By Matthew Van Deventer  |  Photos by Giles Clasen

Lyndsey Manderson and her husband Jesse will be opening Denver’s first package-free grocery store, adding to the citywide movement of living a more sustainable lifestyle.

ZERO Market is not a new concept. If anything, it is a new take on an old concept: buy what you need. 

About 75 percent of the products sold will be dry goods. The rest will be liquids, fresh local produce, and select locally prepared foods from featured Denver artisans. Instead of buying a couple boxes of spaghetti noodles or a jar of honey, customers will be required to bring their own containers and serve themselves.

By Dwayne Pride, Voice Vendor  |  Photo by Sarah Harvey

A  Denver VOICE vendor interviews a formerly homeless staff member of Baltimore’s street paper.

A few months ago I was attending a conference in Denver and I had the pleasure of meeting a man from the Baltimore. His name was Damien Haussling. He handed me a black and white paper called Word on the Street, Baltimore’s street paper. We talked about it for a few minutes. 

Anybody who was anybody knew at the time that major civil unrest was going on in Baltimore. I could not help but ask him what he thought was really going on there, since he was part of an organization that was right next to the street. Which led me to ask him more about it in general.

By Matthew Van Deventer  |  Photos by Chase Doelling

Denver’s River North neighborhood is one of the most quickly developing areas in Colorado and steps are being taken to make sure the area keeps its cool as developers move in and prices go up.

In April 2014, co-founder and board chair of the River North Arts District (RiNo) Tracy Weil went to the city to see how the area’s main neighborhood association could organize and partner with the city to protect its residents, artists, and business owners. 

Every Monday, I set aside a few hours to meet one-on-one with vendors who want to write. Sometimes they bring in poems to show me. Other times we create a story outline or workshop an idea. 

These writing workshops are the highlight of my week. And lately, I’ve been noticing something exciting. In addition to the poems and personal statements, a few vendors have started writing about current issues in Denver. 

 

By Linette Hidalgo  |  Photo by Emma Fullerton

Raelene Johnson is a staple on the streets of Boulder. You are likely to have seen this colorful vendor on the Pearl Street Mall or near the Boulder Farmer’s Market. With her multi-colored top hat rimmed with bright pink fur and a vivacious personality to match, she is hard to miss. 

By Sarah Ford  |  Photo by Giles Clasen

After two years in Denver, Onii Kennedy has not allowed his heart to be paved by the city; it remains buried in the woodlands of Texas, the place he considers his home. He would never have left behind his childhood home in the first place, but didn’t have much of a choice. 

“Every year I go back and check the prices to find out if there are still houses for sale in that neighborhood,” he said. Just in case one day he gets a chance to move back. 

 

By Sarah Ford | Photos by Giles Clasen 

On a sunny afternoon in Boulder, the Denver VOICE took to the Pearl Street Mall to meet its buskers and record the stories of the folks involved in some of the country’s most unique work.

Scattered throughout the Pearl Street Mall, Boulder’s street performers blend into the lively scene of meandering locals and tourists. Most passersby will spare only minutes to take in a magic show, a song, or a glance at the contortionist on the corner. Many performers have spent years honing their crafts, returning to the streets daily to earn those second glances or singles thrown into their hats. At best, they make a minor impression on a person’s day. For most, they are not even a footnote. But those single bills and seconds spared are enough to support an entire lifestyle—and sometimes an entire career. 

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.

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?’’’