As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I walked down Denver's Colfax Avenue this past Sunday to the Colorado State Capitol to check out the protest action (there was none). I usually walk down East 17th when heading downtown, since Colfax can often be quite depressing - lots of homeless people and lots of empty storefronts. I took the photograph on the left of the Denver Urban Ministries mural before realizing that a man was sleeping just next to it on a chair in the alley. I don't know if he just hangs out there during the day and goes to a shelter at night, or if he stays there all the time. Sad either way.
There are a lot more homeless camps on the sidewalks in Central Denver lately, no doubt fueled by people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. However, on Colfax, there has always been a lot of people dealing with both drug and alcohol problems and mental illness, such as the person in the photograph on the right. Trying to reach these individuals has been a struggle here in Denver since long before the pandemic. Most of them do not want to be helped, and refuse to go to shelters, even during dangerously cold temperatures. I am sure people who are homeless due to the pandemic will accept any help they can get, but how to assist those with all these other issues I have no idea. Hopefully, Denver city fathers are working on a plan.
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