Jessie Doris is busy. Really busy. She’s in school working on her master’s of social work degree, being a community advisor to other families at the Volunteers of America (VOA) housing community here in Lowry, serves on two boards, and is mothering an eight-year-old son whose name is tattooed on her forehead. She won’t forget who she is, and you won’t forget her either. It’s been a long road for Jessie
to land on her feet here in Lowry.

Born in Detroit, MI, to free-spirited parents, she and her sister Elaina, three years younger, had a quirky and fun childhood. “Our Mom was always okay with whatever we wanted to do, and most often would help us do it, like coloring our hair blue and getting my belly button pierced.” ‘It was better than doing it behind my back,’ she would say. Mom was a ‘Pamela Anderson blonde and quite flamboyant’ and divorced Dad when I was 12.”

After that, the kids were moving around with other family, spending time with a grandmother with nine other kids around. “I had to get out and I left for Florida to get my GED at 17.  School was always difficult for me, and as an adult, I learned I had social anxiety issues and ADHD, but I was off and running.” Her father moved to Florida and worked as a boat mechanic and he became one of the best certified mechanics in the area.

Working since she was 14, she was always able to make a living – she just needed to know where to live. A good friend made fake Greyhound bus tickets which lasted for 90 days, so they headed west and followed the Olympic torch to Salt Lake City.

Several more bus passes took her around the country back to Detroit and Miami always managing to work or panhandle to keep going. “I had storage units all over the country as I kept moving trying to find where I needed to land, where I wanted to live. I was thankfully never in trouble with the law – even with my homelessness and drinking.” Eventually, she landed in a rehab “that was more like a jail with bad
food and not given any tools to take me to a secure lifestyle.” She lost 30 pounds in a month and was soon back on the road.

She moved to Knoxville and met her boyfriend – the future father of her son but went back to Florida after three years to try life on her own. While she was trying to stay sober on her own, she had a seizure and fell, hitting her head and breaking an orbital bone. She was sent to detox and then entered a treatment program for 30 days where she got sober. She was back on her feet and headed to Denver to meet her boyfriend. This was when her son Anthony was born and she left the boyfriend who was turning out to be bad news, and moved into the Warren Village transitional housing program for single parents in Capitol Hill.

Soon she was enrolled at Community College of Denver then transferred to MSU Denver and took all the necessary classes for an undergraduate degree. She earned two full-ride scholarships, got a car, earned her bachelor’s degree, is now nine years sober, and is living in Boulevard One here in Lowry and remains busy.

School and parenting along with being on the Lowry United Neighborhood (LUN) Board in addition to the Salvation Army Board keep her busy. “But I like being busy and taking Anthony around Lowry to the parks and LUN Fair.”  Anthony won several prizes that day, so he’s just as active as his mom.

Her tattoos are noticeable and all are meaningful people and places throughout her life. A bold one on her wrist area JJLAA stands for five forever friends along her travels. “I feel happy to have good friends from the past and here in Lowry, too. I have awesome Lowry mom friends where we can commiserate about life and our journeys.”

Her journey is not over. She wants to complete her master’s of social work degree now that she has completed her undergraduate degree in human services with concentrations in mental health counseling and trauma-informed care and a minor in nutrition. Her various lifestyles have taken her across the country and her life lessons have given her insight into what it took for her to survive and how she can
use these skills to help others. And why has she succeeded in her sobriety when others can’t or won’t? “I have a very strong sense of what I need to do to be safe and survive. Sure, I veered off the path when I was younger, but now I want to give my son the stability I didn’t have. I have my housing, my education, my family, I can and I will succeed.”

Jessie Dorris with her blue hair, is a force not to be denied. She’s engaging, insightful, fun and serious. There is a lot is going on in this woman’s life, and she has no time to waste. Catch her if you can and enjoy her thoughts on how and why this world works. She and Anthony will keep on keeping on – they’re now on the right path to success.

Meet Your Lowry Neighbors is a monthly feature written by our intrepid reporter Sally Kurtzman, who knows everyone in our community. If you have a suggestion for a Meet Your Lowry Neighbor, please send us an email to connect@lowryunitedneighborhoods.org.