe West Colfax Avenue. However, the West Colfax Business Improvement District (BID) is tackling that challenge and making changes to their stretch of Colfax that will improve the lives of walkers and cyclists and benefit business.
Dan Shah is the executive director of the West Colfax BID and the guiding force of Re-Imagining West Colfax, the BID’s project to transform the corridor with new development, art, bus shelters, and pedestrian accessibility.
“Historically, transportation engineers have been reluctant to do anything besides accommodate the automobile,” explains Shah. “There has been a shift in the way [Denver] thinks, and it’s an evolution, but you can definitely see evidence of it around town.”
By David Gordon, VOICE vendor
To make his way across Denver, David Gordon has often relied on bus transfers and the kindness of others. He worries that RTD’s fare changes will make it even harder for Denver’s poor to help each other afford public transportation.
RTD fare increases will have a severe impact on the most vulnerable group of people in Denver—the poor.
Overall, I like the direction RTD is moving in with the expansion: North Metro Rail Line, Gold Line, as well as Denver International Airport (DIA) rail, and the extension into Lone Tree & Highlands Ranch. Having used public transportation in two other cities with similar populations, it is my opinion that RTD Denver has a superior public transportation system.
Story and Photo by Chris Cuddihy
“Look. This pepper is eight centimeters tall,” announces Jovial Garden’s horticulturist Seth Moon while holding a small ruler against a seedling. Inside the recently revamped greenhouse at Edgewater Elementary, second and third graders inch forward for a closer look.
Jovial Gardens is part of Jovial Concepts, a nonprofit inspiring the public to take part in activities that will improve the safety and the beauty of their communities. In 2013 Jovial Concepts initiated its gardening project in Edgewater. Overseeing 40 young children nurture vegetable seeds into seedlings that will later be transplanted onto nearly 10,000 square feet of gardening area—all donated by Edgewater and vicinity residents—is just one component of Jovial’s multi-tiered agenda.