DENVER — A Denver woman turned her backyard into an emergency food pantry on Halloween, hoping to fill a need while federal food assistance remains uncertain.

Joanna Rosa-Saenz organized the grassroots food drive after hearing about food insecurity in her northwest Denver neighborhood.

“We live in America. We shouldn’t be hungry, we shouldn’t be hungry,” said Rosa-Saenz. “And I don’t want anyone on my block to be hungry.”

Federal judges in two separate cases ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown.

The Massachusetts ruling came after about two dozen states sued the federal government, arguing the Agriculture Department’s plan to halt all SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 would unlawfully cut off aid to millions of low-income families.

The Agriculture Department had argued it could not legally tap contingency funds to keep the program running. But the judge disagreed and ordered the agency to report back by Monday on how it will fund benefits. Under the ruling, payments could still be temporarily reduced depending on available funds.

Around the same time, the Massachusetts decision was issued, a federal judge in Rhode Island delivered a similar ruling from the bench. That case was brought by cities and nonprofit groups, and the court likewise found the administration must use available funds to continue providing benefits.

President Donald Trump indicated his administration would comply with the rulings, but accused the courts of issuing conflicting opinions and is seeking more clarity on how SNAP should be funded.

Despite the rulings, it’s unclear when and how much assistance will be given out for the month of November.

With the need still there, Rosa-Saenz opened her backyard to the public Friday afternoon and asked the community to drop off canned goods while trick-or-treating.

The emergency food pantry now holds essential items like canned and dry goods, personal hygiene products and baby items.

Denver7

Advertisement

Rosa-Saenz, a single mother of three, told Denver7 she understands the challenges many families are facing today because she is a former SNAP recipient.

“I remember having to stand in line for a food box, things like that,” Rosa-Saenz said.

But to get the food drive up and running, Rosa-Saenz knew she needed help. Several nonprofits joined the effort, including Lacy McDonald, executive director of Outer Haven, a nonprofit working to reduce youth inequities.

Denver7

“One phone call can turn into this,” said McDonald. “And this is just a little snippet, so think what we could do together as a whole city.”

Before trick-or-treating started Friday night, more than 900 pounds of food had been collected for Rosa-Saenz’s backyard.

“That’s what community is,” she said. “Community is stepping up, working together and really making unity in the community.”

Scripps News Group contributed to this report.

If you would like to donate, below is a list of donation locations:

• 4229 Irving St. in Denver.
  • Open from Nov 1 through Nov. 10
  • Donations can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily
• 5123 Chase St. in Denver
  • Open from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
  • Please place donations at the end of the driveway
• Moonflower Coffee, located at 4200 W Colfax Ave. in Denver
  • Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

These are the most needed items:

• Ramen, pasta, rice, cereal
• Canned tuna, chicken, beans, soup
• Canned fruits & veggies
• Peanut butter & jelly
• Baby food, formula, diapers & wipes
• Menstrual products, toothpaste & soap
• Denver7 Gives has created a campaign to help Coloradans struggling with food insecurity. Click on the form below and select “Help Fight Food Insecurity“ to donate.

DENVER — When a driver behind the wheel of a City and County of Denver truck slammed into vehicles stopped in traffic in 2024, two of the injured individuals did not realize they may be entitled to compensation from the city. Now, Evelyn Blackman and Ty Delaney wonder when they’ll ever receive a settlement after their attorney was allegedly told the City and County of Denver did not have enough money left for such claims due to budgetary issues and settlements related to the 2020 George Floyd protests.

On April 11, 2024, a white Ford truck driven by a city employee “carelessly struck” a line of cars that were stopped in traffic, according to the crash report.

“It was kind of a really big deal,” Blackman said. “Somebody wasn’t paying attention.”

“We just rear-ended one car. That car rear-ended another, and so on and so forth,” Delaney explained.

Police body-camera footage captured Blackman being put onto a stretcher and taken into an ambulance.

“I was personally sitting in the backseat with my dog at the time, and I ended up flying forward,” Blackman said. “My back was really messed up.”

After the crash, Blackman said she was not able to return to work full-time and lost her housing while she was pregnant.

“I could not pay my rent. I ended up losing my apartment. I was homeless for a good majority of this past year, just waiting on this little guy to be born,” Blackman said, patting her baby on the back. “Being pregnant and homeless and not really being able to do anything about it really was hard.”

Blackman and Delaney reached out to attorney Eric Faddis, who filed settlement demands in both cases this year. Delaney’s was filed in July, while Blackman’s was filed in September.

“These cases can take some time to sort of come to a conclusion,” Faddis said.

Denver7

Delaney’s claim is for $60,000, while Blackman’s claim is for $95,000. Both of their settlement demands detail their injuries, which include spine issues for Delaney and constant pain in Blackman’s neck, back, and shoulder.

“The city is going to have their own interpretation of the claim value. But one thing that they did communicate to us was that they were accepting liability,” Faddis told Denver7. “In August, the city attorney called my staff, and they reported to us that due to all the settlements they paid out in the George Floyd incident and the protests that followed, that for all the people they hurt, they had to pay a lot of money to those folks.”

Faddis said the Denver City Attorney’s Office gave him a shocking figure for how much money was left in the city’s Liability and Claims Fund.

“According to the city, they only had, as of early October, $12,000 left in their reserve fund to pay claims for people that they have injured,” Faddis said. “We heard that in October, and basically what they told us was like, ‘Hey, your clients are out of luck. Sorry, we didn’t handle our funds properly, and now you’re just going to have to hang out until 2026, and then maybe at that time, they will submit some kind of offer of settlement…’ It’s absolutely ridiculous. I’ve never seen this happen.”

Denver7

Before publication of this article, Denver7 reached out to the City Attorney’s Office on Thursday with a number of questions and a request for an interview. It was the most recent inquiry from Denver7 to the City of Denver in over two weeks about Faddis’ claims.

In response, a spokesperson told Denver7, “That is incorrect,” but did not specify which figure was incorrect in the original email request. The spokesperson said “there is still money in the fund for settlements” and asserted, once again, that Blackman and Delaney’s claims have not been settled due to other claimants involved in the incident, along with “other factors.” The budget was not mentioned as a factor.

“Regardless of the amount of dollars in the fund, we negotiate fair settlements that we are legally required to pay. The city has always paid our settlements — and we do not intend to change that,” the spokesperson said at the end of their response.

Denver7 replied to the email within three minutes, again asking about different figures connected to the Liability and Claims Fund. Denver7 also called and texted the spokesperson’s cell phone, but did not receive any further clarification, despite alerting the City Attorney’s Office that the story would air Thursday evening.

Faddis provided Denver7 with email correspondence between himself and Denver’s City Attorney’s Office related to Blackman and Delaney’s settlement demands.

On Aug. 27, Faddis’ team checked on the status of Delaney’s settlement demand. They received a response from the City Attorney’s Office, which said, “I am waiting on our civil litigation director to respond to me with a settlement approval limit. Because of the recent changes the City has been making this last month, all settlements were set aside, but I am hoping to have a response by the end of next week.”

Jordan Ward

Advertisement

Then, on Sept. 24, another email from a claims adjuster with the City Attorney’s Office told Faddis’ team that “at this time, due to the budget restrictions, I was not able to obtain a settlement offer approval from our litigation director. This may change once the attorney reviews all your documents, but please keep in mind, there are 2 other claimants included in this incident and this is considered to be part of a global settlement.”

Denver7 first asked the City Attorney’s Office for an interview in mid-October. Denver7 referenced Faddis’ claim about the amount of money left in the fund.

A spokesperson with the City Attorney’s Office replied via email that the “City and County of Denver allocates $2 million each calendar year from the General Fund to its Liability and Claims fund to pay legal settlements and judgments.”

They continued to say that any remaining funds from prior years roll over into the next year. If the cost of settlements exceeds the available balance, the Denver City Council could vote to approve a supplemental appropriation to ensure those payments are covered.

However, the City Attorney’s Office insisted that Blackman and Delaney’s claims were under review, adding that “funding is not the issue.”

Jordan Ward

When Denver7 presented the spokesperson with portions of the emails that Faddis received from the office, the spokesperson said that each settlement offer is based on the facts and circumstances of the individual claim. The spokesperson acknowledged that settlement payments can be affected by the City of Denver’s budget and available funds, but again said that the city is “waiting on additional information to evaluate these claims as part of an incident involving multiple other parties.”

On Oct. 13, Denver7 submitted a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to the City Attorney’s Office, asking for the dollar amount the city has left to spend on settlements through the end of 2025. A spokesperson with the City Attorney’s Office said they “do not maintain a list with the data” requested, and pointed Denver7 to Denver’s Department of Finance.

So, we asked the same question to the Department of Finance, which directed us to the budgeted amounts for liability claims within Mayor Mike Johnston’s 2026 budget proposal. On page 267, it shows $8,524,996 was appropriated for the Liability and Claims Fund for the 2025 budget.

Denver7 also learned that $5,734,443 had been paid out of the fund this year as of early October, according to the Department of Finance.

Based on those figures, Denver7 inferred that $2,790,553 should be remaining in the fund. When asked to confirm if that figure was accurate, the City Attorney’s Office did not directly answer the question.

Jordan Ward

The City Attorney’s Office has asserted that Blackman and Delay’s claims have not been settled due to other claimants and the need to evaluate all of the claims. Attorney Steven Mandelaris represents one of the other claimants and submitted a settlement demand in July 2024.

“She’s been victimized. She’s been victimized by the city. They’ve refused to provide any sort of settlement offer. They’ve refused to engage in any kind of meaningful negotiations,” Mandelaris said about his client. “She’s stuck in a situation now where she has an inoperable vehicle. The city won’t fix it. She has mounting medical bills. She still has pain and residual effects from her injury.”

Similar to Faddis, Mandelaris provided Denver7 with email correspondence between his office and the city attorney. After many back-and-forth emails about the status of the claim, an Oct. 1 email from a claims adjuster with the City Attorney’s Office said in part, “because of the recent budget cuts, we have not been able to obtain approval for a settlement offer at this time.”

Jordan Ward

Mandelaris claims he was also told the city only has $12,000 left in its Liability and Claims Fund.

“There have been representations from my colleagues at the City Attorney’s Office that they have $12,000 left in the civil liabilities fund,” Mandelaris said. “That’s absurd, $12,000 for the City and County of Denver being left in this fund? I was shocked. I’m absolutely shocked… They’ve told us that we’ve got to wait until next year, until the budget resets.”

Denver7 asked Mandelaris if he and Faddis had discussed that figure prior to their interviews.

“I don’t know Mr. Faddis,” Mandelaris said, adding that he only spoke with Faddis on the phone once last week. “We haven’t met in person. We’ve never discussed this claim in any context whatsoever.”

Mandelaris also submitted a CORA request regarding the City and County of Denver’s General Liability Fund, asking for the “numerical fund-balance amount reflecting the actual, unencumbered balance currently available for disbursement toward new or unresolved liability claims as of the most recent accounting period.”

In an emailed response from the City Attorney’s Office on Oct. 29, he was told that the balance is “currently $175,673 of available budget” remaining in the Liability and Claims Fund.

Mandelaris was left with more questions than answers.

“Where’s the money? How’s it been allocated? You should be settling claims for taxpayers,” said Mandelaris. “She shouldn’t have to be victimized by a negligent city employee who crashed into her, and then victimized again by the City and County of Denver for refusing to promptly evaluate and pay claims.”

Jordan Ward

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Blackman and Delaney are left wondering when they could see compensation from the City of Denver.

“I really don’t want to be in debt,” Delaney said. “It’s hard to live when you’re in debt.”

“I can’t really go back to work full-time, obviously, because I have a little one, and I’m here by myself. And so I can’t really, I don’t really know how the next three months are going to go as far as rent and paying bills and being able to sustain myself and my kid,” said Blackman. “It’s just getting really tedious trying to trust a city that doesn’t really see the value in actually taking it seriously.”

Denver7 again asked the City Attorney’s Office for an interview about the differing figures regarding the Liability and Claims fund. If that interview, or any update about how much money is left or unaccounted for in the fund, is provided, Denver7 will update this story.

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Colette Bordelon

Denver7’s Colette Bordelon covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on crime, justice and issues impacting our climate and environment. If you’d like to get in touch with Colette, fill out the form below to send her an email.

Advertisement

We’re hardly two years removed from the last time these two teams faced off but the embarrassment from that ugly loss still dampens the hearts of those unfortunate enough to still remember that game and all 100 opportunities they wasted.

But there’s good news: the Denver Broncos are a lot better now than they were then.

Let’s dig into how the Broncos can keep their momentum going and extend their winning streak to six games.

1. Find a way to make up for Pat Surtain’s injury

One positive I want to take away from their game against the Cowboys is that Surtain missed the entire second half against one of the best passing offenses in the league and Denver did just fine. Their secondary held up against two of the best receiving threats in football. And while Nico Collins is a legitimate threat, the Texans don’t have that 1-2 punch like the Cowboys do.

One way to keep that going is to get pressure on CJ Stroud. Their offensive line is only giving up just above two sacks a game this year, but they’ve also benefited from a somewhat sub-par schedule. The schemes that Vance Joseph has in store for them will be lethal. I expect everyone up front to eat.

There’s also the added bonus of Dre Greenlaw making his second return to action this season, following a bogus suspension. Having him being able to secure the middle of the field and let the DBs give a soft shell over the top should make things that much harder for Stroud to deal with as well.

2. Keep running that dang ball

Believe it or not, the Broncos currently boast the third-best rushing attack in the league with 1,102 yards on the season (137.8 YPG). This was not the case last season, the season before, or the season before that. And it’s this running game that’s completely elevated the offense, and it’s what kept them on the field last week as they went three-and-out the least amount of times in a game as they have all year long.

On first downs against the Cowboys, when the Broncos ran the ball they averaged over six yards a carry. On the game they averaged nearly seven yards per carry when adjusting for kneel downs and scrambles. JK Dobbins himself averaged 7.4 YPC.

This team is a running team through and through. And when you have an offensive line that dominates as much as Denver’s does (specifically looking at you, Quinn Meinerz) you have to keep pounding that rock. And the Texans only make up the fifth-best run defense, and out of the seven teams Houston has gone up against, only one team currently has a rushing attack that ranks in the top half of the league.

Truly this is a defense that is untested in the run game and the Broncos by-far boast the best rushing attack the Texans will see all year outside the Bills and the Colts.

A great way to keep a good defense guessing is the frequent use of both run and pass options. Bo Nix has been good at both of these this season. Against the Cowboys he was really carving them up with his pass options. Sean Payton does a great job switching up motions and formations to give the offense a numbers advantage, and Nix has been able to read the majority of these and make the proper call.

If they can keep these type of plays sprinkled in throughout the game, then that’s just another wrinkle the Texans have to come up with a plan for. And this is not something they’ve really encountered this season.

Sean Payton is a great offensive coach and he’ll show up on Sunday.