Denver Voice

Ask a Vendor is a recurring feature in the Denver VOICE newspaper. Vendors are asked a question about community, values, daily life, or broader civic issues to help readers understand the perspectives and experiences of individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. Here is David Gordon's answer to our June Ask a Vendor question.

Here's a recap from Denver VOICE contributor, Nahila Bonfiglio, about yesterday's meeting of the Denver City Council’s Health and Safety Committee.

Denver Agencies Collaborate to Create a Safer, More Equitable Denver for City's Youth — The Denver VOICE By Nahila Bonfiglio

Joshua Randy Abeyta wrote about Battle P***y, a local band committed to protest music. Here are the opening paragraphs to his article. (Link to article in comments.)

Band members Sledge, Shredz, The Juice, and Da Beet perform in masks and balaclavas when they rip the stage around town, including at the most recent No Kings rally in March, which drew more than 10,000 protesters to the Denver event.

When asked about their demands, the group was unequivocal: “Human rights. Just be a freaking human and take care of your fellow humans.”

The band is committed to protest music and has long since given up trying to please everyone.

“In 2016, we tried to appeal to everybody in the punk scene. We knew that we, as women, had to make a strong impact, but we also wanted to appeal. And as we’ve learned, as women, appealing to the patriarchy has just always been a lost cause. We really struggled with this idea of who we were and how serious we really were, and we were serious as a heart attack,” said Sledge, front-woman, lead vocalist, and guitarist.

Here is the opening to Paige Miltenberger's article on the death of CU student, Megan Trussell. Miltenberger spoke with Trussell’s parents about their daughter and why they continue to press for transparency as the state reviews Megan’s death. To read the full story, click on the link in Comments.

Vanessa Díaz and Joe Trussell are still searching for answers to their 18-year-old daughter Megan Díaz Trussell’s death, more than a year after the University of Colorado Boulder freshman died.

“There’s been a huge dismissal of who Megan was as a person. They didn’t ask us what she was like or what might have happened to her,” Díaz said. “It was really Boulder County [Sheriff’s Office] and CU [that] started this narrative. When we first got up there, they were pretty dismissive about her being missing. I knew in my heart something was very wrong.”

Megan’s parents do not agree with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office’s determination of su***de as the cause of their daughter’s death, and, according to Díaz, there were concerns about how the case was handled from the beginning.
Díaz and Trussell hired a private investigator who identified unexplored surveillance cameras and is helping them gather records and documents from their original holders.

As they pursued their own independent investigation, Díaz and Trussell became the first people in Colorado to invoke a state law requiring the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to independently review Megan’s death under a provision for certain Indigenous deaths ruled su***de or overdose under suspicious circumstances.

For Megan’s parents, the announcement marked both a step forward and a reminder of what remains unresolved.

Today, the Salvation Army Brass Band performed at the State Capitol. Giles Clasen was there to photograph the event and speak with Major Nesan Kistan, divisional commander of the Salvation Army Intermountain Division. Here is his recap, along with photos of the performance.

The Salvation Army Brass Band performed at the State Capitol today, the final day of the Colorado legislative session.
Major Nesan Kistan, Divisional Commander of the Salvation Army Intermountain Division, told the Denver VOICE, "We don't want to just be a Band-Aid solution to homelessness. [Communities have] done that for way too long. It's time for real solutions."

According to Kristan, the Salvation Army seeks to provide positive solutions to address homelessness, and he emphasized the organization's recovery programs in Denver.

"Addiction keeps people in that cycle of homelessness. It sometimes is the coping mechanism that prevents them from getting out [of homelessness]," Kistan said.

Data from the Point in Time Study and from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative State of Homelessness report show that for many individuals, substance use disorder doesn't cause homelessness. The studies demonstrate that housing costs and economic hardship, not addiction, are the primary structural drivers of homelessness.

Those experiencing homelessness often turn to substances to cope with the trauma they endure while on the streets.

Kistan said, "We need to be trauma-focused, and [follow] a trauma-driven approach that allows people in our six-month residential drug and alcohol treatment program to deal with the core issues that have caused the pain and the suffering."

Kistan said a trauma-focused, solution-oriented approach was why the Salvation Army is emphasizing the work at the organization's Denver Harbor Light Center, a residential drug and alcohol treatment program that Major Kistan called "a beacon of hope for those experiencing addiction."

"We believe every human being deserves a second chance, as many chances as necessary, as long as they don't give up, we won't give up," Kistan said.

For our May issue, Clasen interviewed Tammy Charbonneau about her son, Tommy, his generous spirit, the traumatic brain injury he suffered, and how she honors Tommy, who died on Mother's Day in 2025 while living on the streets.

Read Nahila Bonfiglio’s update on the April 29 presentation that the Department of Public Health and Environment presented to Denver City Council on the city’s HIV programming and funding.

Denver’s HRAC Fights Through Limited Funding to Provide Vital Care for Coloradans in Need — The Denver VOICE By Nahila Bonfiglio Colorado’s Harm Reduction Action Center (HRAC) stands as a sentry against fatal overdoses across Denver and surrounding communities. Part of HRAC’s approach to promoting public health , the Colorado Ryan White Program was created to address challenges in accessing care among

Congratulations to Denver VOICE board member Linda Carpio Shapley, who was honored by SPJ Colorado Pro as Keeper of the Flame. We can't think of anyone more deserving of this award.