Smith Road—The Shame of a City
Denver is a beautiful place to live. As a Denver native and one who has only ever lived in the Mile High City, I love the city I call home. However, part of my aim in setting my Wrongful Conviction Novels in Denver is to shine a light on the fact that in this beautiful place to live, not everyone is living beautifully.
Case in point: Smith Road. As I described in the final chapter of A Dream in the Dark, Smith Road was the place that authorities literally left people to fend for themselves. For years, they simply dropped formerly incarcerated individuals on the side of the road with zero services in sight. The closest place for shelter was over ten miles away; the only belongings of those dropped off were contained in the plastic bags in their hands.
I had the privilege of being a part of a group that organized a crisis response team on behalf of those who had served their time and were now attempting to start anew. We met newly released people on Smith Road with survival backpacks complete with food, water, maps, blankets, hats, gloves, and toiletries. Additionally, we offered coats and rides. Thankfully, after a few years of these tactics, the system responded to the shame it had created and changed the drop-off location.
