Charles Has a Home!

 By Charles Spring, Denver VOICE Vendor

Charles Spring holds the keys to his new apartment. Credit: Charles Spring.

Editor’s note: In March, Charles Spring signed on as a Denver VOICE vendor. Since then, he has shared his story about how he came to Denver for a fresh start last December, thought he had a place to live, and wound up homeless with no job or income. Within a few months, Spring has been one of the top 10 vendors consistently. He has also written poems and drawn illustrations for several issues of Denver VOICE. In mid-October, Spring received keys to his new apartment. Here is his account of how that happened. This story was published in the November 2024 issue of the Denver VOICE.

I have just moved to the Volunteers Of America Sunset Park Apartments, located at 1865 Larimer St. in downtown Denver. While I was still staying at the Denver Rescue Mission’s 48th Ave. Shelter, my caseworker Julia gave me a list of low-income housing units in the area.

So, all I really had to do was fill out an application and submit my documents to get on the waitlist. Nine months later, they contacted me to say my application was approved, told me the amount I would be paying, and gave me my move-in date.

With the assistance of my caseworker Tyler at the Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter, I received my security deposit and first two months’ rent, furniture, and $200.00 in gift cards to Target for anything else I might need as an incentive for getting a place and moving on from being homeless. The apartments are mostly for retired or disabled people, but it is a great place!

The Sunset Park Apartments property includes a chapel, a cafeteria — where they provide free lunches on weekdays — and a community room with a pool table and TV. On Friday nights, the Volunteers of America apartment building also has live music in the cafeteria.

My apartment is conveniently located just three blocks from Coors Field and four blocks from Union Station, I’m close to pretty much everything. I love it!