You can see the Denver Voice on nearly every street corner in downtown Denver.
It's a small newspaper in the hands of people that many normally overlook, but this small thing is making big change. The paper's 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."
However, it is much more than that.
The Denver Voice is Joe. It's Michael, and many more like them.
Joe is a Denver Voice vendor that stands at 17th and California. Joe is a sweet older man with small glasses that has been homeless for 15 years. He tells me business is a slow and that I am the first person to talk to him all day. We've talked before, and after a bit I offered him some candy - his face lights up and he tells me he has a sweet tooth and loves anything chocolate, as he takes a few Snickers, Reese's and Almond Joy.
Just a block away, Michael is selling the Denver Voice at 16th and California, he tells me I am the first person to buy a paper from him that day. Michael is dressed in a button-up shirt and a sweater with a jacket, a good-looking man. We chat for a bit and he tells me that he went to Princeton, but did Cocaine for 20 years and it finally caught up with him and had taken his life from him. He sought help and for the last five years he's been working to get his life back.
Both of these men are faces of homelessness, but also the faces of hope.
Each Denver Voice is a suggested donation of $2 and gives the vendor an opportunity to have an income. The vendors are held to a code of responsibility and purchase the Voice for 50-cents, then they can make $1.50 on each paper when they sell them.
In 2011, there were 479 vendors and 305 new vendors, and the Voice gave each of those people a chance to support themselves.
They are working downtown just like everyone else and each paper they sell gives them a chance at a better life. Next time you walk by a Denver Voice vendor, say hello, think about buying a paper and maybe ask how their day is going.
You never know who you'll meet and what you caring will mean to them.
