HITTING THE SLOPES A trip to the mountains doesn’t have to break the bank P8
FREE
January 24, 2019
DENVER Since 1926
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
Lady of Capitol Hill
City offers help for workers hurt by shutdown
Delberta Clark created a small business to help others thrive
Mortgage assistance available; rent aid may go to some with low incomes
BY KAILYN LAMB KLAMB@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Sitting in her apartment across the street from the Capitol Building, Delberta Clark quietly listens to jazz music and surveys the plants she is growing on shelves. Green vines are growing out of the water-filled jars she hopes to sell as part of her small community project down the block, which she calls the We Got Your Back Team. On Grant Street, Clark has set up a small shop of sorts on a concrete slab inside a gated area that’s about 10 feet wide and 300 feet long. She sells used items like plates and furniture, but also her own handmade walking canes. In warmer weather she can be found sitting in a chair, hoping to sell her wares to raise funds for the homeless in the area. “I’m a community person, I like to get involved and do things,” she said. “A city is so big, you have to have a community and focus on the people that you’re around.” Clark, or Lady Clark as she is known in the neighborhood, started the project with the help of Knights of Columbus, a Catholic-based charitable organization at 1555 Grant St., which the building next to her shop. SEE CLARK, P4
BY DONNA BRYSON DENVERITE.COM
Delberta Clark holds a plant in her apartment in Capitol Hill. Clark runs a community project where she sells used items and is hoping to add her plants to the inventory this year. KAILYN LAMB
The City of Denver is offering financial help to some federal employees and others affected by the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, Mayor Michael Hancock said. His administration is offering up to two months or $5,000 in grants to help homeowners facing hardship pay their mortgages. Hancock said at a press conference that after watching a news report on the partial shutdown last week and realizing it could last indefinitely, he started calling aides to see what could be done to help federal workers in the Denver area. He said by the end of last week details of the temporary mortgage assistance program were in place and $485,000 in funds for the program had been identified. City officials estimate metro Denver is home to about 30,000 federal employees. It was unclear how many were affected by the shutdown. Hancock said some federal workers have savings or other resources, but some are living paycheck-to-paycheck, as his own family did when he was growing up. SEE SHUTDOWN, P4
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“With his background and knowledge, it’s the perfect time for Rich to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL.” Broncos coach Vic Fangio, on the hiring of Rich Scangarello | Page 10 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 6 | LIFE: PAGE 8 | CALENDAR: PAGE 7 | SPORTS: PAGE 10 VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 12