This interview captures the voice of a young woman recounting both immediate chaos and long-term survival. She describes a night of heavy drinking that spiraled into a fight with her husband, an injury from falling off a light rail, and the physical pain of a swollen knee. Her story then shifts into memories of hitching rides with truckers, being dropped in Kansas, and finding herself back in Denver just as the first snow arrives. With her husband, who suffers from anemia, she struggles to endure the cold, camping in doorways and sharing body heat in frosted sleeping bags.
She recalls being kicked out by her father at 14, living on the streets since then, and finding occasional refuge with strangers who offered shelter in exchange for chores. She is blunt about her dislike of shelters due to scabies, theft, and discomfort, saying her backpack is her house. Despite the hardship, she points to small acts of kindness—like cigarettes from a security guard named Jesse—and says she only wants simple things like insulated bibs to survive the winter.
