without a home in aurora Housing insecurity is a key issue facing our city. To build a wider understanding of people who are often overlooked, misunderstood or unheard, staff at the museum engaged in an oral history project on the streets of Aurora. The personal challenges, trials and resilience of these Aurorans are a part of the everchanging fabric of Aurora’s narrative. The people profiled in this exhibition shared intimate details of their lives with the Aurora History Museum. They described how housing insecurity effects them personally and reflected on the broader issue of homelessness. The goal of this exhibit is to shed light on a very complex and complicated social demographic. With humanity and compassion, the challenges and hardships of those experiencing housing insecurity are presented. Accompanying the testimonials are portraits and photography, reflecting the nature of life on Aurora’s streets. Much of the photography is being provided by local street photographer, Amy Forestieri.
KIM Kim grew up in El Paso, Texas before moving to Colorado in the late 1990s. At 58 years old, Kim has been on the streets off and on for over ten years. Her daughters were enrolled in Columbine High School during the 1999 school shooting, and her eldest daughter took her own life 6 years after the event. Kim said, “The kids were never really right after that, and neither was I. Michelle passed away 6 years later, she never really got over that.” Kim talked about what lead her to homelessness, “I was paying for everything by myself. The kids grew up and moved out, and I could afford to do it by myself until the weed people got here and it got too expensive. It’s just so expensive to live out here. It’s hard to afford much anymore.”
FRANK Frank was born in New Mexico and grew up in Texas before coming to Colorado. He explained why he moved, “I got really burnt out on Texas. I kind of had it rough down there. I had an abusive childhood, my parents got a divorce, I experienced a lot of racism in my school. . . just a lot of bad stuff down there.” Frank currently lives in an apartment off East Colfax. He affords his current home by utilizing a housing voucher and other benefits. He explained what it was like to be homeless as a younger man, “I was homeless, off and on, for 5 years. . . When I was on the streets 23 years ago, it wasn’t too bad. There was not a lot of homeless back then. Crime wasn’t that bad either. It’s not like that anymore.” Asked about the importance of having a house of his own now, Frank said, “It means everything to me. I’m lucky. . . but this area man, its dangerous. Like some kid just got shot in my ally the other day. And another kid got shot just right over here. There is always a shooting going on around here. So, I don’t particularly feel safe. . . But I try to limit my time out at night. I hang out with my neighbors and we stick together, watch each other’s backs. . . It’s kind of rough sometimes, but I survive.” Frank closed his interview with a message for those experiencing homelessness, “You got to get involved with a program. Like I did. I got involved with a rehab program with the Coalition. . . Get help, and they can work on housing with you.”
MADISON Madison is originally from Mississippi. He has been experiencing homelessness for over a year and has only been in Aurora for a couple months. He explained, “I was in a bad relationship with a girl, and I had a relative that lived out here. . . I wanted to try something different in life. . . I’d never lived in another state in my life. It was a big change, being in a big ol’ city, being a country boy. . . It can happen to anybody. You never know what you’re going to go through in life. I left my work, and made myself homeless, because I was running away from a broken heart.” Madison commented on the museum’s project and the resources available to the housing insecure, “These stories, they are gonna help somebody. They’re gonna touch somebody, somewhere. This is not just Aurora. This is like an epidemic, it’s all over the world. We can’t forget, we are not by ourselves. There is a lot of homeless people man. I see it every day. It motivates me to keep helping people get out of here. . . There is only so much these organizations can do. They need the community to help too. The difference is in the people. There is only so many beds. There is only so many resources. They still need help.”
MIKE Mike is currently residing near East Colfax and Yosemite in Aurora. When interviewed in May 2021, Mike had been experiencing homelessness for five months. Mike shared, “I’ve been staying at the Aurora Day Center during the day and utilizing Comitis at night. That’s the only way I have been surviving the last couple months.” Mike wanted museum guests to know, “That I care and I love all people. There are so many different walks of life, so many walks of life. The homeless can be reached. A few touches can make a big difference in the aspects of their lives. It can make a big difference for themselves and their loved ones.”
SHERRY Sherry has been experiencing homelessness for over four years. She talked with museum staff outside a free clinic off East Colfax. Sherry has a broken ankle, she said, “The doctors tell me if I keep walking on it, I am going to be in a wheelchair. Nobody going to take care of me in a wheelchair. Then, what am I going to do?” Sherry talked about the dangers of being homeless on East Colfax. “I once had the best tent. But now I don’t, and I am scared. . . I need to find a place to lay down safe. Because you’re hearing about these people raping and killing women up and down Colfax. So, if I lay under a tree, like some other people, I’m in real danger. . . I pray every day, ‘God, please help me stay safe.’ That’s why I came over here, because these guys here, they will help me stay safe. I got to stay safe. I am a strong, beautiful woman, and I am scared.” Sherry continued by explaining what keeps her going during hard times, “I am strong . . . but, I am a sinner . . . every moment I ask the Lord ‘to please show me the path.’ . . . I know this, I ain’t stopping. I ain’t stopping – I will die for my Lord.”
WILLIAMS Williams is 53 years old and has lived in Colorado for 27 years after discharging from the Marine Corps. He has been experiencing homelessness for the past year and half. He talked with museum staff about the dangers of being homeless in Aurora, “I’ve been sleeping in some of the bushes behind that church over there. Me and a couple other guys. I have to really try and get in the bushes, so no one can see me. . . It’s kind of crazy out here. . . It can sometimes be kind of scary. . . I try to save myself, you know, because out here it is hard. People, they got knives and guns. . . some have bats and clubs. . . You have to try and stay safe out here. . . It is crazy sleeping out here man. . . Some people will kill you over nothing. Too many people have died, killed over nothing. People are crazy. . . I try to stay away from it. . . I don’t want any trouble. Some people want to get in fights, and I just want to get out of the way. I don’t want any trouble out here.”
MARLENA Marlena parks her car in an assigned safe lot in Arvada behind a church. She commutes daily to Aurora, where she works. She described what led her to live out of her car for the last 6 months, “It’s so hard to find a place to live here, its crazy and unaffordable. It’s almost cheaper to just live in my car. . . They have us park in back of the church, we are not messed with, there are only a few other parkers, we have access to a bathroom all night. . . I just feel more safe parking in the lot. . . The church cooks us a meal twice a week and we occasionally have access to a shower.” Marlena wanted museum guests to know, “We are people just like everyone else. . . We should be treated equal, just like everybody else. Whether we are living in a mansion or living out of our cars. It should be about being kind to people. I think people need to get back to that.”
ROBERT Robert is originally from Kansas City and has resided in Colorado for the last 41 years. Robert has had to spend time on the street in his life. He shared with the museum staff, “Most my life I have just been working, trying to take care of my kids. . . I work, and work hard so my kids are among the haves. Thank God my kids are not out here. . . I’d rather be out here struggling, then for them to be out here amongst the wolves.” Robert continued by commenting on the cost of living and about homelessness at large, “Today’s rent in Colorado is astronomical . . . The homeless out here shouldn’t be as big as it is. I understand that some people go through hard times, but the system should allow you to come back up. . . With the current wages, and cost of everything, it’s hard. . . Everybody out here is just miserable, and they’re hungry. Most of them out here are just trying to make their way, and get better. . . Once you find yourself out here, look, the streets don’t love you. We call it the concrete jungle. The jungle does not love you and the concrete always wins. No matter what.”
WILLIE Willie currently lives in the motel system along East Colfax. Willie grew up in Louisiana and has been living in Colorado for over 30 years. She explained how she found herself in Colorado, “My mother was very dominant and very aggressive. She was very abusive. So, I was in high school and I had no idea what I was going to do when I graduated. I thought, ‘Where do I go from here?’ The college people came to recruit, and I signed up and they let me in. So, I went, and I graduated from Grambling State University. . . Right after I walked off that stage, I immediately grabbed my bags and went to Grey Hound.” Willie talked about living in the motel system on East Colfax, “It was a whole lot of circumstances that led me here in the motel, but mostly financial reasons.0.0. They don’t care what you’re going through though. Rent is way too high, and they know they can do that because of the living situations people are going through. See some of us have been put out, and we end up in situations like this. See we are paying much more than we would at an apartment. I don’t see any changes around here. They are raising our rent every third minute, but there ain’t no changes. There is always bedbugs and rodents. We deal with drugs, alcohol, police everyday – all that. It’s like living in a war. . . But what keeps me going is my creator. . . I believe God works through me, and that’s how I know what love is.”
CHRIS Chris grew up in Aurora and has lived here his whole life. He currently lives in a house after being homeless for over two years. Chris was able to acquire a housing voucher, he described his living situation, “The housing they gave me is not fit. . . I don’t have any heat, my garbage disposal is all messed up, mailbox is messed up, my window is broken out . . . no one is helping me with it. I’m just sitting there, freezing somedays. I got to keep taking this bucket to the bathtub to wash my dishes.” Chris described how he became homeless, “My mom died, and we had to sell the house. We sold the house and from there on out things started getting worse. I always had a job, but it was never enough. . . Most all my family is gone . . . Grandma died, my brother died, all my uncles died, sister died, my dad is gone, I’m in this world all by myself.” Reflecting on the people experiencing homelessness, Chris said, “Some of them don’t want any help, but I would like help. Do the right things. I try not to judge anybody . . . ultimately, I’m still alive and I like to be around people who are positive, not negative.”
CHRISTY Christy is a lifelong member of the Aurora community. She currently resides in an apartment off East Colfax, she explained, “I have this apartment over here, but we have nothing, just a mattress on the floor. . . I know homelessness.” Before moving into her apartment, Christy lived in an old RV. She described in her interview the dangers of living on the streets, “I didn’t feel safe in my RV, and I don’t feel safe here. Everyday, somebody around here is getting shot. It’s really bad, real, real bad. . . I do got me a German Shepard, a big one.” She went on to talk about how hard it can be on the streets in the winter, “In the winter, you come out here, and there is all these people laying out in front of my house trying to stay warm.” She ended by telling us that her grandkids keep her going when times are tough.
KATHRINE Kathrine went to Aurora Central High School as a teenager, moved out of state, and returned to Aurora 7 years ago. Kathrine suffers from physical and mental illness, she described her current living situation, “After everything, I find myself homeless. . . Well, I am able to stay with a friend . . . she lets me stay on her floor. I do the best I can, by staying with people like this gal. She really is helping me out. She has been very nice to me, by letting me stay on her floor. . . If she stops letting me stay there, I don’t know, I guess I’ll come back and try to find a place to stay. I need a good roommate.” Kathrine commented on the homeless community in Aurora, “We get knocked down and there are people out here, like teams, and when you’re down, they will offer you a hand to help. . . I have met people out here that are beautiful and really do look out for you. These homeless, they get in groups and make accountability. Like, ‘where were you today?’ and ‘where are you going to be today?’ and they seem to care. . . There are some groups out here that really care about each other. They check on each other. . . I believe we all deserved better and we all matter.”
JERRY Jerry currently lives in an apartment off East Colfax. Jerry explained, “I was homeless for well over 20 years before I got this place. . . I have been living here for about two years. . . I was working with the Coalition, they helped me get this place.” When museum staff talked with Jerry, he had recently been discharged from the hospital. He said, “I recently just got out of the hospital for Covid. That ain’t no joke. My whole body be hurting. It’s bad man. I was pretty much a vegetable. You don’t want to move, you can’t move. . . I had a couple of days in the ICU. . . Now I’m out, I still got bills. It just got a whole lot harder. You still got all the responsibilities. After being homeless for 20 years, it’s real hard now to be paying the rent.”
SUNNY Sunny is originally from Florida and moved to Colorado as a young man. He was 14 years old when he first experienced homelessness. He explained, “What led me on the streets is I couldn’t stand my mother’s foster kids. I felt like, ‘why I got to do this, why I got to do that,’ I was just a normal crazy teenager. So, I just turned around and just bounced.0.0. I just said, ‘I’m out,’ I thought I was grown. I didn’t know at the time how mentally tough that would be on me, but at the same time, it made me know how to survive by myself. Even though at the time I was kind of crying, I’m not gonna lie, I learned how to be a man quickly.” Sunny worked with local organizations distributing shoes to others experiencing homelessness. He spoke about his work, “I’ve been with Wholly Kicks for almost two years. I like giving back. Doing something to give back. . . We out here trying to take care of each other, but sometimes the game get grimy out here on the streets.” Lastly, Sunny spoke about the joy of finding housing via a housing voucher and the value of family, “That case worker right there, standing by the door. Man, she got us out. It means a lot. I can just walk in, sit down, and don’t have to worry about anything. I feel better, way better. It opened my eyes to a lot of things, like more responsibilities and thinking about others and who is most important around you. You got to build that cabinet around each other and keep it going. We just won’t stop. That’s the best feeling. I got my family together.” Sunny passed away shortly after being interviewed by museum staff.
ROB Rob grew up in Chicago and has been in Aurora for 4 years. Currently suffering from health issues, Rob explained to the museum staff, “You know, 3 years ago I had a stroke, then liver cancer. . . It took me over a year to learn how to walk and talk again. . . I have seen a liver specialist, they said there is not a whole lot that can be done. I’m not expecting to see the end of the year. . . Because all that, I can’t work anymore. I worked waste management for years. . . You can’t work waste management when you have to walk with a walker. . . since the stroke, I have been homeless ever since.” Rob also added, “There is a big prejudice about it (homelessness). You know, people just assume things. . . There are people out here, like me, just going through hell. Sometimes it is what life hands you.”
ALICIA Alicia was born and raised in Colorado before moving to Arizona and North Dakota. She returned to Aurora in 2018. Alicia is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. She is currently homeless. While in Arizona she won a sizable lottery jackpot. She commented, “I won the lottery and lost everything. I relapsed on several drugs after winning and it was just a mess from there. . . If I could do it all over again, I would rather have not won that money.” Asked about the challenges of living on the streets, Alicia commented, “The hardest part for me is I can’t take a shower when I want to take a shower. I can’t hold onto things, I lose everything. Keeping a job is hard. Everything is hard about being homeless. Especially when you drink and do drugs, it is a cycle that seems to be very hard to get out of. If it was not for my kids coming back into my life, and my dad, I think I would give up hope. . . The hardest is surviving out here, you can’t trust many people.0.0. I try to keep my head up. . . It’s just so hard to get ahead once you fall and go homeless.” Alicia added, “I try to stay positive . . . I don’t steal, I don’t cause problems, most people want me around. . . Just treat other people out here how you want to be treated. I don’t treat others badly. I want my blessings. I want to get off the street.”
POPS Pops was born in Texas and moved to Aurora at the age of 6. Pops has been experiencing homelessness for over 17 years. He explained what led him onto the streets, “I was hanging with the wrong associates. I was doing too much partying, and I let myself go. I cannot blame my associates; I call them associates because if they were my friends, they would have told me to slow down. . . Just too much partying . . . I can’t blame them though; I really blame myself.” Pops went on to talk about the community of the streets, “I’m a vet. I served in the military. If I can give it, I’ll give it. Mostly everybody out here, they know I’m alright. They say, ‘Yeah Pops, he’s alright.’ If I need something, like from the store, I can always count on others. I can give ‘em my card, and I know they are coming back. . . You know there is good and bad in everybody. . . We are all people. There is good and bad in all of us. . . Mostly, everyone out here looks out for each other though. . . Everybody around here, even the social workers, they know everybody by name. . . I’m not by myself out here, it’s usually a few of us who sleep by that building over there, and we watch each other’s right.”
ABBY Abby talked about living on East Colfax in the motel system. “I was born in poverty and I was born addicted to every drug known to man. I was raised by a good family though; I was adopted at the age of two by a family I really didn’t deserve. I screwed up my life in school. Instead of being there to learn, I was there to be the class clown. My mom and dad were a very smothering type of parents. . . So, I decided to move here (The Radiant Motel on East Colfax), to learn how to stand on my own two feet. I started living in a room and ended up working here for free to get my foot in the door. I was cleaning rooms and doing housekeeping and eventually was hired on as the manager.” Talking about life on East Colfax, Abby said, “This street is very hard. . . You see the women out on the street, working, trying to make that buck. You see the kids selling drugs. .0. It’s very scary having to be here when you see the violence on the streets. . . Not everyone is who you think they are out here on Colfax. A lot of people are not hooked on drugs, and a lot of people are not prostituting. A lot of people are hard working and are good people.0.0. Just because we are out here does not mean we need to be stereotyped. . . People should not be defined by the dirt that they find themselves in, instead be defined by the good that they do.”
BRANDIE Brandie lives and works in a motel along East Colfax. She explained, “I am a mother of twelve and been married twice. I ended up on Colfax because my second husband lost his job that he held for over 7 years. His company went under and we were no longer able to afford our apartment. . . Since then we have been going from motel to motel. . . At one point we ended up having to go to the Comitis Center for a while because we couldn’t afford the motels. . . But by the grace of God, we ended up here, and now I work here which cuts my rent by half.” Brandie explained the hardships she faces living on East Colfax, “It is hard to live out here, as I am an addict in recovery. It is a struggle every day. This part of Colfax, it’s a reality, its hard being a mom and an addict. It’s hard because I don’t know where my future lies. But, at the end of the day, I have to remember, it’s not where I live, it’s what I chose to do and how strong I chose to be. . . There is more to life than the drugs, and gangs, and violence, and there is love and peace. If I can show myself, and if I can show my son, that there is another side to life. It’s not always horrible, it’s not always a bad ending, and there can be a good ending for us.”
LEONARD Leonard has been living month-to-month in a motel on East Colfax for over five years. He explained how he ended up at the motel, “Sometimes you got circumstances to cause things to happen that are outside of your control. . . When I had nowhere else to go. I went looking for a place to stay, and walked all up and down Colfax. . . They told me I could have the place for a month, with a little kitchenette. So, I moved in – now I don’t want to go. I like it. It’s comfy. I trust the people and people trust me and I can always help my friends here. . . I feel there are people here I can fellowship with.0.0. I am considered homeless though, because I am living in a motel. I don’t have the electricity and all that stuff in my name to give me a residence. .0. It can be real dangerous here, and up and down Colfax. . . There has been three people killed since I got here” Leonard added, “It’s life. Everybody has got one life to live, that’s it. You know, and the circumstances sometimes make life like hell. What hurts me the most is seeing little kids out here . . . most people just don’t see ‘em either. Most people just walk on by like they’re nonexistent. They got their lives, and they just chose not to see ours.”
ISAIAH Isaiah moved to Colorado in 2015 after his mom lost her house in California. Initially living with family, Isaiah found himself homeless in 2016. He described his experience, “That first night it started snowing. . . we were sleeping on that pedestrian bridge in front of the Children’s Hospital. My fiancé had to carry me and our bags to the hospital as I started catching frost bite on my feet. I couldn’t feel either of my feet. . . From there, we went to Comitis (Crisis Center). Once we got there, they gave us something to eat, they gave us a bed, they have been helping me ever since. . . Every day I have to wake up, wondering, if I am going to be able to eat today. If I am going to be able to shower today. If I am going to make a little money for some food or get some clothes. . .” Isaiah explained how the shelter system has helped him and talked about stereotyping the homeless population, “We are not all out here fighting an addiction. Some of us are trying to do something with our lives. . . Places like this (Aurora Day Resource Center), they do what they can to help, they provide all the necessary resources we need to get our lives together. People shouldn’t stereotype us as thieves or drug addicts – that just isn’t right. . . I have not figured it out yet, but I know I am here for a purpose. What keeps me going is my blessing and my curse. I will help another person down to my last. . . that’s just the way I was raised. I think we should all try to help each other when we need to.”
WINN Winn grew up in Oklahoma City, and moved to Aurora 29 years ago. Winn, who is 61 years old, has been experiencing homelessness for 8 years. As a younger man, he worked for the Sante Fe Railroad and receives a pension. Winn shared, “I get a pension, about $1,700 a month. With that, I try to help people out when I can. . . I also buy stuff I need. A generator, a tent, you know. . . It’s challenging living out here. You have to watch your back and your stuff. It’s common for people to steal your stuff. Like I bought me a brand-new Colman stove, to keep me warm, and they stole it.” Winn has recently been uprooted after his tent was removed from a property. He spoke about utilizing the shelter system in Aurora, “I’d been there in my tent for a while; I’d been there for over three months. . . Now they want me gone. . . Now I come over here to the day center. They will hook you up with a shower and a meal. They will try to help you get housing. . . But I don’t sit around. Some people want to sit in there at the Day Center all day and watch TV or stare at the wall. Not me. I wasn’t raised like that. I want to get stuff done. Stay busy. . . You have to stay busy. If I don’t my bones lock up on me. I got arthritis.”
DONALD Donald is originally from Houston, Texas. He has been utilizing the shelter system in Aurora for over 2 years. He explained, “My grandma got really sick, and I just got out of the joint, didn’t have a job, so I figured I would come take care of my grandma and became her primary care giver. . . I ended up getting a good job here . . . then my grandma passed. So, I went back to Houston . . . didn’t work out. So, I decided to come back here to get back my job . . . and that didn’t work out. So, since I have been just doing what I could . . . then my ex and I got into it . . . I came home from work and all my [stuff] is outside, that’s how I got into this [mess].” Donald talked about his aspirations and goals for the future, “I am a comedian too. I’m trying to get my trial for the improv. Next week matter of fact, next Thursday. Hopefully I can get a gig, doing some opening acts. There are comic clubs and improv joints all across the nation. If it doesn’t work out, I am not going to give up.”
ESTHER Esther was born in the Kingdom of Iberia and moved to Oregon as a child with her family. She relocated to Colorado as an adult. Esther has been experiencing housing insecurity for about a year. She sleeps at the Comitis Crisis Shelter and utilizes the Aurora Day Resource Center during the day. Esther is a licensed cosmetologist and is working towards becoming a hairdresser. She explained she must list the day center as her address when applying for jobs and is striving to advance her career in order to afford her own place.