June Letters To The Editor
Toilets For The Win
I read last month’s letter to the editor, “Blight and Trash Are Unacceptable” about the unauthorized homeless camp along Smith Road, with great interest and disappointment.
Society’s worth is judged by how it treats the most vulnerable in its population: orphans and widows, women and children, and the homeless. The latter is often an afterthought, at best.
We are clearly a failed society.
I don’t mind my homeless neighbors that much. They’re temporary guests. I do grow a little irritated when I have to walk around needles, or disabled bikes, but what sets me outright hostile is when Denver cordons off that entire section with their “move along policy,” trashes the remainder of their homes, and destroys their hygiene kits.
People have a right to rest, and given no alternative, they exercise that right wherever they grow tired.
I agree with the letter-writer that it is shameful as a society that we’ve decided that this is okay. Human beings deserve better than refugee camps. Why can’t we do something that Utah has done? A housing first program? It solves, quite literally, every single problem complained about by homelessness. It allows people, with dignity, I add, to attain mental health in a clean, safe manner. To store a calendar for job appointments, clean clothes for the interview, a quiet, safe, clean place to keep and store affordable food — cooked food, not that 7-Eleven crap. They can charge their cell phones to receive a call about that interview.
I work for a condominium high rise. Denver Councilwoman Candi Cdebaca showed up personally to propose such a policy. She described it, and the voice was unanimous amongst all nearly 400 residents: That’s a great idea! She proposed converting old warehouses into housing: Yes! She suggested a warehouse just 1.2 miles down the road: Oh noes! We can’t have the formerly homeless in our back yard!
Which do we want?
Do we want people defecating on our front porch? Or in their own toilets? In MY opinion, private toilets for the win.
In my mind, the solution is blindingly obvious: House the homeless.
Ryan Dailey, Denver
In Defense Of Manual
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Dear Denver Public Schools Board of Education,
It is disheartening that once again we must come to the defense of Manual High School, whose students have been disrespected.
The latest example is losing the school’s junior ROTC program, which has been active at Manual for more than 100 years and has positively impacted the mostly black and brown students at Manual. The program is set to be transferred in the fall to Northfield High, a bigger school serving a wealthier community.
The Manual students, faculty and alumni are rightly upset at the prospect of losing 1st Sgt. Eric Posey, who has taught JROTC at Manual for 15 years. This man is so dedicated to Manual that he drives from his home in Colorado Springs.
We personally know the positive impact of this program because Wilma (Gerdine) Webb was a graduate of the program. The junior ROTC not only taught her leadership skills, but her weapons training came in handy when we took security training during our 12 years as Denver’s mayor and First Lady.
What’s especially unnerving is that the wheels to get the program moved from Manual started a few years ago when Sgt. Posey challenged an unfair review, and an arbitrator agreed with Posey. This man has gone beyond the job description to help students face all kind of challenges. He has been praised as an excellent communicator and has helped numerous students change their lives in a positive direction. He’s even counseled longtime teachers and boosted their morale.
Now, the excuse for the transfer is there aren’t enough students enrolled at the program at Manual, and Posey is unlikely to be chosen to lead the program if it moves to Northfield. This is a much bigger issue than numbers.
Manual continually deals with the dark cloud of possible future closures of the school. It was a mistake when the school was temporarily closed in 2006 and it’s a mistake now to rip this program from the school.
We pound our chests when test scores are low but what do our actions show these students? How many times are we going to tell the kids at Manual that we don’t care how they feel? That they must accept being treated like an afterthought?
Some administrators say this is not their decision, but who is going to stand up for these kids and for people like Sgt. Posey? We should be fighting like hell to help these kids feel valued and heard.
We’ll continue to speak out on their behalf, but where are the other voices? If we want these kids to do better, we must do better for them.
Wellington E. Webb, Wilma J. Webb
Manual Alumni
We love your letters, and give preference to those that address an issue that has been covered in the newspaper, or a topic that is Park Hill or Denver-specific. Send letters to editor@greaterparkhill.org, and include your full name, and the neighborhood in which you live. Deadlines are the 15th of each month, for the following month’s issue.