by Gonzo Gates 

​    Many I'm sure don't remember that phrase. Times have changed. We are not hobos we’re homeless. We are no longer considered the bums of old, sticks w/ bandana bundles over shoulders. But we are here.
It is different now.
    Understand this: We do not like our lives to be this way. It depresses us beyond measure and above strength. This is not really an existence: it’s survival, but just barely. Bologna as a daily sustenance. Raise your children on that.
    Some of us and I say “us” as I've been in this environment long enough to call many friends or family. Some chatter wantonly, making sense to no one but self. God only knows; “touched”, as it were.
    We have vets in our population, men and women who risked their lives to protect our constitutional rights. Sadly, the “Right to Rest” is not one of those. It used to be, but the city of Denver robbed us of that. Easily.
And we have cripples. Handicapped.
    And yes, we have ex-cons. The standing joke is: “Come to Colorado on vacation, leave on probation.” It may well soon come to the point where most people here have been introduced to the Colorado Judicial system, one way or another. I am not trying to be funny.
    This is your state.
    You approve of this.
    Or you are ignoring it?
So where is the crime in all of this?
    We all want homelessness fixed. You don't want us in front of you, and I for one don't want to be in your face. Seriously. I love life, it's people I can't stand. People come with opinions. Judgments. Currently, those who are blessed with housing have a tendency to look down their noses at those of us who are homeless. I have to admit that there are many homeless who trash their environment, though, who are constantly drunk and disruptive and think the world owes them everything. Many of us though, we are not that way. We want to rise out of this mire.
But we have become an industry.
    There are so many local, state and federal projects and programs that are ongoing, yet they do not talk to each other. That's a true statement. Rather, a true bank statement. All these programs get as much funding as they can. Yet no accountability.
   There is no communication between programs. There is no accountability for any of them, of what they take in, in donations of any form, and how it's all dispensed. It is a “free for all.” And yet this tourist community supports this. They not only support it, the City of Denver spent $8.1 million to allow the Denver Police Department (DPD) to violate the homeless in a variety of creative ways. We keep getting “tickets” for resting, jaywalking, miscellaneous BS, that we can't possibly afford, crowding the jail and clogging the courts.
And this community approves of this.
    At DRM, you are not allowed to have a water bottle during the night. You have to use the drinking fountain out front if the door is open, which isn't always, even if you're handicapped and can barely get up off your bunk or mat, much less walk. No food is allowed, even if they give it to you during a meal. You are not supposed to carry food. Being street staff, a PC, a mat volunteer, is different: They can eat, drink and be merry, whenever or wherever they want. If a homeless person gets caught with food or a water bottle, they are “barred” for seven days. Into the elements. I know of a homeless man who was ejected for seven days by a PC for a RUMOR that he had eaten food in the dorm, while other PCs were on their bunks eating in the open.
    Dostoyevsky said: “You can judge a civilization by how it treats its prisoners.” How is all this any less? All these public and private donations with absolutely no accountability. Where is all the money going? You will not be able to end homelessness in the next ten years because you have too many people coveting all those donations, and no one is even trying to communicate.
    The answer is simple. If you all work together and cooperate, we might make progress and solve the homeless problems.

    Oh, but then you would lose funding.
         
              Don't you just hate that?        Oh you do.

by  Calvin Calloway

    The Educator is back and I Mr. Calvin C the said and known triple O.G. have solved the riddle that every human entity has heard of, read, believed in, or spoken of since it (the riddle) was first implemented and promoted and/or promulgated for public cultivation. And that riddle that I Mr. Calvin Calloway aka the Prince of Obfuscation have solved and properly clarified is the one that states Jesus died for your sins.
    Jesus was known as the King of the Jews during the time of his existence. Jesus was the King of the Jews from the standpoint that his significance and intellect was of more value than all other said Jews at the time of his existence in life. Also Jesus’ intelligence was more advanced and substantially creative in value as compared to all other human beings that lived and existed in the time that he (Jesus) died. 
    During Jesus’ time the people asked the said King of the Jews what was truth? (He) Jesus didn’t answer because he (Jesus) knew what he felt was truth and said was the truth then during his existence in time might not be the cultivated truth tomorrow. But what Jesus was trying to change was the culture and trend of the character and views of the whole human race during his time--especially the unethical conduct of the city, county, state and federal governments and the people of the time--which was very similar to that which we find today in the 21st century. 
    Jesus died for your sins, yours meaning the populace that existed during his time from the standpoint that (he) Jesus was fighting against the teaching of the rules and standards and principles and laws which the Roman government implemented for themselves (the government) and all citizens to comply and conform to. Jesus also died for fighting the unethical acts of the citizens by which the Roman government was governing per se at that day and time of his existence--for allowing themselves to be governed unfairly and unjustly and unethically by the then Roman governmental officials. 
    The Educator, Mr. Calvin Calloway aka the Prince of Obfuscation aka the Governor of all Legislatures is going to continue to defy all odds and demonstrate that (he) the Educator as Mr. Calvin C can and will teach all of humanity as the said old dogs new empirically creative types and kinds of tricks both traditional and cultural. Which is what (he) Calvin C the Educator calls his specific methodical and consistent behavior recipe known as a constant reminder that the one cosmic toss of the dice will leave the human structure at large puzzled and non-puzzled at the same time.
    Jesus died for your sins by trying to give you the proper character and views to commit acts and omit acts that are coupled with and paralleled with the essence of what is equal, fair, just, and impartial for all individuals on earth, despite whether this individual is directly involved with your committed acts or omitted acts and whether this individual is a witness or hears tell of your committed acts and omitted acts per se.
    Jesus did not die for your sins for you (the humans) to continue committing sins, crimes and wrongs or for us human beings to just consider ourselves as sinners and just let that concept be the reason for being negligent in our conduct of not being equal, fair, just and impartial when involved with our fellow citizen as if such a way of life and to life is equitably acceptable. 
    I myself Calvin C and the knowledge, wisdom and additional wisdom that I can still acquire is what I have confidence, faith and trust in only. To me there isn’t nothing other than knowledge and wisdom that any human being can truthfully call supernatural. I Mr. Calvin C. aka Mr Anti-bullshit is not one to apologize for statements I make or philosophies which I believe in. But if the former and latter statement offends any human being who reads it or hears of the philosophy in which I am a true believer, please forgive me for being innovative, empirically creative, fanatically disciplined and expanded in thought, like that of the time clock. 
    Please readers, reflect on the nature of those who govern the people in America, and comprehend that today’s circumstances that the people who are being governed are in and experiencing in the 21st century 2015 coincide with the time in which Jesus lived. In other words, the governmental officials’ culture and traditional ways of governing the public at large aren’t equal, fair, just or impartial, which express and imply that (they) the American city, county, state, and federal governmental officials want their cake at the same time desiring to eat it as well. 
    If a citizen commits a crime or social-political ill (they) the general citizen is sanctioned and held accountable and responsible. But if one of the city, county, state or federal governmental officials’ colleagues commit a crime or socio-political crime, their colleagues condone their unethical conduct and be steadfast and loyal to their transgressions and sins by ignoring punishing and sanctioning their colleagues--which doesn’t constitute law enforcement. 
    This is the culture and trend in the 21st century that I Mr Calvin C. aka Prince of Obfuscation is intending to convert and change in order to emerge America’s form back to having true democracy which constitute all of the commonwealth in America is treated equally, fairly, justly and impartially in all circumstances.

By John McCants    

    My life was a total mess when I was on the streets of Denver. I had given up on my own will to live, but I decided to keep marching forward because my higher power told me not to give in to the demons of old. So I decided to get off the streets and enter the New Life Program at the Denver Rescue Mission. The whole process I thought was going to be very beneficial for me, so that way I could get back on my feet again. It turned out the Denver Rescue Mission was a sweat shop, a cheap slave labor force I should say. And the people in the program are a cheap “slave” labor force that keeps the place running smoothly. I felt as though I was being taken advantage of, working every day, hardly getting any sleep or help. The help that I received from them was basically a five dollar a week stipend and indoctrination type of teaching telling me and other people how Christianity is the only way, and I can’t question anything about that specific religion.
    I notice a lot of non-profit organizations are corrupt. The funds that go into the mission are a lot, but it seems as if most of it will disappear and vanish in thin air. And then after a while when certain people get suspicious, they invest a small substantial sum into a building or an added room to keep federal officials from investigating corruption within the facility. 
    Getting back to the religion part at the Denver Rescue Mission, The religion aspect gets run down your throat. The Christian religion is taught to the participants in the New Life Program and average Joe who regularly attends the mission. For me and a lot of other people we felt as though the Christians who would give bible lessons were very hypocritical when it came to being open-minded about the Christian God. A lot of other people came into the program with a different religion. Some Muslim, Some Hindus, some Atheist, and some who were Buddhists like me. People who had these different types of belief systems were always told to pretty much give it up because we were being lead by deceiving spirits, and it was choices like that (religion wise) which led us down to the “BROADWAY” of destruction.
    In their rules and regulations it is written that you need to be open-minded about Christianity, and even though I renounced it months before, I was still going to be respectful because these people took me in when I had nothing. But when they began to judge my spirituality which I do believe is the key to true righteousness (and Nirvana), I stopped being open-minded to them, because they stopped being open-minded towards me. 
    So I left because the rules and structure of the place were not helpful to me whatsoever, and also I saw the mistreatment of others within the facility as well. The graduation rate for the program is one percent. Gee, I wonder why. Maybe if they revamped its whole program so that more people would graduate and then leave and die on the street…
    By the way lots of people who graduated either returned to drugs or homelessness or as I said they just die on the street). The reason why I believe this happens is because the whole program functions like a prison, a miniature concentration camp. Once that person or persons get institutionalized for a year or two years (that’s how long the program usually is), they don’t know how to function once they leave the program. They get so used to being in a prison-like setting that they don’t want to leave, so they end up messing up their lives, and doing the whole program over again. It’s like a vicious cycle.
    Another tragic thing is having handicapped people doing certain jobs that they can’t do. The greatest example that I can find is when a person who had one arm and automatically stopped doing meth (who was in the program) was put on “SECURITY.” Let’s just say he didn’t last too long. 
    After I left the program I completely understood that I had been in an economic con game. The so-called Christians were making it seem like they were helping people in the program, but in actuality the people with problems were either kicked out or left because of the “Slave Therapy” that they were receiving. Bible study classes connected us with teachers who had schizophrenia and eating disorders. Bible studies and even the program as a whole does nothing but brainwash people. Religion will not stop a person from wrong-doing. It is that person’s choice to choose what is right and what is wrong.
    Another thing the NLP program overdid was their workouts. Even if we had a day off we would still have to go to devotions to hear more things about Christianity being drilled into us, then after that we would have to work out for an hour, and then help out at churches by doing chores on a rest day. What is the whole point of calling it a day off, you might as well call it a work day.
    The whole NLP program within the Denver Rescue Mission needs to be revamped or changed. Their whole program will be shut down, if things are not changed, because somebody is going to get mad and ticked off and will cause a great disturbance. I’m not instigating anything, I’m just foretelling what will probably happen if a lot of changes are not made for the better. If a person from the mission is reading this, please listen, and take heed and critical thought to what I am saying. Make a positive change to this negative state. 

by Bonita Jones
  I have found that the homeless epidemic is... Let's say epic. Our (Colorado State) representatives and senators have no problem touching and talking about the problem. What no one is realizing is neither of these things are a solution to the problem.
    I don't just blame our house and state. A lot of this blame goes on the homeless themselves. As the homeless we complain about how we are treated, yet few to none of the homeless stand up for themselves. When I say stand up, I am meaning speak up. Who knows the pain and strife of the homeless life better than the homeless.
    This is just some food for thought... Did you know that the homeless had a bill of rights?
    Were you aware that when the temperature reaches 20 or below, the state of Colorado has agencies (PATH, The Gathering Place, and most police stations) that will provide you with a motel voucher until the weather is bearable? [See page xx for information about motel vouchers.]
    There are things we can do for ourselves. Think about it. Within our own community we have a computer wizard, a home fix-it man, a few cooks, children and highly educated people. Groups such as these survive because of not only physical food, but also the mentality of each other.
    As one unit, I'd like to see everything that you've read above come together for the greater good of ending the homeless epidemic.