Denver vendor Jones shares the harrowing realities of unsheltered homelessness after losing his Section 8 housing voucher.
His housing was terminated due to paperwork issues, despite receiving assistance from his caseworker to complete the forms multiple times.
“They still said it was incomplete,” Jones stated, emphasizing the difficulty he faces due to his developmental disability and challenges with paperwork.
Having navigated special education throughout his life, Jones has never held a driver’s license and finds the continuous struggle to rebuild his life overwhelming.
Since losing his home, he has fallen into the exhausting cycle that many experiencing homelessness know too well.
“It’s dangerous to close your eyes out here,” he remarked, highlighting how sleep deprivation and fear go hand in hand.
Despite the challenges, he fearfully treads the city streets, walking all night as he searches for safe spots to rest.
“You’re always on edge,” he explained. “I don’t sleep much at night when I try. You have to sleep with one eye open; you always feel on alert.”
Jones describes how he often sleeps during the day when he deems it slightly safer, but even that brings risk.
“I got robbed in my sleep one night,” he recounted, “I woke up with nothing but my pants.”
Shelters in the city have not proven a reliable alternative for him, as their strict curfews complicate his ability to sell the Denver VOICE, the publication he relies on for income.
“Shelters, they stop taking people in at 8, and shelters are dirty,” he said, explaining his reluctance to rely on them due to unsanitary conditions that he finds hazardous to his health.
Each time he attempts to seek shelter, he faces the reality that space is never guaranteed.
“Sometimes I wait in line and don’t get in,” he explained. “Sometimes I get sent to Holly St., but if I miss the bus or have trouble with transportation, I don’t get in, and I get stuck out there.”
The constant struggle to find safe spaces leaves little room for hope or healing, both physically and mentally.
Walking the streets also leads to the constant challenge of hunger, adding another layer of difficulty to his daily existence.
“I feel like every week out here ages you a year,” Jones shared, expressing the toll that a life without secure housing takes on him.
The relentless grind of each day is primarily consumed with preparing for the uncertainties of nighttime.
“I either try to find a place that is safe and I can hide through the night, or I try to prepare myself to be awake all night,” he said, lamenting that neither option offers much comfort.
At times, when exhaustion becomes unbearable, he turns to alcohol in a desperate effort to find sleep.
“Sometimes you feel so sick from not sleeping, you have no choice,” he admitted. “You go to the liquor store so you can pass out all night. But that ain’t any good either. That ain’t any kind of sleep.”
Every now and then, Jones manages to save enough money to afford a night or two at a motel, but the increasing scarcity of low-cost accommodations in Denver makes this option infrequent.
Yet, amidst these hardships, he shows remarkable resilience.
“I just keep trying, and I’m not going to quit,” he affirmed with hope in his voice. “I hope if I work hard enough, something will break my way.”
image source from：denvervoice
