By Danielle Krolewicz  |  Photo by Jesse Borrell

If you’ve ever walked past the Buell Theatre, you’ve likely seen Jon Lonardo standing outside. A Denver VOICE vendor since October 2013, Jon inherited the corner from a friend and has been vending there ever since.

The “Ask a Vendor” column allows us to share the thoughts and wisdom of the diverse group of people who make up the Denver VOICE vendor pool. Do you have a question for  VOICE vendors? See below for more information on how to submit it.

If someone offered to buy you a meal and it could be anything you wanted, where would you go and what would you order?

By Matthew Van Deventer

Sandy Weyna wanted a better life for herself and for her five-year-old daughter. When Weyna was 18, she started an esthetician’s program at Emily Griffith Technical College (EGTC), but then switched paths. She started waitressing and eventually tried the classic college route, attending Community College of Denver for four years.

By Sonia Christensen

In March 2016 the Colorado Senate Education Committee passed a bill that will make it easier for youth experiencing homelessness to access higher education.

Recently, Colorado passed HB1100, a bill which sought to make it easier for “unaccompanied homeless youth” (those unaccompanied by a parent or adult) to get in-state college tuition. Previously, the difficulty of obtaining the necessary documentation, and the requirement that in-state tuition be determined by the number of years a parent had lived in Colorado, made it prohibitive to do so, just one more obstacle faced by homeless young people on the road to a post-secondary education. Here, we look at the challenges faced by the growing number of homeless youth in Colorado. As a demographic, they have some of the lowest high-school graduation rates, highest dropout rates, and the most significant mobility rates (moving from school to school).

For many Coloradans, camping is a rite of summer.  For VOICE vendors Ann and Armand, it became a way of life when they ran out of options.

The “Ask a Vendor” column allows us to share the thoughts and wisdom of the diverse group of people who make up the Denver VOICE vendor pool. Do you have a question for VOICE vendors? See below for more information on how to submit it.

Music In Bathrooms Keeps Homeless Out
By Sarah Ford

In Grand Junction, city officials are implementing a unique new tactic to keep the homeless from staying in public bathrooms: blasting children’s tunes inside the restrooms. 

Rob Schoeber, Director of Grand Junction Parks and Recreation, told local NBC affiliate KKCO 11 that the city is seeking to keep the homeless and transitory from spending too long in public restrooms as a way to escape inclement weather or unfavorable conditions.