SAVE THE DATE Couples’ plans postponed as vendors brace for industry impacts amid COVID-19 P12
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April 9, 2020
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
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Schools launch online learning Englewood educators, students won’t be back in classroom together this semester BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Larry Anderson receives a cup of coffee from Makayla Creech, a volunteer for Movement 5280, a group that assists at-risk and homeless young adults and other homeless residents. The organization is part of Change the Trend’s effort to deliver groceries to vulnerable populations in Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan. JOSEPH RIOS
expanding its services to grabbing groceries for those who are at risk. Churches and organizations that are part of Change the Trend like Wellspring Church, Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church, A Stronger Cord, Cafe180, Movement 5280, LoveINC, HAAT Force, The Sacred Grace and GraceFull Cafe, and other entities outside of Change the Trend like Mosaic Church, are working together to deliver groceries or to provide other resources to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is looking to assist seniors and residents with health problems in Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan.
At the beginning of the school year, Savion Romero never imagined his senior year at Englewood High School would take the turn that it has due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Romero doesn’t get to do the activities that most teenagers in their last year of high school get to do, like go to prom or feel the joy of finishing the last day of high school with friends. Instead of sitting through classes at Englewood High School, Romero is spending his final days of high school sitting in front of a computer for online schooling. “I guess you could say that I feel cheated a little bit,” Romero said about his final year of high school. Like others in Englewood Schools, Romero will not attend in-person classes for the rest of the semester. In a joint April 3 letter to community members from 14 Denver metro area school districts, Englewood Schools Superintendent Wendy Rubin announced that the district will continue remote
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Seniors, vulnerable can get resources, grocery delivery Change the Trend, others join forces to help during crisis BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Englewood resident Adelmo Vallejos says he tries to not think about how he is suffering from kidney cancer, but sometimes he will wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares about his condition. He says his immune system isn’t strong and for now, he can’t go to doctor appointments for his cancer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vallejos is 71 and his age and condi-
tion place him at elevated risk of dying from the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says older adults and people of any age who have serious medical conditions may be at higher risk for bad outcomes from COVID-19. “I have to risk my life to go out to the stores to get what I need. If you go over to the stores, there isn’t much you can get anyway because everything is gone,” said Vallejos. Residents like Vallejos who are at risk to the worst of what COVID-19 can cause are the type of people Change the Trend and other churches and organizations are targeting for assistance. Change the Trend is a community coalition based in Englewood that assists the homeless, but during the pandemic, it is
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“No memorial at the time of death postpones grief. To have a little finality in that moment is important.” Michael Wellensiek, director of operations for Horan & McConaty | Page 2 INSIDE
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VOLUME 100 | ISSUE 7