Byron Shaw, a member of the street outreach team at the Aurora Day Resource Center, gives Caleb, who didn't want to give his last name, a winter warm up kit, on a chilly Friday morning, April 13, in the King Soopers parking lot located at East Mississippi Avenue and South Havana Street. The street outreach team, consisting of just two members, covers the city of Aurora educating the homeless on areas where they can receive aid and shelter, as well as providing rides to the resource center. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
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    Members of the Aurora Day Resource Center street outreach team, Jason Goertz, front, and Byron Shaw, check in on a tent that is located in a homeless camp, File photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
  • Byron Shaw, a member of the street outreach team at the Aurora Day Resource Center, gives Caleb, who didn't want to give his last name, a winter warm up kit, on a chilly Friday morning, April 13, in the King Soopers parking lot located at East Mississippi
    Byron Shaw, a member of the street outreach team at the Aurora Day Resource Center, gives Caleb, who didn’t want to give his last name, a winter warm up kit, on a chilly Friday morning, April 13, in the King Soopers parking lot located at East Mississippi Avenue and South Havana Street. The street outreach team, consisting of just two members, covers the city of Aurora educating the homeless on areas where they can receive aid and shelter, as well as providing rides to the resource center. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
  • Robert Bennett, left, and John Love, right, enjoy a cigarette, April 13, at the Aurora Day Resource Center. Both discussed about the talk about the challenges and constant hurdles of getting off of the street, living as a homeless person. Bennett says he
    Robert Bennett, left, and John Love, right, enjoy a cigarette, April 13, at the Aurora Day Resource Center. Both discussed about the talk about the challenges and constant hurdles of getting off of the street, living as a homeless person. Bennett says he tries to work everyday as a day laborer, just trying to get back on his feet. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
  • Executive director of the Havana Business Improvement District, Gayle Jetchick, center, and Chance Horiuchi, executive director in training, left, show Butch, who didn't want to give his last name, the map inside of the Homeless Services Resource Guide, A
    Executive director of the Havana Business Improvement District, Gayle Jetchick, center, and Chance Horiuchi, executive director in training, left, show Butch, who didn’t want to give his last name, the map inside of the Homeless Services Resource Guide, April 12 on Havana Street. In this resource guide, there are numbers and lists of various locations which provide aid to the homeless population, whether it be the Aurora Day Resource Center, which provides services such as laundry, meals and showers, to Healthy Smiles, which is a dentistry that provides aid to the homeless. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
  • Members of the Aurora Day Resource Center street outreach team, Jason Goertz, right, and Byron Shaw, check in on a tent that is located in a homeless camp, which turned out to be empty and possibly abandoned, April 13 in Arapahoe County.Photo by Philip B
    Members of the Aurora Day Resource Center street outreach team, Jason Goertz, right, and Byron Shaw, check in on a tent that is located in a homeless camp, which turned out to be empty and possibly abandoned, April 13 in Arapahoe County. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
  • Members of the street outreach team, Jason Goertz, front, and Byron Shaw, walk along a path that leads to a homeless camp, April 13. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
    Members of the street outreach team, Jason Goertz, front, and Byron Shaw, walk along a path that leads to a homeless camp, April 13. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
  • Winter Warmer kits sit in a large tupperware tub in the van which provides rides to the Aurora Day Resource Center. The kits, which are provided to the homeless during the colder months of the year, feature warm socks, knit gloves, a knit cap, mylar blank
    Winter Warmer kits sit in a large tupperware tub in the van which provides rides to the Aurora Day Resource Center. The kits, which are provided to the homeless during the colder months of the year, feature warm socks, knit gloves, a knit cap, mylar blanket and hand warmers, all of which can be more than helpful to those on the streets during the colder months of the year. File Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel

AURORA | Sentinel Colorado staffers garnered a bevy of  journalism awards  for 2018 work, including the top honor among all Colorado newspapers for public service.

The Sentinel was honored by Colorado Associated Press Editors and Reporters for stories, columns, editorials and photography focusing on the plight of people experiencing homelessness in the metro area. The annual awards event was held during the annual Colorado Press Association convention at the Hyatt Regency Aurora Denver Conference Center.

The Sentinel “gave voice to the voiceless,” AP judges said about the collection of work.

The Denver Post took second-place honors for an investigation by reporter David Migoya about secret court cases, including some in Arapahoe County. “Painstaking investigative work,” judges said.

Third place went to the Durango Herald for work focusing on youth suicide.

“These public service awards are a testament to a newspaper’s commitment to exposing serious issues,” said Sentinel Editor and Publisher Dave Perry, referring to repeated charges by President Donald Trump and others. “These newspapers and journalists are clearly not the enemies of the people, we are their trusted watchdogs.”

AP editors’ general excellence awards for 2018 went to the Denver Post, the Summit Daily and the Durango Herald.

Perry received top honors for Sentinel house editorials and personal signed columns.

The Sentinel “takes a hard stance on both local and national issues that affect the community,” judges said about the newspaper’s editorials.

Reporter Kara Mason and staffers swept the category for investigative work, impressing judges with a story about Aurora City Councilman Bob Roth using his elected office as influence for his personal business.

“Good job holding officials and leaders accountable,” judges said. “Journalism schools could use this as an example of doing the hard work and getting it right.”

Judges honored the Sentinel’s “Gridlocked and Loaded” story explaining why traffic has gotten so bad in the metro area, and why it’s not getting any better.

Also honored were staff stories about the 808 people in Aurora on the state’s sexual offender list. “Tough topic to tackle and you nailed it,” judges said.

Mason was also honored for a series of stories focusing on gun control in the metro area and Colorado.

Sentinel staffers Brandon Johansson and Quincy Snowdon won top honors for a variety of stories focusing on social problems in metro Aurora.

Brandon Johnson struggles to keep his composure while an image of his son Riley is shown on a television in the courtroom, March 9 at the Arapahoe County Justice Center. PHOTO BY PHILIP B. POSTON/The Sentinel

Photo Editor Philip B. Poston was awarded for a photo of a child-murderer at a court sentencing, photos of a memorial service marking the sixth anniversary of the Aurora theater shooting, portraiture, and a portfolio of Poston’s work for the year.

Sentinel Sports Editor Courtney Oakes was honored for a dramatic photo of a lightning strike behind a stadium during a football game. Oakes was also awarded for a take-out on how area high-school athletes have become stars abroad playing on pro teams in other countries.

Johansson was honored for an environmental story on climate change research being done at Aurora’s Anschutz medical campus.

Snowdon received top honors for a breaking news story he reported about a couple convicted of bestiality and how the city handled the issue.

The Sentinel was also honored for its website, SentinelColorado.com.

At the Colorado Press Association awards Saturday, the Sentinel picked up 11 additional honors.

First place honors included: Kara Mason for “Patiently Waiting,” a story about the delayed VA hospital opening. Philip Poston for portfolio work. Dave Perry for serious and humorous column writing and also headline writing. And Sentinel staff for stories about homelessness.

The Sentinel was honored with a first place award for its daily website.

Second place Colorado Press Assoc. awards included: Dave Perry for house editorials, and staff for an investigative story about the state sexual offender registry, stories about homelessness and a story about the state of healthcare in the region.