In a recent study, the Durango Homeless Coalition found the number of homeless in the state has gone up, but in La Plata County, the number has actually declined. In contrast, the number of chronically homeless, those who have been homeless for more than a year, has gone up./Photo by Jennaye Derge
The long road home
Community coalition tackles homelessness in Durango
by Tracy Chamberlin
She could see him just over her shoulder. So, La Plata County Judge Martha Minot promptly thanked her colleagues and said their time was up.
But the city’s Director of Community Development Greg Hoch stopped her.
He wasn’t waiting in the wings because he was next in line at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. He was there because he had a solution for Minot and her colleagues with the Durango Homeless Coalition.
More than a year ago, Hoch began heading up a housing program with the city. The goal was to address Durango’s lack of affordable housing.
On Tuesday night, he intended to make some recommendations toward that goal. One of those recommendations was a 30- to 40-unit housing development, which would include on-site case managers, in an area that is already home to several supportive services along Avenida del Sol.
He called it “permanent supportive housing,” or PSH.
It’s an idea which first surfaced in New York City about 20 years ago. A PSH is
essentially an apartment complex with
social workers on site. According to the city, “Homeless advocates say that the PSH model works for almost everyone who has experienced chronic homelessness, as it provides a stable place to live and access to case workers without any ultimatums.”
Over the past several decades, the idea has spread to other parts of the nation and is making its way across Colorado courtesy of a trio of advocates.
Along with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the Colorado Housing Finance Authority, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office is working with communities on the issue.
Jenn Lopez, director of homeless
initiatives for the governor, called the
announcement a huge victory.
“Combining affordable housing with access to support services like case management, employment training and mental health treatment, (the PSH model) disrupts the destructive, costly cycle of prisons and emergency rooms that so often accompanies life on the streets and gives residents the opportunity to live stable, autonomous and dignified lives,” she said.
Lopez explained that permanent supportive housing is expensive. But, it’s also very effective.
The coalition presented statistics that show the dramatic savings for a community when the homeless are able to find a home. “If we take care of housing first, the other needs will naturally take care of themselves,” Minot said.
Currently, the county has about 500 units that could be available to the homeless. But, most of them come with restrictions, like residents can’t have felony records or their only available for a specific length of time.
Also, according to Minot, even if an individual has a housing voucher from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, it doesn’t mean they can find a place to live.
This area has a higher average for cost of living and home prices than the national average. Since HUD vouchers are based on the national average, they can’t always cover the rent in Durango.
Housing isn’t just a concern for the Durango Homeless Coalition or the city.
Ben Delin is the pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, one of many organizations involved with the coalition. He presented the council Tuesday with the results of a recent survey.
Delin explained that what the homeless say they need, and what the Durango community thinks they need, are often the same: mental health care and affordable housing.
The coalition also found that the number of homeless in the state had gone up 50 percent from 2013 to the start of 2015, but in La Plata County the number of homeless has actually declined. In contrast, the number of chronic homeless, those who have been homeless for more than a year, has gone up.
In fact, most of the people interviewed for the survey, ranging from 20 to 87 years old, have been homeless for more than 13 years. Many of them came here because they have family in the area but couldn’t live with them for various reasons.
Nothing in the survey suggested the recent changes in marijuana legalization had any impact on the homeless community in Durango.
During the presentation, the coalition offered several recommendations for addressing homelessness in Durango. One was to create a dedicated agency through the city or county to tackle the issue.
“We’re not set up for social services,” explained City Manager Ron LeBlanc. “That’s not to say we wouldn’t have a role in some future solution … but the county is set up for that.”
The coalition members said they plan to make a similar presentation to La Plata County commissioners in the near future.
They also developed a pamphlet containing a comprehensive list of support services in the area. The hope is to not only give the brochure to those in need, but to all local supportive service providers. That way, if they didn’t offer a specific service or know the answer to a question they could help find out who did.
Second, the pamphlet contains information on camping, pointing out where it’s legal to pitch a tent in the open spaces surrounding Durango. After all, camping isn’t just a recreational activity for locals and visitors. It’s often a home for the homeless.
Delin said some members of the homeless community helped to clear and clean up 200-plus abandoned camps in the past year, removing about 140 loads of trash.
He added that those who helped don’t want to have the stigma, so they were a part of the change.
Another solution is the Downtown Ambassador Program.
Volunteers with the program hit Main Avenue during the warm weather days. They can provide the brochures and information to people panhandling along the Main Avenue corridor, as well as be “a nice interface with our visitors,” Delin explained.
The final piece of the puzzle is a campaign already underway called “Make it Count.” Initiated by the Business Improvement District last fall, the campaign encourages visitors and residents to donate instead of dropping coins in a cup.
The idea to give the money to local charities and service providers who can help the homeless with long-term solutions, instead of giving them a few dollars that may only last the afternoon.
“Panhandling and homelessness are not the same,” Delin explained.
Mayor Dean Brookie congratulated the coalition and said he wanted the American Civil Liberties Union to know what the community was doing here because it all started with the ACLU.
The city used to have a ban on panhandling within the city limits, but in 2014 the group approached city officials about the ban. They believed it violated an individual’s freedom of speech – people had a right to ask for money.
The ACLU warned city officials of their intent to file suit if the laws were not changed. In response, City Council and staff amended the ordinance.
A new ordinance was written and enacted last year. It allows individuals to ask for money while defining what’s called aggressive panhandling, when freedom of speech turns into harassment.
Several cases on the issue, between the ACLU and other Colorado municipalities, are currently making their way through the courts.
Brookie suggested those communities could see what Durango was doing as an example. “This is an outstanding response to something we hope will be a model,” he said.