As Coloradans, we are all familiar with the high cost of living and limited affordable housing. However, many struggle to find empathy for those who are currently unhoused. For some Fort Collins community members, there is a constant state of judgment, fear, and lack of understanding when they see camps, carts, and people asking for help. Assumptions pile up, not going unnoticed by unhoused people. Homelessness is not always triggered by individual shortcomings; it is often due to illness, injury, rent raises, and unforeseen circumstances. These negative beliefs harm the unhoused community and can make it harder for them to become financially independent. 

I spoke to multiple people who have been judged and neglected before anyone has stopped to get to know them. They are all people with stories that deserve listeners. Each of them had messages for the community that would strengthen their relationships and allow them to be more successful in working towards a stable future. Two of the individuals who shared their stories are David Williams and Monte Wood. 

David Williams has endured several life-altering events over the last few years, including a difficult divorce and cancer. During our conversation, he said, “People come up here and don’t understand I’m not here because I’m a drug addict; I’m not here because I don’t want to work. I’m here because I can’t get work.” I asked specifically what his experience was in Fort Collins and what he wished people knew about him. He responded with, “Your faith in humanity gets restored when you see that one car that pulls up. You can’t even believe the car is still running, but they hand you a 10 dollar bill out the window. And yet you can guarantee that every time you see a Tesla, not one of them will give a dime. The least of us help the least of us, but the most of us don’t help the rest.”

Monte Wood is a 61-year-old who is living with a disability from a car accident involving a semi-truck. He underwent intensive medical care, including spine surgery, and has recently improved his ability to walk. He wants to work and be able to take care of himself. He told me, “I’m too old to be out here like this; this handicap thing stopped me from working. That wreck changed my whole life.” Although he has experienced people yelling out of their cars and honking their horns as they pass by, he has worked hard to eat healthy when he can and stay away from drugs. He shared this: “My wife, when she died, made me promise not to use anything. December 7th was 14 years that I’ve been clean.”