MAKE A SPLASH: Beat the heat at these parks and splash pads in the metro area P14
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July 5, 2018
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
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ELECTRIFYING DISPLAY Local residents learn how a Tesla coil works P8
Coalition shares updates in fight to end homelessness Change the Trend holds second public forum in Englewood BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Adam Becker, a local man who was homeless for more than a decade, offered the audience a lesson he learned on the common responses to homelessness he’s seen in his life. People have a fight-or-flight response, he said: Punish or jail the homeless, or turn the cold shoulder. “We have to do something different to make a difference,” said Becker, a member of Change the Trend Network, an organization that engages the issue of homelessness in Englewood. He addressed a crowd of more than 50 at the Englewood Civic Center June 27, where Change the Trend held its second public forum — after the first March 22 — to update the community and foster more dialogue on housing, mental health, police interactions and the city’s response to the issue. Despite the usual dichotomy Becker sees, he believes communities can choose a third way to respond to homelessness: “Communicate.” At the forum, groups cycled through roundtable discussions on homelessness regarding law enforcement, housing and transportation, substance-use disorders, mental health and more. At a table to discuss perspectives from the homeless, Becker and a woman named Lacey Epperson told a group of about 10 people about their experiences. SEE COALITION, P7
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
‘It seems to me that many of the people I speak with lately spend too much time or put too much focus on the things and people who drain them of their energy.’ Michael Norton, columnist | Page 12 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 20
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 20