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By John C. Ensslin
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Marty Bertrand wants to catch some of the Raiders-Broncos game on Monday night football before bedtime. So he wanders over to a bar with a big screen TV and peers through the window.
That's the way he prefers it -- on the outside, looking in.
On most cold nights, he is one of three to 16 people who live on a heating grate along the West 14th Avenue side of the Denver City and County building.
Born in Wisconsin, Bertrand, 31, grew up in Colorado, where he has lived for 24 years. His parents live in the metro area, but he says he hasn't spoken to them in six years.
He says he lives on the street because he has a head injury he suffered in a bicycle accident when he was 13 years old.
"I had a blood clot in my head," he said. "They had to take it out."
Bertrand could probably afford to live elsewhere. He says he gets some money each month from a trust fund.
"I've lived in 12 different apartments and I've gotten kicked out of all of them, all but one," he said.
He doesn't want to spend his money on rent.
He's hooked on marijuana, he says.
He's not afraid of sleeping on the streets. He doesn't sleep alone, and there is some safety in numbers.
There are drawbacks to the spot he's chosen. His leg falls asleep sometimes. And he's lost change, lighters and cigarettes through the grate.
His lifestyle is boring, he said. Sleep on the grate. Go get food. Hang out in Civic Center Park. Smoke some weed. Go eat.
On a snowy night last week, he slept with two coats, a camouflage jumpsuit, two shirts, heavy socks and sneakers.
"When it gets down below 32 degrees, that's kind of rough," he says. But he shuns the shelters and declines the pleas of outreach workers who stop by almost nightly, trying to persuade him to go inside.
"The shelters are all feet and armpits," he says. "I went there once. That was 18 years ago. But at least they are there."
November 28, 1999
