By Brian Dibley, VOICE vendor
As winds blew all around,
The sounds of the city—
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By Nancy Layne
It’s a sunny day in downtown Denver as Fatima Kiass rides her bicycle from her apartment to Metropolitan State University where she is getting a Bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in human services. For the past two years, she has also been a client at Urban Peak.
By Sarah Harvey | Art By Book Williams, Jr. | Photos by Giles Clasen
This month the Denver Public Library will put on a free early morning concert for the folks in line waiting for the library to open. The idea is to brighten the day of anyone who happens to be waiting outside the library’s Central branch on Sept. 8—including people experiencing homelessness and poverty.
By Danielle Krolewicz
Renaissance at Northern Colorado Station by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH)
Set to open this fall is a new affordable housing apartment complex located on 1.63 acres near the RTD FasTracks station at 40th Ave. and Colorado Blvd.
By Robert Lee Payne, VOICE vendor
Invisible walls created by people.
Labels verbally spoken to pull you down.
Attitudes to discourage you or upset you.
Selling a street paper can be a lonely job. Some vendors find that having a four (and in one case, three) legged friend can be a vital source of companionship and mutual support. Big Issue North vendors in the U.K. introduce their canine friends and explain what an important part their pets play in their lives.
By Christian Lisseman
Courtesy of INSP News Service www.INSP.ngo / Big Issue North
Edited by Denver VOICE
I visited Seattle’s Tent City 3 in June with a group of editors from other street papers.
Before I saw Tent City 3, I thought of tent cities as necessary evils, not viable shelter options. For me, they were a grim reminder of income inequality and a symbol of the lack of affordable housing. I was picturing a refuge camp—and because some tent encampments look that way, I took it for granted that Tent City 3 would be a chaotic, depressing place.
By Linette Hidalgo | Photo by Sarah Harvey
Derek Stokely is a more recent initiate into the Denver VOICE vendor program, having transplanted from Virginia just last October. His approachable, friendly nature and native Virginian accent make him a pleasant presence in the office. Derek often pulls double duty as both a VOICE vendor and part-time cook; his work ethic and positive attitude make him a standout vendor.
By Jamie Swinnerton
Last May the cost of booking and housing Denver’s most frequent petty offenders prompted the creation of a city-funded program called Recovery Court. The idea behind the program was to look at solutions to the underlying causes that keep sending these petty offenders back to jail. Now, a little over a year after it was implemented, evaluation of Recovery Court shows vast improvement for those utilizing it.
By Gary Davis, Voice vendor
I have been homeless off an on since 1999 due to a 30-year struggle with alcoholism. I’ve been in and out of jails, prisons, detox programs, treatment centers, and hospitals over the years. I became involved in Recovery Court for a charge of trespassing on RTD property in October 2014.
Let me describe how it works upon entering Recovery Court: each person works with a case worker at Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) to develop a plan that sets attainable, short-term goals with clearly defined action steps. There are four phases to this program.