DENVER – Old people, winter pipes and cars demand the old winter, but the misery that fades fades compared to those experienced by people abroad.
Homeless people in Denver are struggling to stay warm.
The demand for shelter is increasing, and the city is transporting people to an overflow shelter in La Alma Rec Center in West 11th Avenue.
But not everyone wants to stay in a shelter.
Several people living in a tent city near Bannock and Bannock remain seated.
“People can die here and get frostbite,” Ruben Cordova said. “I’m going to a motel.”
Cordova says he has been in the cold before, and that was unfortunate.
“I would burn paper or plastic just to stay warm, and sometimes I didn’t even have it,” he said.
While a Denver7 crew was visiting Ruben, an army of volunteers from four different groups marched.
One group, of faith-loving Samaritans from Ohio, handed out peanut butter sandwiches and popcorn.
“We are connected to Jesus Christ,” Lakeya Thompson said after handing out the lunch.
Pastor Daryl told Denver7: “It’s so cold you can freeze to death and you need food, some food to make it.”
Another group, the Capitol Hill Outreach Medics, brought stock.
“We bring sleeping bags, tents, whatever the needs of the community, we try to satisfy them as best we can,” said Asher Crowne, an MSU student, to become a human rights lawyer.
A third group of volunteers brought more food along with bananas.
And a fourth group, nurses in the community, handed out hand warmers and asked residents to be on the lookout for symptoms of freezing.
“Fingers turn white from the tips, and you do not get good blood flow,” Audrey Goodman said. “We see it a lot in our customers.”
Several volunteers were outside all day looking after the needs of the homeless elsewhere in the city.
“We had a dislocated shoulder,” said a volunteer named Cricket. “Someone had a bicycle accident. We had another person whose stitches opened on their leg. ‘
Cricket lamented the frequent whip of the homeless.
“We connect with these residents,” he said, “and every time they are displaced, we cannot contact them.”
Goodman said, “These are our fellow human beings and we need to take care of each other.”