WEEK OF OCTOBER 17, 2024
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 16
FREE
Underpass gets an artist’s touch
Local churches, governments scramble for solutions after Severe Weather Shelter Network closes BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
and walk right past this and so as I was walking one day I thought we should really highlight this area,” Rollinger said. “I thought it would be fun to highlight the ecology of the area and to get the neighbors to come out and help paint a mural and get to know each other and really build something together as a community.” Rollinger continued to say that Michel’s design was chosen out of nearly 60 applicants because of how it illustrated the seen and unseen parts of the Ralston Creek ecosystem.
Local governments and nonprofits are piecing together a plan to shelter unhoused people this winter after the nonprofit Severe Weather Shelter Network shut down permanently over the summer. The faith-based network, which coordinated emergency overnight shelter in churches during blizzards and cold snaps in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, told supporters in an August email the organization no longer has “the financial means, and church involvement, to keep the shelters open.” “All SWSN staff are being released and the Board is in the process of fulfilling all outstanding obligations and shutting down responsibly,” the email read. Local governments and homelessness outreach agencies say shelter during severe winter weather is a matter of life and death for those living on the streets. In response to the void left by SWSN closing, Jefferson County and Arapahoe County are working on forming severe weather committees to coordinate sheltering services. The Tri-Cities Homeless Initiative, which serves Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan, has formed a severe weather subcommittee to review data from previous years
SEE MURAL, P6
SEE WEATHER, P2
Denver-based muralist Catie Michel stands beside the mural she designed for the Garrison Street overpass.
Denver-based artist Catie Michel paints sprawling ode to Ralston Creek wildlife on Garrison Street BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A local artist is working to beautify one of the most heavily trafficked underpasses in Arvada. Denver-based muralist Catie Michel’s Garrison Street underpass mural will depict life in and around Ralston Creek when completed. The mural is located at approximately 5890 Garrison St., and Michel
began work on Oct. 3. The project is expected to be completed by November, according to the City of Arvada’s website for the mural. The idea for the mural came from Arvada resident Harris Rollinger, who said that he and his wife walk the path by the future mural site every day with their dogs and heard that grants were available through the Arvada Arts Commission. “It’s easy to take this for granted
VOICES: 14 | LIFE: 16 | CALENDAR: 19 | SPORTS: 22
PHOTO BY TOMAS MARTINEZ
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