Remembering Friends

One of the great honors we have at AfterHours is standing with our friends on the street to remember and memorialize people who have died.

Everyone we serve is special. Some people become extra special to us. Jared was one of those. He was a friend and co-worker in the work to put more love into the world.

Jared became homeless in October of 2000. Living rough for so long meant he was tough as nails, quick to anger, and leery of making deep connections. But through relationships with us at AfterHours and at Network Coffee House he found people he could trust. Because of that trust we convinced him to take a spot at one of the Safe Outdoor Space sites in Denver. He found stability at the SOS and from there quickly found housing in November of 2023.

Being housed, Jared started to think about his life, about how he wanted to spend his time, about what he was good at, and about where his passions in life lay. It was good to see him start planning for the future for the first time in decades.

Relationship and love returns people to themselves, as Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries says. This was as true of Jared as anyone.

Jared died on March 9th, 2025. He was 42 years old. We miss him and we're so grateful he was a part of our lives.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being a part of AfterHours Denver.