Air Force for being an admitted homosexual. Then a stolen letter about a kiss triggered an arrest by military police, a night in jail, the yanking of McCoy’s top-secret clearance, and an honorable discharge from the U.S. military in the 1980s and 90s, he hid the fact he was gay. As a teenager, he hid the fact he was homeless. It was the first of many times McCoy’s life was marked by fear of being found out and the loss that would follow if the truth became known. His brother left to live with his father, and McCoy - homeless as a high school freshman - spent the next four years crashing with friends or sleeping in cars.ĭetermined to graduate from high school, he kept quiet about his homelife, afraid he’d be kicked out of school and put in foster care if anyone found out the truth. Patrick McCoy was 14 when his mother left, abandoning him and his twin brother. Read it, and go here, here and here for more stories about some of the other members of our diverse team who ensure the delivery of clean, safe water to 1.4 million people.
In honor of Pride Month, we're sharing the story of Patrick McCoy, a member of Denver Water's IT division.
June is known as Pride Month for the LGBTQ community, in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, considered a crucial event in the gay rights movement. Denver Water is proud of its diverse workforce.
