By Cidonia Ponce
Pueblo’s City Council hosted a work session hearing on March 20 that regarded homelessness in our city. Every second and fourth of each month, the Pueblo City Council hosts these meetings and invites the community to speak on pressing issues around Pueblo.
Pueblo City Council’s Representative at Large – President, Heather Graham, started the meeting by jumping into the perspective of community members when considering homelessness. Each person who volunteered to speak on the issue was given three minutes to share observations and concerns about recent homelessness activities around the city. Graham advised the public to be respectful and kind when speaking on the issue.
“We are all here together to come up with solutions to deal with homelessness in Pueblo, and I know this is a hot topic right now, but let’s work together to get some help for our homeless population,” Graham commented.
Derrick Stoll, originally from San Diego but now a Pueblo community member, wrote a powerful letter with his concerns for the homeless population and possible solutions. “I’m here to humbly ask that this town of Pueblo, CO, have a heart and care for our neighbors,” Stoll started. “This is not a homeless problem so much as an unhoused crisis that, as you’ve noticed, is not going to go away. Sweeping away or legislating and criminalizing is only a band-aid, and not a solution.”
Jimmy Duffner, another local Pueblo resident who is also an advocate for the unhoused, focused his concerns on the criminal aspect that the homeless community is facing.
“I believe that these police sweeps that are going on are unconstitutional and should be discontinued,” Duffner firmly stated. Duffner also mentioned that these homeless people are also getting charged with fines that he believes should be dismissed. “Punishing them for not having a place to sleep or use the restroom is senseless,” Duffner stated.
Paul Montoya, a pastor and an avid advocate for homelessness in Pueblo for the past 13 years, has shared his thoughts and troubled concerns about homelessness. Montoya informed the city council members that he had just received a 5013C to get resources for this troubled community. “It’s going to be people helping people in faith of the Pueblo community,” Montoya stated. “I have the homeless people picking up their own trash from 8th street to Santa Fe bridge. There are over 200 bags of trash that they’ve picked since January, and if you drive by that area, you will see the difference.” Montoya mentioned.
Community members shared their input, and organizations gave speeches and presentations regarding the issue.
Kim Bowman, POSADA’s executive director, said, “POSADA provides emergency shelter to families with children, transitional housing and permanent housing to homeless and low-income families with children, veterans, youth and seniors.” Bowman mentioned the impact that POSADA has had on our community. “We maintain 119 units of affordable housing in the community with an additional 102 units under development at this time,” Bowman stated.
Bowman strengthened her argument by saying that one-bedroom apartments are not affordable to our low-income community. “Our agency is dealing with a population that is economically challenged in a community with minimal housing resources,” Bowman commented.
The Pueblo Rescue Mission followed with a presentation that explained the impact and current agendas. Melanie Rapier is Pueblo Rescue Mission’s executive director and presented the purpose and concerns that go along with homelessness.
“I looked at the reason why people were coming to the shelter through a revolving door and those issues ended up being substance use, mental illness, and poor financial management,” Rapier stated.
The Pueblo Rescue Mission requires these individuals to participate in some programs that will help them get back on their feet. The organization has a Step Back in Program that includes resources for assisting with physical wellness, mental wellness, addiction/recovery, financial stewardship, civic responsibility, community consciousness, transactional recognition, and social engagement.
“We need to get them stable so that way they can sustain the housing that they get,” Rapier stated. “Everything in my shelter is transactional, meaning I’ll pour into you if you pour into you,” Rapier commented.
The Pueblo Rescue Mission hosts these programs once a day, every week. However, Rapier mentioned that because these people don’t engage in these specific programs, they will still allow that individual shelter for the night.
“I am an emergency shelter; I am a low barrier shelter meaning the bar is not set any lower for what you need to do to come in and receive shelter,” Rapier mentioned. Sheltering begins every night at 9 p.m. for 365 days of the year.
The Pueblo Rescue Mission currently serves 47 homeless residents with 60 male and 35 female beds. “We try to help anyone that we can,” Rapier commented. There are so many other services that the Pueblo Rescue Mission provides, but it all requires the will to want to get help.
After Rapier, other influential organizations and programs have also done their best to maintain homelessness in Pueblo, Colorado. Many of these organizations include the Pueblo Police Department, Health Solutions, Team Up to Clean Up, and others who have tried to minimize homelessness in our city.
The next council meeting will be taking place and streamed on April 10. For more information about these sessions or to watch archived meetings, visit Pueblo City Council’s website by searching for www.pueblo.us.
The post Pueblo City Council Meeting: Pueblo homelessness hearing first appeared on CSU-Pueblo Today.