With piercing blue eyes and a navy cotton shirt wrapped around her like a jacket, Aqua wagged her tail among other Denver homeless as she waited for veterinary care.
Owner Ferman Montanez brought Aqua — a husky and pit bull mix — to the Project Homeless Connect event Monday at the Colorado Convention Center to help prepare her for harsh winter weather.
The event is the annual one-day convention for homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless to access free services like health exams, receive donated clothing and get employment help, said Julie Smith, spokeswoman for Denver Human Services.
While Montanez dreamed of being able to provide Aqua with a proper jacket, he was pleased with the vaccines and checkups she was receiving for the first time in about a year.
“She’s an amazing companion,” Montanez said. “I would never trade her for the world.”
Volunteer Melanie Lewis Dickerson said pet assistance is one of her favorite aspects of the convention since so many homeless people are dedicated to their animals.
“Some people just aren’t willing to part with their pets, understandably,” she said. “This way, we’ve got information on pet food pantries, a veterinarian on-site and some free pet food.”
Inside the sprawling convention center, those in need were paired with volunteers who helped them navigate the nearly 100 local organizations there to provide services to the more than 2,200 homeless people expected to attend, Smith said.
The project, which originated in San Francisco in 2004, was launched in Denver two years later. Denver’s Road Home, Mile High United Way and the city and county of Denver help put it together, Smith said.
With over 1,000 volunteers from homeless outreach programs, Metropolitan State University and Regis University, the 2014 program boasted the most volunteers it has ever had, Smith said.
In the computer section, Blake Shaffer wore a backward cap with a dollar sign on it — a symbol of the money he hoped to be making soon.
Shaffer was getting help creating a résumé after hearing about the event at the Denver Rescue Mission, where he is staying.
Once a volunteer helped him organize his contact information and education experience, Shaffer headed to the convention’s job booths with his new credentials in hand.
“I feel like I’m ready to do anything. I feel like I’ve accomplished something,” he said.
Catherine Ryon, a volunteer with mental health assistance, said the event is an incomparable resource.
“It’s a one-stop shop,” she said. “You can just walk around the room and find the resources you need that would otherwise take someone new or struggling in the homeless community several months to navigate,” she said.
Roderick Downing smiled as he watched a volunteer buzz the hair off the sides of his head.
“I really appreciate this,” Downing said. “I just got here from Oklahoma and, after today, I feel better about things.”
He looked forward to stopping by a medical tent for a vision test along with getting some new winter clothes.
Bennie Milliner, executive director of Denver’s Road Home, walked the convention floor, surveying the event that he helped organize.
“This is a great opportunity for our community and volunteers to see the real face of homelessness, sometimes for the first time,” Milliner said. “It’s not just the guy on Colfax with a beat-up cardboard sign. It’s families, children, the disabled, and they all have stories.”
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or
