Vince Lepre celebrated his 17th birthday enlisting into the military during the Vietnam war.
Roughly half a century later, he celebrated his 68th birthday as a homeless man keeping warm at Denver Coliseum, which the city temporarily turned into an emergency shelter at the onset of Colorado’s cold weather.
The shelter will close on Saturday.
Living conditions inside the Denver Coliseum are much better than other overnight shelters, according to Lepre.
“Other shelters, they don’t give a crap if you die,” the former combat medic said, adding the coliseum is a “good” and “comfortable” place to be as he celebrated his birthday.
The Denver Department of Housing Stability, which opened the city’s historic coliseum last Friday as a 24/7 shelter, provides residents there with sleeping mats, bathrooms, and three meals a day. The shelter also allows for pets.
The coliseum, which also once served as a shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic, is being tested in a pilot program that aims to evaluate the cost, logistics and outcomes of providing a 24/7 shelter during cold weather, said HOST’s Director of Communications Sabrina Allie.