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2
SUGGESTED
DONATION
@DenverVOICE
The
RIPPLE
EFFECT
UNDERSTANDING HISTORICAL CRIMINALIZATION
OF PEOPLE BASED ON THEIR ECONOMIC STTUS
HELPS EXPLAIN – BUT NOT JUSTIFY – MODERNDA
TMENT OF U.S. HOMELESS. PAGE 6
HAND
NEWLY-FORMED HOUSEKEYS
ACTION NETWORK DENVER
(HAND) MAY BE A MODEL
FOR OTHER ADVOCACY
ORGANIZATIONS TO FOLLOW.
PAGE 7
BRAZIL’S LITTLE
UKRAINE PRAYS
FOR ANCESTRAL
HOMELAND
WRACKED BY FEELINGS
OF DESPAIR AND
POWERLESSNESS, LOCALS
PRAY FOR FRIENDS AND
FAMILIES BACK IN UKRAINE.
PAGE 8
DISCRIMINATION
ADDS TRAUMA
FOR ROMA
FLEEING UKRAINE
INCIDENTS OF BRUTAL
DISCRIMINATION OF ROMA
HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT
THE BORDERS OF COUNTRIES
TAKING IN REFUGEES.
PAGE 9
VOICES OF
OUR COMMUNITY
PAGES 3, 5, 11, 12
EVENTS / PUZZLES
PAGE 13
RESOURCES
PAGE 15
APRIL 2022 | Vol.27 Issue 4
SINCE 1997, WE HAVE PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO WORK. DONATE TODAY TO ENSURE OUR VENDORS CONTINUE TO HAVE JOBS. (DENVERVOICE.ORG)
FROM YOUR VENDOR:
PHOTO BY AVE CALVAR ON UNSPLASH
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ON MARCH 9, temperatures
in
ELISABETH MONAGHAN
MANAGING EDITOR
Denver ranged from a low of 7
degrees to a high of only 23. When
the City of Denver conducted a
sweep of a homeless encampment
that morning, one Denver VOICE
contributor commented on Twitter
about the cruelty of conducting
sweeps without offering shelter to
those who were displaced or telling
folks where (or if) they could find
their belongings.
In response, several people commented that they agreed,
but there also were comments that took exception to our
contributor’s tweet. One person wrote, “Good.” Another
accused the contributor of being “fake news,” while another
said the number of individuals experiencing homelessness
in Denver was actually 6,000, not the12,000 total our
contributor mentioned.
Regardless of whether there are 12,000, 6,000, or 600
people in Denver experiencing homelessness, these are
people sleeping on the streets. Maybe some of them are
junkies or drunks who “have chosen to be homeless.”
That certainly makes it OK for the City to clear out these
encampments, right?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health,
about 26% of Americans ages 18 and older suffer from a
diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Granted, not
all of those with mental health issues are addicts or end up
on the streets, but what if one out of every four individuals
experiencing homelessness suffers from a mental disorder?
How helpful is it to those individuals to be swept —
especially when many of them will simply relocate to a
different camp down the road?
I’ve said before that homelessness is ugly. But no matter
how much pushback we get from others, and regardless of
whether anyone considers it “fake news,” those of us who
make up the Denver VOICE will continue to point it out
when we or members of our broader community forget that
regardless of where people sleep, they are our fellow human
beings, and they deserve to be treated with dignity. ■
DENVERVOICE.ORG
CE.ORG
@deeOCE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jennifer Seybold
MANAGING EDITOR
Elisabeth Monaghan
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Anthony Cornejo
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Hannah Bragg
APRIL CONTRIBUTOR
ROBERT DAVIS is an award-winning freelance reporter for the Denver VOICE. His work
has appeared in Invisible People, The Progressive, Yellow Scene Magazine, Motley Fool,
and Medium.com
WHAT WE DO
The Denver VOICE empowers homeless, impoverished, and
transient individuals by creating job opportunities through
our vendor program. We give our vendors a job and help
them tell their stories; this creates a space for them to be part
of a community again.
Vendors purchase copies of the VOICE for 50 cents each
at our distribution center. This money pays for a portion
of our production costs. Vendors can buy as many papers
as they want; they then sell those papers to the public for
a suggested $2 donation. The difference in cost ($1.50) is
theirs to keep.
WHO WE ARE
The Denver VOICE is a nonprofit that publishes a monthly
street newspaper. Our vendors are men and women in the
Denver metro area experiencing homelessness and poverty.
Since 2007, we have put more than 4,600 vendors to work.
Our mission is to facilitate a dialogue addressing the roots
of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives
are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer
economic, educational, and empowerment opportunities
for the impoverished community.
We are an award-winning publication, a member of the
International Network of Street Papers and the Colorado
Press Association, and we abide by the Society of
Professional Journalists code of ethics.
With the money they make selling the VOICE, vendors are
able to pay for their basic needs. Our program provides
vendors with an immediate income and a support group
of dedicated staff members and volunteers. Vendors are
independent contractors who receive no base pay.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT editor@denvervoice.org
VENDOR PROGRAM program@denvervoice.org • (720) 320-2155
ADVERTISING ads@denvervoice.org
MAILING ADDRESS PO Box 1931, Denver CO 80201
VENDOR OFFICE 989 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204
OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.
Orientation is held every day we are open, but
prospective vendors must arrive by 10:00 a.m.
VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS
Ashton Brown
Kersten Jaeger
Aaron Sullivan
Laura Wing
PHOTOGRAPHERS/ILLUSTRATORS
Gigi Galen
WRITERS
Lando Allen
Zakkayah Brooks
Rea Brown
Frances Ford
Raelene Johnson
Queene
Jerry Rosen
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nikki Lawson, President
Chris Boulanger, Vice President
Jeff Cuneo, Treasurer
Zephyr Wilkins, Secretary
Donovan Cordova
Raelene Johnson
Julia Watson
Cabal Yarne
2 DENVER VOICE April 2022
STAFF
CONTRIBUTORS
BOARD
CONTACT US
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JENNIFER SEYBOLD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
I HEAR A SENSE OF FRUSTRATION
AND DESPAIR from many in our
community over Denver’s growing
poverty and homelessness crisis.
The majority of us stay informed,
vote, volunteer, and provide support
through mutual aid efforts, but
there is much confusion about
governmental policy, and, for
many, an overwhelming feeling
that the problem is just too big. It’s
true, these issues are big! They’re
complex and cannot be solved through a single approach.
The root causes of poverty and homelessness are as
varied and unique as the individuals who experience it.
Solutions, then, must be varied, too. They must address
not just housing, but housing that tackles the issue at
every stage. These solutions must include strategies that
address equal employment, resource access, and systems of
structural marginalization.
I’m happy that our community is talking about the need
for permanent housing alongside more immediate-need
temporary solutions like Safe Outdoor Spaces. It’s great
to see organizations breaking apart systems of structural
marginalization by building new pathways. Still, there is a
lot of work to be done.
In a time when jobs are less structured than ever before,
ILLUSTRATION BY GIGI GALEN
our societal norms and expectations still dictate a pretty
limited view of gainful employment – especially when it
comes to those experiencing homelessness and poverty.
Unfortunately, these shifts toward a less traditional workday,
and the changes affecting where and how we work, seem
to be reserved only for the privileged. Some supportive
employment programs take a rescue approach, trying to
fit individuals into a 9-to-5 work box, or a structure where
they’ll never achieve financial independence.
I’m proud to say that the Denver VOICE has always
operated from a perspective of rights not rescue, by
offering employment and economic opportunity that
doesn’t put those we serve into a series of boxes. We
believe that a holistic approach to community wealthbuilding
must include opportunities that fall into an
important middle-ground; a place where individuals can
hold meaningful work that isn’t limited by challenges
that prevent them from more traditional work. Beyond
providing the opportunity we view as right for the
individual, the VOICE provides a space for individuals to
decide what opportunities are right for them. Our work
is constituent-led, equity-focused, and we value the lived
experience of individuals to better their own lives and
significantly improve our communities!
Today, when we are seeing a more open-minded response
to varied and unique housing and access approaches to
poverty, I am grateful to our supporters for recognizing
the Denver VOICE as a critical and cutting-edge approach
to employment! I thank our sponsors and readers for
supporting meaningful work and for making it possible
for those we employ to take the reins of their own lives in
whatever direction they choose regardless of age, race,
criminal and personal history, or mental/physical disability.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we keep forging
into the future! ■
HOW TO HELP
The money we take in from vendors helps us cover a portion
of our printing costs, but we depend largely on donations
from individuals, businesses, and foundations to help us pay
our rent and keep the lights on.
1
4
GET THE WORD OUT
We rely on grassroots marketing to get the word out about
what we do. Talk to people about our organization and share
us with your network.
Support us on
DONATE
Donations to the Denver VOICE are tax-deductible. Go to
denvervoice.org to give a one-time or recurring donation.
You can also mail a check to:
Denver VOICE | P.O. Box 193 | Denver, CO 80201
3
VOLUNTEER
We need volunteers to help with everything from newspaper
distribution to event planning and management. Contact
program@denvervoice.org for volunteering information.
5
SUBSCRIBE
If you are unable to regularly purchase a newspaper from our
vendors, please consider a subscription. We ask subscribers
to support our program with a 12-month pledge to give $10 a
month, or a one-time donation of $120.
Subscriptions help us cover our costs AND provide an amazing
opportunity to those who need it most.
Go to denvervoice.org/subscriptions for more information.
@denverVOICE
2
ADVERTISE
Our readership is loyal, well-educated, and socially
concerned. Readers view purchasing the paper as a way to
immediately help a person who is poor or homeless while
supporting long-term solutions to end poverty.
If you are interested in placing an ad or sponsoring
a section of the paper, please contact us about rates at
ads@denvervoice.org.
April 2022 DENVER VOICE 3
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RISE IN DESTITUTION
More than 31% of children in Britain were living in poverty in
2019/2020, up from 27% in 2013/14.
But the latest data predates COVID-19 and the jump in costs,
which charities say have tipped yet more families into hardship.
Even before the pandemic, the numbers in extreme poverty
had soared. More than a million households, including
550,000 children, experienced destitution in 2019, up 35%
since 2017, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Child poverty rates are particularly high in single-parent
homes, larger families, and those from ethnic backgrounds.
Single mother Jo Barker-Marsh, 49, who lives with 12-yearold
son Harry in the northern city of Manchester, said child
poverty remained hidden in Britain with many families sliding
into hardship after relationship breakdowns and job losses.
Ten years ago, she was a filmmaker earning a good salary.
But as a single mother raising a son with special educational
needs, she could not resume a full-time career.
She took a part-time cleaning job but lost it as the
pandemic struck.
“There’s shame and humiliation that comes with poverty,”
Barker-Marsh said.
“People
think they’re better than us. They accuse you
of scrounging.”
Poverty is not only exhausting but physically painful, said
Barker-Marsh, who like Kim has reduced what she eats.
“The cold radiates from the center of your being. Because
A WOMAN AND CHILDREN CAST THEIR SHADOWS AS THEY STROLL IN THE SUNSHINE ON THE SOUTHBANK IN LONDON, BRITAIN SEPTEMBER 19, 2015. REUTERS/NEIL HALL
U.K. COST-OF-LIVING
CRISIS REVEALS ‘HIDDEN’
CHILD POVERTY
Families forced to choose between heating and eating as soaring
energy bills and food prices spotlight extent of poverty in Britain.
BY EMMA BATHA
KIM DREADS HER CHILDREN’S BIRTHDAYS. When her son recently
turned 11, she gave him a chocolate bar and a card - with food
and fuel costs sky-rocketing, it was all she could afford.
The family’s north Wales home gets bitterly cold in winter,
but heating remains a luxury.
Kim’s four sons - among 4.3 million British children living
in poverty - walk round the house bundled in layers of clothing,
dressing gowns, and blankets, clutching hot water bottles.
“I try and make it out to be an adventure to them. But it’s
not an adventure for anybody. They’re cold,” said Kim, whose
husband lost his job as a builder six months into the pandemic.
Poorer families, already squeezed by years of austerity, are
struggling more than ever as food prices surge - and things are
set to get even tougher in April when energy bills soar by 54%.
Anti-poverty charities have called for urgent fixes to the
country’s welfare system, saying growing numbers of families
are being forced to choose between eating and heating, while
parents like Kim skip meals so their children get enough.
“It’s shocking. We’re in 2022, living in an advanced country
- apparently, but we’ve got families where people are starving,”
said Kim.
Inflation hit 5.4% in December, a 30-year-high, and could
top 7% in coming months - welfare benefits will only rise
3.1% in April in what is the world’s fifth-richest economy.
A likely increase in housing costs and a looming tax hike
to help fund the country’s struggling health and social care
systems will only add to the pressure.
The boss of budget supermarket of Iceland, Richard Walker,
made headlines recently when he said his stores were losing
customers to food banks and hunger, amid rising food prices.
Kim, 37, used to cook everything from scratch, but is now
reduced to feeding her children “cheap, processed crap”.
“That’s the only way I can describe it because it’s not food,”
said Kim, who asked not to use her full name.
For two pounds ($2.70) she can put chicken nuggets,
noodles, and tinned beans on the table. Cooking a roast
chicken with vegetables would cost more than four times that
- money she does not have.
Kim and her husband miss most meals, surviving on toast.
It pains her to see the children missing out.
“Birthdays are heart-breaking,” she said. “What kid wants to
open nothing on their birthday?”
you can’t eat enough food, your body doesn’t operate properly.
You go to bed freezing and wake up in pain.”
‘UNFIT FOR PURPOSE’
Kim and Barker-Marsh are part of a project called Covid Realities,
spearheaded by the universities of York and Birmingham and
the Child Poverty Action Group charity, which has charted the
lives of low-income families during the pandemic.
A report published last month called for major reforms to
the social security system, branding it “unfit for purpose”.
The government was praised at the start of the pandemic for
temporarily boosting Britain’s Universal Credit welfare payment
by 20 pounds a week, but it withdrew the top-up in October.
Anti-poverty campaigners want it restored urgently.
Dan Paskins of Save the Children UK said some European
countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the
Netherlands, had much lower child poverty rates.
This was largely due to better childcare support, so more
parents were able to work, and higher welfare payments.
Britain, however, has seen significant cuts to social security
in the last decade and is one of the world’s most expensive
countries for childcare, Paskins said.
The conservative government has rejected accusations of
doing too little, pointing to measures worth 12 billion pounds
to help struggling households and a 9-billion-pound package
to counter rising energy costs.
But the massive hike in fuel prices, which will add hundreds of
pounds to household bills, triggered further outrage this month
after energy giants unveiled multi-billion-pound profits.
Some politicians have called for a windfall tax on their
gains to help families facing fuel poverty.
Barker-Marsh said the higher bills meant she would have to
sell her home and accused energy suppliers of “dancing on the
bodies of the poor”.
“My son is sick of being cold,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I’m really, really angry right now. There are so many of us.
But no one is listening.” ■
Courtesy of Reuters / Thomson Reuters Foundation
/ International Network of Street Papers
4 DENVER VOICE April 2022
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SPRING
WISH LIST
With the weather beginning to change,
we have updated our list, but we can
always use coats and jackets.
NEW ITEMS NEEDED:
Socks
Sunscreen, toiletries
Toothpaste, deodorant, chapstick
Paper products for the office
GENTLY-USED
ITEMS NEEDED:
Men’s shoes or boots (sizes 8-12)
Men’s jackets (sizes L, XL, XXL)
Women’s jackets (sizes M, L, XL)
Ball caps, hats
Fold-up umbrellas, backpacks
ASK A VENDOR
THIS COLUMN IS A PLACE FOR DENVER VOICE VENDORS TO
RESPOND TO QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS AND STAFF.
THIS MONTH’S QUESTION WAS SUGGESTED BY VOICE VENDOR JACOB MARSH.
Q
Do you think Safe Outdoor Spaces are a better or
worse option than unsanctioned camping spots?
A
LANDO ALLEN
I’m not sure if they’re better or worse, but I can tell you this: There are a couple of shelters, and if you get kicked
out of them, you will have to find somewhere to stay. To me that would suck. A good thing about the Safe
Outdoor Spaces is that you won’t get messed with by the cops. I hope that the security at SOS are making sure
people don’t get robbed or that anyone doesn’t become a target of anyone else staying there. But if I’m sleeping
outside, I would want to be away from people.
JERRY ROSEN
I think Safe Outdoor Spaces are better because they’re protected by security that patrols the area to make sure
it is safe. You have to go by the rules at the SOS and do your part to keep it clean and safe.
REA BROWN
As I rush to the bus another day,
as I go through the same routine to pay,
and as I walk to a seat, I think of what I should say
about the fate of the homeless and where their
head should lay,
I feel disgusted.
Some trust outdoor living is okay
Trust me, even those that love it don’t like
when the skies are gray
huddled up at the station with faces of disarray.
Some looking distant like they’re wishing
they were in a different place
DENVERVOICE.ORG/VENDOR-NEEDS
Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Friday,
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. or schedule a drop-off by
emailing program@denvervoice.org.
What do YOU want to ask?
If you have a question or issue you would like vendors to discuss, please email community@denvervoice.org.
April 2022 DENVER VOICE 5
their prescription is an addiction
a pen can’t erase.
The only real fix is for it to be replaced
And yes, there’s no one right answer
for every case.
Unless we’re talking a miracle that’s involving faith
I know I’m way off the subject, but it’s adjace.
Do I think Safe Outdoor Spaces are better or worse
than unsanctioned camping spaces?
Neither! There must be a better way.
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 
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JIM CROW LAWS
After the American Civil War (1861–1965), most Southern
states passed laws denying Black people basic human rights.
Later, many Border States followed suit. These laws became
known as Jim Crow laws after the name of a popular blackface
character that would sing songs like “Jump Jim Crow.”
In California, Jim Crow played out against Chinese
immigrants more than Black people. From 1866 to 1947,
Chinese residents of San Francisco were forced to live in one
area of the city. The same segregation laws prohibited interracial
marriage between Chinese and non-Chinese persons,
and educational and employment laws were also enforced in
the city. African and Native American children had to attend
separate schools from those of white children. In 1879, the
California constitution read that no Chinese people could
vote. The law was not repealed until 1926. Oregon and Idaho
had similar provisions in their constitutions.
In 1891, a referendum required all Chinese people to
carry a “certification of residence” card or face arrest and
jail. In 1909, the Japanese were added to the list of people
who were prohibited by law from marrying white people.
In 1913, “Alien Land Laws” were passed that prohibited any
Asian people from owning or leasing property. The law was
not struck down by the California Supreme Court until 1952.
SUNDOWN TOWNS
Sundown Towns did not allow people who were considered
PHOTO BY PAWEL CZERWINSKI ON UNSPLASH
THE RIPPLE EFFECT:
Historical criminalization in the U.S. and contemporary treatment of the homeless
BY THE WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT
The United States has a long history of using mean-spirited and
often brutal laws to keep certain people out of public spaces
and consciousness. Jim Crow, Sundown Towns, Anti-Okie laws,
Operation Wetback, and Ugly Laws targeted various populations
based on their racial, economic, social, immigration, or disability
status. Understanding this history will provide context for the
modern exclusionary and discriminatory laws that specifically
target homeless people for what are referred to as “Quality of Life”
or “Nuisance” crimes. These criminalize sleeping, sitting, loitering,
panhandling, and even food sharing. Just like the laws from our past,
they deny people their right to exist in local communities. These
laws have their roots in the broken windows theory, which holds that
one poor person in a neighborhood is like a first unrepaired broken
window; if such a “window” is not immediately fixed or removed, it is
a signal that no one cares. As a result, disorder will flourish, and the
community will go to hell in a handbasket.
UGLY LAWS
From the 1860s to the 1970s, several American cities had laws
that made it illegal for people with “unsightly or disgusting”
disabilities to appear in public. Some of these laws were called
“unsightly beggar ordinances.” The first ordinance was in San
Francisco in 1867, but the most commonly cited law was from
Chicago. Chicago Municipal Code section 36034 stated:
“No person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or in any
way deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object
or improper person to be allowed in or on the public ways
or other public places in this city, or shall therein or thereon
expose himself to public view, under a penalty of not less than
one dollar nor more than fifty dollars for each offense.”
ANTI-OKIE LAWS
The agricultural workers who migrated to California for work
in the 1900s were generally referred to as “Okies.” They were
assumed to be from Oklahoma, but they moved to California
from other states as well. The term became derogatory in
the 1930s when massive numbers of people migrated west
to find work. In 1937, California passed an “anti-Okie” law
which made it a misdemeanor to “bring or assist in bringing”
extremely poor people into the state. The law was later
considered unconstitutional.
OPERATION WETBACK
Operation Wetback began in 1954 in California and
Arizona as an effort to remove all undocumented Mexican
immigrants from the Southwestern states. The operation
was created by
the United States Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) and coordinated 1,075 border
control agents along with state and local police agencies.
The agents went house to house looking for Mexicans and
performed citizenship checks during traffic stops. They
would stop any “Mexican-looking” person on the street and
insist on seeing identification. Operation Wetback was only
abandoned after a large outcry from opponents in both the
United States and Mexico.
“minorities” to remain in the town after the sun set. Some
towns posted signs at their borders specifically telling people
of color to not let the sun set on them while in the town.
There were town policies and real estate covenants in place
to support this racism, which was enforced by local police
officers. Sundown Towns existed throughout the United
States: there were thousands of them in existence before the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibited racial discrimination in
housing practices.
Sundown Towns simply did not want certain ethnic
groups to stay in their towns at night. If undesired people
were to wander into a Sundown Town after the sun had
set, they would be subject to any form of punishment from
harassment to lynching. While the state of Illinois had the
highest number of Sundown Towns, they were a national
phenomenon that mostly targeted anyone of African,
Chinese, and Jewish heritage.
TODAY: BROKEN WINDOW LAWS
Today’s laws have their roots in the broken windows theory,
which holds that one poor person in a neighborhood is like
a first unrepaired broken window. If such a “window” is
not immediately fixed or removed, it is a signal that no one
cares, which will lead to disorder and the disintegration
of the community. A direct outcome of this theory is the
introduction of legislation to criminalize the presence of
homeless people in public.
Current “Quality of Life” laws also take a certain population
into account: homeless persons. Using these laws, people
are criminalized for simply walking, standing, sleeping, and
other regular human behaviors. In other words, they are
penalized and harassed simply because of who they are. Just
as with Jim Crow, Ugly Laws, Anti-Okie Laws, and Operation
Wetback, how people look and their very existence is the basis
for charging them with criminal behaviors. ■
Courtesy of Street Spirit / International Network of Street Papers
6 DENVER VOICE April 2022
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HOUSEKEYS,
NOT SWEEPS
BY ROBERT DAVIS
A NEWLY FORMED ORGANIZATION seeks to address housing
instability in Denver by getting more people involved in
advocating for affordable housing.
Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND), a nonprofit,
officially launched March 7, and its members describe it as
a model that other advocacy organizations should follow.
HAND will conduct
surveys
of people experiencing
homelessness to learn about their preferred housing options
and any roadblocks they experienced while trying to access
services. This information will then be used to advocate
for
specific
solutions
to the identified problems. The
group says this dynamic is currently missing from many of
the organizations
that claim to advocate on behalf of
homeless people.
“We have not even come close to regaining housing for
people that need it,” Terese Howard, HAND’s lead organizer,
told Denver VOICE in an interview. “And, by and large,
people on the streets want housing, but there isn’t enough
housing being built and there won’t be enough any time soon.”
Howard, who has been advocating for Denver’s unhoused
for more than nine years, said Denver will be the initial
launching site for HAND. According to Howard, the
program has already generated interest from cities across
the country.
One of the key issues that HAND is focused on solving
is getting people experiencing housing instability into the
housing options that work for them. Howard said the debate
about housing in Denver has become too focused on the
number of units available rather than the housing types that
promote stable living conditions.
For example, Howard points to Denver’s declining
homebuilding rate as a key driver of HAND’s work. Data
from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that the
number of building permits issued for new residential
construction projects is still well below levels measured
in 1997. This is despite the significant increase in permits
issued over the last decade.
Government
bureaucracy has
also helped
to
To being to unravel the mismatch between available
housing stock and demand, HAND developed a 25-question
survey in partnership with the Western Regional Advocacy
Project to gather data about what housing types can be
most beneficial to reducing housing instability. The survey
asks respondents questions that range from their opinions
about the meaning of affordable housing to more detailed
questions about their past housing experiences and
knowledge of available services.
“This work is about the people experiencing homelessness
in our community,” an individual identified as ‘V,’ HAND’s
survey coordinator, told Denver VOICE. “There is no
reason to spend time trying to come up with solutions that
are not based on the current situation.”
V said they have personally experienced housing
instability in their life, and it was those experiences that
drew them to HAND. They added that the pandemic really
exposed the need to re-establish a personal connection with
our neighbors, both housed and unhoused.
Even though HAND has only conducted “a few” test runs
of its survey, V said the responses have been eye-opening.
They have had experiences where respondents became
emotional after they were asked for their opinion, which
V said is an example of how detached people experiencing
housing instability are often ignored in our communities.
Outside of its surveys, HAND also plans to hold a
biweekly community meeting for people experiencing
housing instability to build a community and help advocate
for solutions that will benefit them. Meetings will be held
on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the
Emerson School Building, 1420 Ogden St., which is at the
intersection of Colfax Avenue and Ogden Street. There will
be free food at each meeting, and people who need to bring
shopping carts or other containers for their personal items
are welcome to do so.
People who are interested in learning more about HAND
or donating to the group can call 701-484-2634 or contact
them by email at info@housekeysactionnetwork.com. ■
slow
Denver’s homebuilding activity as the time it takes to review
the permits is increasing. Just 2% of major or intermediate
residential construction permits in Denver make it through
the initial review process within six weeks, according to
data from Community Planning and Development. These
projects include new builds and major renovations or
additions of at least 400 sq. ft.
For comparison, CPD reviews 31% of small residential
building permits are reviewed on time. These projects
include minor home renovations such as adding a fence and
ground-level patio or shed additions.
But even if Denver can increase its available housing stock,
Howard said the city is not building the right kinds of housing
for the people who need it most. For example, Howard points
to Denver’s lack of housing units for people making up to
30% of the city’s area median income. Denver has just over
2,000 units available at this income level despite there being
more than 38,000 households that need this housing type,
according to data from the Department of Housing Stability.
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: DAVID SOLNIT
April 2022 DENVER VOICE 7
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 
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HELENA MARCINEK, 48, A CHURCH KEEPER OF UKRAINIAN DESCENT, STANDS IN FRONT OF THE SAO MIGUEL ARCANJO CHURCH IN LINHA
NOVA GALICIA, PRUDENTOPOLIS, PARANA STATE, BRAZIL, FEBRUARY 26, 2022. REUTERS/PILAR OLIVARES
BRAZIL’S ‘LITTLE UKRAINE’ PRAYS
FOR ANCESTRAL HOMELAND
BY PILAR OLIVARES
OVER 100 CHURCHES STAND in the southern Brazilian town
of Prudentopolis, many built in ornate Byzantine style by
Ukrainian immigrants who arrived in such large numbers from
the late 19th century that it became known as ‘Little Ukraine’.
In recent days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
dubbed a “special operation” by Moscow, the town’s
churches have been packed with locals wracked by feelings
of despair and powerlessness, praying for friends and
families back in Ukraine.
Civil servant Oksana Jadvizak, 35, first visited Ukraine in
2008 on a scholarship. She was still there in 2014, during the
Maidan uprising that toppled President Viktor Yanukovich,
now exiled in Russia. One of her professors died in those
clashes, and Jadvizak said she was horrified by the recent
escalation with Russia that has left Ukraine a smoldering
pile of rubble.
“It’s so impactful to see the tanks of war and planes flying
over, and hearing my friends saying they are going to
battle,” she said in front of a Byzantine church, wearing the
Ukrainian soccer jersey, and a yellow-and-blue flag draped
around her shoulders.
With the sound of a choir rising behind her, Jadvizak had
come out to show solidarity with those in Ukraine.
“We’re going to pray so that everything ends well,” said
Jadvizak, who is of fourth-generation Ukrainian descent,
and counts Portuguese as her second language.
8 DENVER VOICE April 2022
Some in the town drew parallels between their own
families’ exit from Ukraine, and that of the millions of
refugees fleeing in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Nadia Rurak Techy, 66, a shopkeeper whose parents came
to Brazil after living through the “terror” of World War Two,
said she feared Ukrainian culture would be erased.
“I’m distraught,” she said, breaking into tears at her clothes
shop. “Ukraine doesn’t deserve this ... Our homeland has to
be free. It needs to remain beautiful, as it always was.”
ECONOMIC MIGRANTS
Ukrainian migrants, many from the western Galicia
region that includes the city of Lviv, began arriving in
Prudentopolis in 1896, according to Anderson Prado, a
historian from the Federal University of Parana who has
studied the town’s roots.
He said Ukrainians were fleeing extreme poverty, just a
few decades after Tsarist Russia outlawed serfdom.
They found a welcome home in the vast, fertile south of
Brazil. The country, which had recently abolished slavery,
was desperate for workers to develop its farmland, and
actively recruited Europeans through publicity campaigns.
The first roughly 1,500 Ukrainian families that arrived
worked in agriculture and sawmills, industries that remain
major employers to this day, Prado said.
The people of Prudentopolis, named after former
Brazilian President Prudente de Morais, have retained
surprisingly close ties with Ukraine, Prado said. Over threequarters
of the town’s 52,000 people speak some Ukrainian,
its official second language.
“The descendants who live in Prudentopolis have a
fundamental connection with Ukraine,” he said. “They are very
close to their relatives who stayed there, and the vast majority
dream of returning or visiting the land of their origins.”
Dental surgeon Rodrigo Michalovski, 31, agreed. He
is part of a decades-old group in the town known as the
“Cossack Brotherhood.” The club seeks to maintain ties
with Ukrainian culture through dances and historical
presentations. Almost all members are Catholic and dress
up in traditional clothes, keeping their hair and beards in
the classic Cossack style.
“We learn to love Ukraine from childhood ... and we carry
that love for our entire lives,” Michalovski said. “Every bit of
sad news about the war is a stab in my chest, in my heart. We
will only have peace again when the fire in Ukraine stops,
when I know that our people are safe.”
With few means to help those in Ukraine, Jadvizak, the civil
servant, said she was offering whatever support she could.
“Today I sent a message to my friends saying that if they
needed, my house is open,” she said. “I think everyone
here in Prudentopolis, where 70% of the population is of
Ukrainian descent, is willing to shelter people.”
Thiago Zakalugne, 36, a mechanic and fellow member
of the ‘Cossack Brotherhood’, echoed the views of many
in Prudentopolis, who were at a loss for ways to help. Like
them, he was also putting his faith in the divine.
“Each bomb that falls over there, each drop of Ukrainian
blood spilled is a piece of our heart that breaks,” he said. “If
I could, I would certainly go, to try to help somehow ... but
our way of helping from here right now is with prayer.” ■
Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter.
Courtesy of Reuters / International Network of Street Papers
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BRUTAL DISCRIMINATION ADDS
TRAUMA TO ROMA AS THEY
FLEE WAR-TORN UKRAINE
BY ED HOLT
ROMA REFUGEES FLEEING WAR-TORN UKRAINE are facing
discrimination on both sides of the country’s borders at the
end of often harrowing journeys across the country, rights
groups have claimed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked what the UN has
described as the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe
since WWII, and as of 9 March, an estimated 2 million
people had left the country.
These include Roma who, like other refugees, abandoned
their homes and communities as fighting broke out across
the country.
But having reached borders of neighboring states, they
have found themselves subject to what some groups helping
them have described as “brutal” discrimination.
“Groups working on the ground at borders in Slovakia,
Romania, and Hungary have confirmed discrimination
to us, and also media reports have backed this up. Roma
are facing discrimination both by border guards and then
local people, once they get out of Ukraine. It’s very sad and
disappointing, but not surprising,” said Zeljko Jovanovic,
director of the Roma Initiatives Office at the Open Society
Foundation (OSF).
Roma living in Europe are among the most discriminated
and disadvantaged groups on the continent. In many
countries, including Ukraine where it is thought there
are as many as 400,000 Roma, significant numbers live in
segregated settlements where living conditions are often poor
and extreme poverty widespread.
Health in many such places is also bad with
research showing very high burdens of both infectious
and non-communicable diseases and significantly shorter
lifespans than the general population.
Incidents of discrimination of Roma have been reported at
the borders of all countries that are taking in refugees, according
to the OSF and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC).
These have included being made to wait much longer in
lines, sometimes tens of kilometers long, in freezing weather,
than ethnic Ukrainian refugees, before they are processed.
“They are always the last people to be let out of the country,”
said Jovanovic.
Media reports have quoted refugees describing
discrimination and, in some cases, physical attacks.
One Roma woman who had made her way to Moldova
said she and her family had spent four days waiting at the
border with no food and water, and having found shelter
were then chased out of it by Ukrainian guards.
Groups working with the refugees said Roma who crossed
into their countries told them similar stories.
Viktor Teru of the Roma Education Fund in Slovakia said:
“Roma refugees tell us that on the Ukrainian side there is
‘brutal’ discrimination.”
But once they finally make it over the border, their
problems often do not end there.
Bela Racz, of the 1Hungary organization, which is
helping Roma refugees in Hungary, said he had witnessed
PEOPLE FLEEING RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE REST IN A TEMPORARY REFUGEE CENTRE LOCATED AT A LOCAL TRACK-ANDFIELD
ATHLETICS STADIUM IN CHISINAU, MOLDOVA MARCH 4, 2022. REUTERS/VLADISLAV CULIOMZA
April 2022 DENVER VOICE 9
discrimination during the three days his organization spent
in the eastern Hungarian border town of Zahony at the
beginning of March.
“Roma arrived in separate coaches – the Ukrainian border
guards organized it this way – and when they did arrive,
Roma mothers were checked by Hungarian police many
times, but non-Roma mothers were not.
“Local mayors and Hungarians are not providing direct
help, such as accommodation, and information, [for Roma]
in their towns – that only comes if we ask for it and organize
it. Roma did not get proper help, information, or support,”
he said.
There have been numerous media reports of similar
discrimination at border crossings in other countries,
including incidents of Roma being refused transport by
volunteers, and being refused accommodation.
Jaroslav Miko, founder of the Cesi Pomahaji (Czechs
Help) NGO, who has transported more than 100 Roma
refugees from the Slovak-Ukrainian border to the Czech
Republic, said he had seen “discrimination of Roma among
the volunteers who were picking people up at the border”.
He said volunteers were picking up some refugees in
vehicles and taking them to other places, but that Roma
families were being turned away if they asked for help.
In another incident, the head of a firefighting station in
Humenne, in eastern Slovakia, where many Roma refugees
have been sent to a holding camp, told a reporter that the
refugees had “abused the situation”. “They are not people
who are directly threatened by the war. They are people
from near the border, they have abused the opportunity for
us to cook them hot food here and to receive humanitarian
aid,” the firefighter allegedly said, adding that Ukrainian
Roma should not be allowed across the border.
Slovakia’s Interior Minister Roman Mikulec and national
fire brigade officials have refused to comment on the claims.
But despite these incidents of discrimination, Roma
refugees are getting local help from other Roma.
“Many Hungarian Roma living in nearby villages are
providing accommodation for Roma. Due to the presence of
groups like ours, and state representatives, the situation
with discrimination is getting better,” said Racz.
“There is a good network of Roma
activist groups
coordinating work to help refugees and also there are
Roma mayors in many towns near the borders in Romania
and Slovakia who are prepared to take Roma refugees and
arrange shelter for them,” added Jovanovic.
However, all those who commented said the discrimination
against Roma refugees was a reminder of the systemic
prejudice the minority faces.
Meanwhile, Jovanovic said he hoped that the problems
Roma refugees were facing now would not be forgotten, as
they had been in the past. ■
Courtesy of Inter Press Service / International
Network of Street Papers
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POET MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE
ON WHAT MAKES A GOOD HUMAN
BY SISTA ZAI ZANDA
“IT’S ALWAYS HARD – DIFFICULT – CHOOSING A TITLE. And you feel
like you don’t know until you’ve got it,” says award-winning
writer, poet, and illustrator Maxine Beneba Clarke over a
cuppa on Zoom. It’s the publication day of her latest poetry
collection How Decent Folk Behave, and we’re chatting about
how it got its name.
It’s taken from one of her poems,
‘something sure,’ a
conversation between a mother and a son about the murder
of Hannah Clarke and her three children, and what this act
of domestic violence means for both the little boy and his
mother’s social responsibility to raise him well.
“You know, the mother in the poem says, ‘I taught you well
how decent folk behave’ – and I thought to myself Well this is
what this collection is about: it is about what is it to be a good
human, what does it really mean?”
The author of over nine books for adults and children,
including the short fiction collection Foreign Soil (2014), her
memoir The Hate Race (2016), and the Victorian Premier’s
Award-winning poetry collection Carrying the World (2016),
Beneba Clarke identifies her poetic lineage as beginning
with the oral storytelling of the West African griots and
unfolding into the Caribbean and Black British dub and
reggae grassroots poetry traditions popularised by Benjamin
Zephaniah, Jean “Binta” Breeze, and Linton Kwesi Johnson.
She also named the soulful protest folk songs of Tracy
Chapman as another major influence on her writing and
performance style that, as a child of Black British settlers in
Australia, she now brings to bear on her poetic observations
about the world today.
“[How Decent Folk Behave] was written in the last two
years, during which Melbourne was locked down, on and
off, for so long,” says Beneba Clarke. “It really made me
think more about what is it we miss. And, when we get back
out there, what is it that we need to do to look at things like
violence against women, climate change, racial justice, and
things like that… Instead of having those conversations with
friends – because I wasn’t able to sit around and have those
musings – it happened on the page.”
There’s an emerging trend, particularly among Black
women and non-binary writers, to publish work that
encourages readers to imagine what the future could possibly
hold. Because we already know the world’s problems, the
questions now have to be where are we going? What are
we creating? And how are we getting there? Would Beneba
Clarke situate How Decent Folk Behave within this genre of
Black futurist writing?
She laughs and nods, “Yeah, I think that. And during the
coronavirus, Black Lives Matter galvanizing after the death of
George Floyd, and more interest in talking about Aboriginal
deaths in custody in Australia and,” she pauses to reflect,
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MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG ISSUE
AUSTRALIA / INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS
10 DENVER VOICE April 2022
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“because it’s a situation where if you go out on the street,
you’re not only exposing yourself to police violence, you are
exposing yourself to a deadly pandemic and a virus, and with
all of these intersecting issues, it’s suddenly the stakes become
that much higher.
“It’s like this is so important that we are going to go out there
even though it means that we are exposed to this risk. I think
that was powerful to me and I’m not – I don’t think of myself
as – an activist; I am a writer. So, I don’t think it’s up to me
to set the agenda…but I try to ask those questions and to
highlight some of the powerful things that did come out of the
last few years.”
Beneba Clarke first earned her status as a popular slam poet
in venues around Naarm/Melbourne. This contemporary
street poetry scene owes its Blak grounding to creatives like
Shelton Lea, Lisa Bellear and Bruce McGuinness, and Beneba
Clarke alludes to the power of observational grassroots
poetry in the prologue to the collection: “i said/get the fuck
back/i am warning you:/i’ve got poetry/their hands were
trembling/their eyes were wild/and I could smell/their fear”.
Beneba Clarke and I have known each other for a little
over a decade now, back to a time before Australian literature
embraced diversity in the canon. She remarks how much the
landscape has shifted since then but also how much more
work still needs to be done.
“There are a lot of uncomfortable conversations to come,
and that is part of our job if we want to continue to engage
with the fact that this is stolen Blak land and what is our
responsibility on this land – as people who have been severely
affected by colonization ourselves but are now essentially the
beneficiaries of the colonization of another country,” she says.
“I think part of our task is to amplify the work of Indigenous
writers and engage in those conversations which might be
hard and which might require us to do some learning and
unlearning, but that is where we are. That is what art is for: art
creates this space to have these conversations.”
Full of poems that speak to the times we collectively inhabit,
in How Decent Folk Behave Beneba Clarke writes with nuance
and emotion. Each poem leaves the reader keen to dig a little
deeper and learn more about the real-life events that inspired
them. In this sense, Beneba Clarke is a people’s poet, an
archivist for posterity, like the griots who inspire her. ■
Courtesy of The Big Issue Australia /
International Network of Street Papers
FRANCES FORD
LOOKING IN THE HORSE’S MOUTH
My friend, safe in a psych ward, doesn’t watch
the news unfolding, that we are unbecoming
as a hollow monster, so monstrously mythic
is our straw horse at the gate, our unraveling.
So, envious of her escape, I phone and tell her.
I hear background chirps, a little crack in our connection,
then soft buzzing oversounds her silence,
as if electronic ghosts whisper spite,
deserved disdain, through fateful decades
of our narrow view, the covered bridge.
Our drivers whipped us to longer days
and lessened fodder and burned barns.
That’s how we got here from there:
from a placid riverbank of blue-haired crones
checking voter registrations and vaccinated children
safely learning science and history
to a quicksand shore of ignorant, unbridled ambition
and the whip and the spur, forever.
WRITING THROUGH
HARD TIMES
COURTESY OF DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
AND LIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP
QUEENE
INDISPUTABLE REALISM
A twin’s fame,
Propelled, and spurred on by an exceptional Twin Flame.
A flame of which, THAT duck, and her quack,
So officially proclaim.
In God we trust, and history tends to repeatedly
Unravel life’s clusterfucks.
Stunning, and awestruck,
Within an undeniable majestic creation.
It is just a life-sized masterpiece painting..
A painting,
By: Monet, Picasso, or say: Mr. Vincent Van Gough..
Perspective is everything.
I’d much, much, much rather look @ life THIS way.
I’d much rather brighten the sad realities
of my homeless days, by, far!
Brighten my “hand-to-mouth” moments in time.
I’d much rather implement THIS perspective,
and wade through this situation,
And to,
Be blessed enough,
To have these rhymes.
The Hard Times Writing Workshop is a collaboration between Denver Public Library and Lighthouse
Writers Workshop. It’s open to all members of the public, especially those experiencing homelessness.
Each month, the Denver VOICE publishes a selection of writing from these workshops.
Virtual workshops: lighthousewriters.org/workshop/denver-public-library-hard-times
More writing by these featured poets: writedenver.org
MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG ISSUE
AUSTRALIA / INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS
April 2022 DENVER VOICE 11
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ZAKKAYAH BROOKS. CREDIT: ELISABETH MONAGHAN
RAELENE JOHNSON. CREDIT: CORTNEY TABERNA
TIME FOR A
NEW ENDING
BY ZAKKAYAH BROOKS, VOICE VENDOR
I NEVER THOUGHT at this particular time in my life I’d feel so much
heartache and pain, dealing with the death of a loved one so
dear to me.
Especially during a pandemic, with family needing family and
a shoulder to cry on, someone just to talk to or get a hug from.
Two people very close to me – the guy I had three kids with, and
my stepsister, my mother’s daughter – took my happiness and
dignity, my patience and trust – the only things I had left in me.
I always thought love and family came together. I guess that
belief and trust was wrong.
I need a new ending. ■
HOW DO YOU HANDLE WHAT YOU’VE
BEEN THROUGH, SELF
BY RAELENE JOHNSON, VOICE VENDOR
WHEN THE WORLD GOES CRAZY, how can we take it all in, Self?
Do you just say, “I’ll be ok,” even when you know you won’t?
Do you just pretend nothing really happened?
Do you shut down?
Do you act like you have to be strong, even if you’re not?
Do you think you will be able to just get over it?
Do you get really mad and just keep it in?
Do you just want to end it all?
Do you just not think about it?
Self, do you not know it is okay to get help?
You can’t keep it bottled up because, at some point, you will lose it.
And when you do lose it, can you overcome
the repercussions of your actions?
If you feel anything but happy, you need to find out why!
Self, it is ok to reach out and get help from
people who can help you truly overcome
All that pain and misery.
Self, if you have to, you MUST get help so you don’t suffer
any longer.
Self, this world is falling apart. Don’t take
the madness train or life of anger!
You only kill yourself with all that madness.
Get help if you need it. You can have a blessed life with help! ■
FREE ADDICTION SUPPORT
FOR DENVER RESIDENTS EXPERIENCING
HOMELESSNESS OR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP
(855) 539-9375
WeFaceItTogether.org
12 DENVER VOICE April 2022
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WOMEN+FILM FESTIVAL
Women+Film showcases documentaries, narratives, and short films celebrating
the best in women-centric programming; both by and about women. These thoughtprovoking
stories from around the world are sure to inspire all audiences.
WHEN: Apr 5 – Apr 10, times vary.
COST: Individual tickets start at $12; festival passes also available.
WHERE: Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax
INFO: denverfilm.org
COURTESY OF
DEBORAH LASTOWKA
PUZZLES
1
13
17
20
24
27 28 29
31
37
41
INTRO TO IMPROV: DROP-IN CLASS
Want to see if improv comedy is right for you? This drop-in class will let you take RISE
Comedy’s improv classes for a test drive, in a safe, supportive, and fun environment!
WHEN: Apr 7, 14, 21, and 28, 6 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.
WHERE: RISE Comedy, 1260 22nd St.
COST: $10
INFO: risecomedy.com
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING WITH JOHN ANZALONE
The Train (1964), directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Burt Lancaster, is loosely
based on the true story of French resistance fi ghters trying to stop the Nazis from stealing a
trainload of priceless art pieces during World War II. Get a fresh perspective on this oftenoverlooked
classic with fi lm professor John Anzalone.
WHEN: Apr 10, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.
WHERE: Online
COST: Free but online registration is required.
INFO: denverlibrary.org/events/upcoming
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COURTESY OF STREETROOTS
ANSWERS ARE ON PAGE 15
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ACROSS
DOWN
1. Muslim holy man
5. Eyebrow shape
9. “Th e Sun ___ Rises”
13. Star in Orion
15. Pacifi c palm
16. Shakespearean king
17. Insect stage
18. Ski lift
19. Aft er-bath powder
20. Sultan’s palace
22. Concept in Hinduism
and Buddhism
24. Cobbler cousin
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW: STAND-UP COMEDY
What the World Needs Now is a new bi-weekly comedy showcase featuring some
of the city’s best comedians, as well as its rising stars. This FREE event occurs every 2nd
and 4th Wednesday of the month.
WHEN: Apr 13 and 27, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: First Draft Kitchen & Taproom, 1309 26th St.
BEEKEEPING 101
Curious about beekeeping? Learn everything you need to know to care for your own hive. This
event is in-person and no registration is required.
WHEN: Apr 16, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
WHERE: The Table Public House, 2190 S. Platte River Dr.
COST: Free
INFO: denverlibrary.org/events
COST: Free
INFO: firstdraftdenver.com
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April 2022 DENVER VOICE 13
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25. Flightless bird of
New Zealand also
known as a takahe
27. Writing a computer
program
30. “Once ___ a time...”
31. Tiptop
32. Fall guy
37. Entangle or disentangle
39. Down with the fl u
40. Expresses exhaustion
or boredom
41. Bones of the hand
and foot
43. Actress Catherine
___-Jones
44. 18-wheeler
45. German songs
47. One with memory loss
51. Behave (like)
52. “I’m a little ___...”
53. Try out
58. Director Preminger
59. Bumpkin
61. Shelf
62. Must-have
63. Canal of song
64. Shouts
65. Gaelic
66. Cincinnati nine
67. Bakery selections
1. Colored eye part
2. Gesturer
3. Gelatin substitute
4. Unit of graphic resolution
5. Dead against
6. Genetic messenger
usually abbreviated
in crosswords (but
not this time!)
7. Tax preparer, for short
8. Car roof style
9. Place to exchange vows
10. Discover
11. Game ragout
12. Killer whales
14. Use a username
and password
21. Pants part
23. Snookums
26. Milky gems
27. Food fi sh
28. Brightly colored fi sh
29. Hindu deity
32. Greek letter
33. Geographical index
34. Was in debt
35. Add to the pot
36. Ivan the Terrible, e.g.
38. Cow catcher
42. Nor’s partner
45. Boy
46. With frostiness
47. Do penance
48. Poet’s concern
49. Hoopster Archibald
and statistician Silver
50. Lyric poem
54. Hawaiian strings
55. One way to stand by
56. Lecher’s look
57. Bitter end?
60. Anger
PUZZLE COURTESY OF STREET ROOTS, DENVER VOICE’S SISTER PAPER IN PORTLAND, OR
PUZZLE COURTESY OF STREET ROOTS, DENVER VOICE’S SISTER PAPER IN PORTLAND, OR
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WE LOVE OUR DONORS! WHEN YOU SUPPORT
THE DENVER VOICE, YOU ARE HELPING SUPPORT
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• Table of 10 and Sponsor recognition at annual Rise and Thrive Breakfast (200 attendees)
• Sponsorship recognition at our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event (200 attendees)
• Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Above the Fold Sponsorship list
• Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper
SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
THE DENVER VOICE’S ANNUAL SPONSORSHIP SUPPORT LEVELS PROVIDE BUSINESSES LIKE YOURS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
INVEST IN WORK EMPOWERMENT, HOMELESS PREVENTION, THE CHALLENGING OF COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS, AND TO
BE A PART OF PROVIDING OUR COMMUNITY WITH QUALITY AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
THROUGH OUR WRITERS AND VENDORS – AN INVALUABLE PART OF DENVER’S COMMUNITY.
YOUR INVOLVEMENT WILL HELP HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING POSITIVE ACTION TO COMBAT HOMELESSNESS
AND IMPOVERISHMENT. AS A SPONSOR, YOU HAVE A WAY TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND GIVE SOMETHING BACK
AT THE SAME TIME.
ANNUAL SPONSORSHIPS BENEFITS INCLUDE YOUR LOGO LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE HOMEPAGE, MONTHLY AD SPACE IN
OUR PAPER, AND SPECIAL EVENT PERKS FOR YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES ALL YEAR LONG. IT’S A GOOD DEAL FOR A GOOD
CAUSE, AND YOUR GIFT IS 100% TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!
GALLEY: $2,500
• One complimentary half page ad in the newspaper ($600 value)
• Table of 10 and Sponsor recognition at annual Rise and Thrive Breakfast (200 attendees)
• Sponsorship recognition at our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event (200 attendees)
• Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Galley Sponsorship list
• Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper
HONOR BOX: $1,000
• Table of 10 and Sponsor recognition at annual Rise and Thrive Breakfast (200 attendees)
• Sponsorship recognition at our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event (200 attendees)
• Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Honor Box Sponsorship list
• Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper
FLY SHEET: $500
• Two complimentary tickets to our annual Pints Fighting Poverty event ($50 value)
• Business logo highlighted on website homepage, and in the Fly Sheet Sponsorship list
• Logo highlighted in our annual report, along with logo in quarterly support feature of the paper
14 DENVER VOICE April 2022
׉	 7cassandra://NBwrOQVBCmf6YwUH4kkjYuaQx_47FxVbeWZJhAwsg3U ` b626~q{׉E&=RESOURCE LIST
FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS IN DENVER
DENVERVOICE.ORG/RESOURCE-LIST
DIAL 211 FOR A MORE COMPLETE LIST OF RESOURCES IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR FOOD, MEDICAL CARE, SENIOR SERVICES, YOUTH PROGRAMS,
COUNSELING, EDUCATION, SHELTERS, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE, AND MORE. EMAIL EDITOR@DENVERVOICE.ORG WITH CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS.
FREE MEALS
AGAPE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 2501 California St., Sat., 11am
CAPITOL HEIGHTS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1100 Fillmore St., Sat. lunch at 11:30am capitolheightspresbyterian.org
CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY SERVICES Go to mealsforpoor.org for meal locations
CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 1530 Logan St.; sandwiches & coffee Mon.-Fri. 8:30am
denvercathedral.org
CHRIST’S BODY MINISTRIES 850 Lincoln; Mon. closed, Tues.-Thurs. 10am-3pm, Fri. 8am-11pm; groceries &
hot meal on Sat. at 2pm (at 16th & York); Sun. church service at 6pm, dinner at 7pm. christsbody.org
CHRIST IN THE CITY Home-cooked meal; Civic Center Park at Colfax & Lincoln at 1pm every Wed. & 2nd Sat.
christinthecity.org
CITYSQUARE DENVER 303-783-3777, 2575 S. Broadway; Food pantry Tues. 10am-6pm citysquare.org
CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY SERVICES Hot meals served at 1820 Broadway (in front of Trinity United Methodist
Church), Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri. 11:45-12:15 mealsforpoor.org
DENVER INNER CITY PARISH 303-322-5733, 1212 Mariposa St., VOA Dining Center for Seniors, free 60 yrs and
older, Wed.-Sat. 9am-12pm. Food Bank, Wed.-Fri., tickets at 9am, food bank open 10am-12pm. dicp.org
DENVER RESCUE MISSION 1130 Park Avenue West, 3 meals 7 days/week: 5:30am, 12pm, 6pm 303-294-0157
denverrescuemission.org
FATHER WOODY’S HAVEN OF HOPE 1101 W. 7th Ave. 303-607-0855. Mon.-Fri. 7am-1pm. Not open weekends.
Breakfast is at 8am, and lunch is served at 11am frwoodyshavenofhope.org
FEEDING DENVER’S HUNGRY Food service on the second and fourth Thurs. of each month; locations found at
feedingdenvershungry.org/events.html
FOOD NOT BOMBS Wed. 4pm/Civic Center Park facebook.com/ThePeoplesPicnic
HARE KRISHNA TEMPLE 1400 Cherry St., free vegetarian feast on Sun., 6:45-7:30pm krishnadenver.com
HIS LOVE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH 910 Kalamath, community dinner on Thurs., 6-6:45pm, men’s breakfast 1st Sat.
of the Month, 8-10am, women’s breakfast 2nd Sat., 9-11am. hislovefellowship.org
HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH 1900 California St., sandwiches, Mon.-Sat., 10-10:30am holyghostchurch.org
JORDAN AME CHURCH 29th and Milwaukee St., Tues. lunch 11:30am-1:00pm jordanamedenver.churchfoyer.com
OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES 1567 Marion St., Sat. morning breakfast: 8am, Sun. dinner (required church
attendance at 4:30pm) meal served at 6pm. 303-830-2201 odmdenver.org/home
ST. CLARE’S MINISTRY AT ST. PETER AND ST. MARY 126 W. 2nd Ave., dinner at 4pm on Tues. Also offer a change of
clothes, toiletries and sleeping bags when available. 303-722-8781 stpeterandmary.org
ST. ELIZABETH’S Speer Blvd. & Arapahoe St. on Auraria campus, 7 days/week, 11:00am; food, coffee.
stelizabethdenver.org
ST. FRANCIS CENTER 2323 Curtis St., Wed. & Fri. 3-4:30pm (except third Wed. of each month). sfcdenver.org
ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN 1600 Grant St., Street Reach meal Mon. 1-4:30pm. Grocery room open at 11:30am every
Mon. saintpauldenver.com
SAME CAFÉ 2023 E. Colfax Ave. Restaurant serving mostly organic food—not free, but pay what you can or
work off your meal in the kitchen: Open Mon.-Sat., 11am to 2pm, Closed Sun. & holidays, 720-530-6853
soallmayeat.org
SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES 846 E. 18th Ave. 3 meals, Mon.a-Fri. 7am-7pm; Sun. 11am-4pm. 55+
seniorsupportservices.org/programs
URBAN OUTREACH DENVER 608 26th St., Thurs. dinners, 6pm-7pm lovedenver.org
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA 2877 Lawrence St., breakfast (8am), lunch (11:30am), dinner (5pm) Mon.-Thurs.,
12pm on Fri., 1pm on Sun. Food & clothing bank 9:30am-4pm Mon.-Thurs.
voacolorado.org/gethelp-denvermetro-foodnutrition-themission
CAREER SERVICES
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER Level 4, Denver Central Library, 14th Ave. & Broadway. 720-865-1706.
Hours: Mon. & Tues. 10am-8pm; Wed., Thurs., Fri. 10am-6pm; Sat. 9am-5pm & Sun. 1-5pm; FREE services
include computer/internet use, wifi, computer classes, job search/resume classes and one-on-one tech help
appointments. denverlibrary.org/ctc
THE WESTSIDE ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER Denver Department of Human Services, 1200 Federal Blvd., Mon.Fri.,
7:30am-4:30pm; Services include: employment counseling, assisted job search, résumé preparation,
job/applicant matching, phone bank for calling employers, access to computers, copiers, fax, etc.
careercenteroffices.com/center/231/denver-westside-workforce-center
MEDICAL & DENTAL SERVICES
ACS COMMUNITY L.I.F.T. CareVan at Open Door Ministries, 1567 Marion St., Tues. 9am-12:30pm
DENVER HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER 303-436-6000, 777 Bannock St. denverhealth.org
HARM REDUCTION ACTION CENTER 303-572-7800; 112 E. 8th Ave.; Mon.-Fri., 9am-12pm. HIV/Hep C/
Gonorrhea/ Chlamydia testing available. Our services are restricted to active IV Drug Users. Offers clean
syringes to active users, as well as safety training on how to properly dispose of dirty syringes.
harmreductionactioncenter.org
LIVER HEALTH CONNECTION 1325 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite B302. Resources and support for those affected by
Hep C. Free Hep C testing offered. 800-522-4372, info@hepc-connection.org, liverhealthconnection.org
INNER CITY HEALTH CENTER 303-296-1767, 3800 York St. Mon., Wed.-Fri. 8am-5pm; Tues. 9am-5pm;
Sat. 8am-2pm. Emergency walk-ins.
SALUD CLINIC 6075 Parkway Drive, Ste. 160, Commerce City; Dental 303-286-6755. Medical 303-286-8900.
Medical Hours: Mon.-Wed. 8am-9pm, Thurs.-Fri. 8am-5pm; Sat. (Urgent Care only) 8am-5pm;
Dental Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm; Pharmacy Hours: Mon.-Fri. 1-5pm; After Office Hours: 1-800-283-3221
saludclinic.org/commerce-city
STOUT STREET CLINIC 303-293-2220, 2130 Stout St. Clinic hours for new and established patients: 7am-4pm
Mon., Tues., Thurs., & Fri. The clinic is open Wed. 11am-7pm. coloradocoalition.org/healthcare
SUNSHINE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (YOUTH SERVICES) Services for youth facing substance abuse, addiction, mental
health disorders, or a combination of these conditions. 833-931-2484 sunshinebehavioralhealth.com
VA MEDICAL CENTER 303-399-8020, 1700 N Wheeling St., Aurora va.gov/find-locations/facility/vha_554A5
WORKNOW 720-389-0999; job recruitment, skills training, and job placement work-now.org
DROP-IN & DAYTIME CENTERS
ATTENTION HOMES 303-447-1207; 3080 Broadway, Boulder; contactah@attentionhomes.org. Offers safe shelter,
supportive programming, and other services to youth up to age 24 attentionhomes.org
CITYSQUARE DENVER 303-783-3777; 2575 S. Broadway; Mon.-Thurs. 10am-2pm, Denver Works helps with
employment, IDs, birth certs; mail services and lockers citysquare.org
FATHER WOODY’S HAVEN OF HOPE 303-607-0855; 1101 W. 7th Ave.; Mon.-Fri. 7am-1pm. Six private showers &
bathrooms, laundry, lunch & more thoh.org
THE GATHERING PLACE 303-321-4198; 1535 High St.; Mon., Wed.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm, Tues. 8:30am-1:30pm.
Daytime drop-in center for women, their children, and transgender individuals. Meals, computer lab, phones,
food bank, clothing, art programs, GED tutoring, referrals to other services, and more. tgpdenver.org
HARM REDUCTION ACTION CENTER 303-572-7800, 231 East Colfax; Mon.-Fri. 9am-12pm. Provides clean
syringes, syringe disposal, harm-reduction counseling, safe materials, Hep C/HIV education, and health
education classes. harmreductionactioncenter.org
HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH 1900 California St., help with lost IDs and birth certificates holyghostchurch.org
HOPE PROGRAM 303-832-3354, 1555 Race St.; Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm. For men and women with HIV.
LAWRENCE STREET COMMUNITY CENTER 2222 Lawrence St.; 303-294-0157; day facility, laundry, showers,
restrooms, access to services homelessassistance.us/li/lawrence-street-community-center
OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES 1567 Marion St.; Mon.-Fri. 7am-5:30pm. Drop-in center: bathrooms, coffee/tea,
snacks, resources, WIFI odmdenver.org
ST. FRANCIS CENTER 303-297-1576; 2323 Curtis St. 6am-6pm daily. Storage for one bag (when space is
available). Satellite Clinic hours- Mon., Tues., Thurs, Fri. 7:30am-3:30pm; Wed. 12:30-4:30pm sfcdenver.org
SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES 846 E. 18th Ave. For those 55 and older. TV room, bus tokens, mental/physical
health outreach, and more. seniorsupportservices.org
SOX PLACE (YOUTH SERVICES) 2017 Larimer St. Daytime drop-in shelter for youth 12-30 years old. Meals, socks,
clothing bank, personal hygiene supplies, internet access, intentional mentoring and guidance, crisis
intervention, referrals to other services. Tues.-Fri. 12-4pm & Sat. 11-2pm. soxplace.com
THE SPOT AT URBAN PEAK (YOUTH SERVICES) 2100 Stout St. 303-291-0442. Drop-in hours Mon.-Fri. 8-11am. If
you are a youth aged 15-20 in need of immediate overnight shelter services, please contact 303-974-2928
urbanpeak.org/denver/programs-and-services/drop-in-center
URBAN PEAK (YOUTH SERVICES) Youth 14-24 in Denver and Colorado Springs. Overnight shelter, food, clothing,
showers, case workers, job skills and training, ID and birth certificate assistance, GED assistance, counseling
and housing. 730 21st St. 303-974-2900 urbanpeak.org
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METLO ROOFTOP
1111 N Broadway
Denver, CO 80203
SUNDAY, MAY 22
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
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JOIN THE DENVER VOICE FOR OUR ANNUAL RISE & THRIVE BREAKFAST!
This complimentary event, put together by some of Denver’s best breakfast and brunch locations,
helps raise awareness and funds for our programs and services. Together, we can give those
experiencing homelessness and poverty the opportunity to earn a dignifi ed income.
I
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RSVP BY MAY 1
denvervoice.org/rise-and-thrive
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