An important story on the front page of today’s Denver Post is about our city’s “housing first” model that gets roofs over the heads of some of the most troubled homeless people before addressing substance abuse and mental health problems that have seen so many vulnerable people ending up in jail.

The story by Jennifer Brown is thoroughly reported and engagingly told at length. It’s an interesting companion piece to another front-page story today, spot news by Noelle Phillips on a report by the Denver police watchdog on what can go very, very wrong when a person suffering from paranoid schizophrenia is jailed. Smart juxtaposition by Post editors.

I’ve been a Post subscriber since we moved to Denver almost six years ago. Every day I find at least one story -- like today’s duo on law, order and mental health – that makes me glad to find the paper in my driveway. Besides, no one can harvest my personal data when I’m focused on ink-on-newsprint instead of my handheld device.

Great Post stories are even more remarkable when you consider the pressure the paper’s journalists have been under. They’ve watched wave after wave of their colleagues being shown the door. Who knows what new horror of a cost-cutting measure (like moving the newsroom out of downtown) they’ll face next?

Yes, my subscription payment might just boost the bottom line for investors in Alden Global Capital, controlling owner of Post parent company Digital First Media. By subscribing I’m also showing my support for some fine journalists. In addition, subscription numbers are one way for advertisers (and a potential Post buyer?) to measure whether readers understand that real journalism counts.

Count me in.