Denver Metro Caring, July Caring Chronicle
The Fresh Foods Market Reopens on July 8th
Metro Caring is excited to announce that we will be reopening our fresh foods choice market for in-person shopping starting on Thursday, July 8th. We will continue to take every possible step to ensure the safety of our community members during this transition, including a requirement for all onsite staff and volunteers to be fully vaccinated by the beginning of August. Every building space as well as carts and other market materials will be regularly cleaned and sanitized. Please plan on wearing a mask over your nose and mouth while inside the building. All appointments scheduled on or after Thursday, July 8th will be in-person shopping experiences or deliveries.
The shopping experience will look a bit different as we are working on providing a socially distant environment for our shoppers. Please expect to have our check-in process outside, under a tented vestibule. We will be limiting the number of shoppers in the market and doing our best to ensure the time spent outdoors is at a minimum. Our building will be reopening in phases, with this first phase focused on food distribution. ID and birth certificate vouchers will continue to be distributed as they are available. Metro Caring's cooking classes and nutrition programming is beginning a hybrid virtual and in-person class model.
Renter's Rights with Colorado Legal Services
While we address the immediate need for nutritious food at Metro Caring, we must also look at the root causes of hunger. Housing instability creates financial barriers that affect people's access to basic needs such as healthy food.
Metro Caring understands that Coloradans are not going hungry because there is a scarcity of food in the state; our community members are going hungry because they spend most of their money paying rent while living in undignified housing. Metro Caring believes every person should be able to live in dignified housing and defend against unjust treatment or eviction.
Michelle Prince and Molly Langeberg, housing paralegals at Colorado Legal Services, will be presenting rental assistance options in Metro Denver. We will be doing a deep dive into how to apply to Colorado's Emergency Rental Assistance Program. We will also briefly cover other rental assistance and utility assistance options. No legal advice will be given during this presentation.
Simultaneous interpretation will be available in Spanish.
Mientras abordamos la necesidad inmediata de alimentos nutritivos en Metro Caring, también debemos analizar las causas fundamentales del hambre. La inestabilidad de la vivienda crea barreras financieras que afectan el acceso de las personas a necesidades básicas como alimentos saludables.
Metro Caring comprende que los habitantes de Colorado no pasan hambre porque hay escasez de alimentos en el estado; los miembros de nuestra comunidad pasan hambre porque gastan la mayor parte de su dinero en pagar el alquiler mientras viven en viviendas indignas. Metro Caring cree que todas las personas deberían poder vivir en una vivienda digna y defenderse contra el trato injusto o el desalojo.
Michelle Prince y Molly Langeberg, asistentes legales de vivienda en Colorado Legal Services, presentarán opciones de asistencia de alquiler en el área metropolitana de Denver. Vamos a profundizar en cómo solicitar el Programa de Asistencia de Alquiler de Emergencia de Colorado. También cubriremos brevemente otras opciones de asistencia para el alquiler y servicios públicos. No se brindará asesoramiento legal durante esta presentación.
Habrá interpretación simultánea en español.
