‘I see it as compassionate that I care enough about my human neighbors that I’m not going to allow them to lay out in the wilderness like a bunch of wild animals’ – President Mark Aliff
A parade of three doctors, activists, non-profit personnel, pastors and previously homeless residents approached Pueblo’s City Council for the better part of two hours Monday seeking their opposition to a ban on unauthorized camping on public property.
“It’s rare we get an ordinance with residents lining out the door to speak,” said City Councilwoman Sarah Martinez, who opposed the ban.
At issue is a homeless population creating concerns which some say has grown out of control – from drug refuse and human waste, to fires and fear of drownings, to one member hearing gunshots during the night.
City Council enacted the ban with a 4-2 vote.
“I see it as compassionate that I care enough about my human neighbors that I’m not going to allow them to lay out in the wilderness like a bunch of wild animals,” said President Mark Aliff. “This ordinance does nothing but say if there is room at the inn, you can go. If you can go, you need to go.”
The ordinance requires first obtaining a permit to camp or erect a temporary structure on public property. An exemption is allowed, should there be no access to shelter. Refusal to move to shelter space when it exists is a violation punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.
“We are a municipal government. We do not have the funds to house people,” said City Councilwoman Regina Maestri, who said she had initiated the ordinance. “Yet, over the past couple of years, I’ve seen a lot of giveaways to nonprofits. We’ve been doing this for years and years and years and we’re just getting bigger and bigger. In the meantime, the public lands are being desecrated.”
Augustine Garcia, a resident who spoke in support of the ordinance, termed it overdue.
“We should be able to walk along the river without fear of coming in contact with a needle,” he said.
Another resident supporting the ordinance indicated her dog had recently retreived a used syringe from her front yard. Others on both sides of the ordinance indicated used syringes can be found throughout the town.
Concluding remarks in opposition to the ordinance, First Presbyterian Church Rev. Gary Weaver attempted to summarize the perspective of those opposing the ban.
“What is the answer? Services, social services,” he said, indicating there are 18 causes of homelessness. “Believe me, no one chooses homelessness. It happens to them. When it happens to them, the whole system is setup to keep them there.”
His position was supported by City Councilman Dennis Flores, who joined the majority in the audience with the expectation the ordinance would simply move the homeless issue in Pueblo to another location.
“It is very apparent this doesn’t accomplish anything,” he said. “We’re giving them an option to find a place to live, where there is no option [for housing].”
City Councilman Joe Latino countered with a concept to put homeless to work in Pueblo. Earlier in the meeting, a presentation was made by another member of the clergy offering to pay the homeless to clean the community.
“I have a compassionate heart,” Latino said. “We can put them to work and can pay people.”
Maestri detailed the closure of the Rodeway Inn, which some in the audience noted had been an extended stay option for the homeless.
“It was not just closed for criminal activity. It was closed for a variety of issues,” she said. “Now we have a hotel that has to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to rehabilitate itself, to get back into business. We have contributed by giving people vouchers to go and stay in these establishments, and they’re falling apart.”
While the ordinance offers one solution to the town’s homeless problems, solutions prior to Monday’s discussion were not presented, Maestri said.
“If you go along the West Coast to communities that have been lenient on homeless policies, they are reversing them,” she said. “They are tired of it. It has destroyed them.”
She continued: “If you have ever been to Tijuana, that’s what the encampments start to look like. It is not clean. It is not healthy.”
One community member suggested sharps containers be located around the town, but Maestri indicated cleanups have not worked.
The element of the fine of $1,000 concerned some opposed to the ordinance, but a proposal was made to allow offenders to discuss with the municipal court various community service, offering those opposed a chance to identify eligible projects.
A proponent of the ordinance suggested something similar, referencing a work camp created in Arizona by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Jason Ford, who spoke in opposition of the ban, indicated the pay wage for workers in Pueblo is an element of the issue.
“The only blight I see here is poverty,” he said. “We’re treating the symptoms of the problem and not the problem.”
Through his four previous years on City Council, Aliff indicated he had supported a variety of solutions.
“Every ounce of my energy was put into making a difference for the homeless community,” he said. “I did everything I could to help. I was instrumental in getting the shelter built. I was instrumental in creating the commission on housing and homelessness. I care. I’m compassionate. It means something very deeply to me.”
While some questioned the expense of the police department and other applications of revenue by the city, Maestri contends expenses related to the homeless is a cost the city cannot bear, not without a substantial tax increase.
“We’re not an extension of the social services department, we can’t afford to be,” she said.
Latino’s support of the ordinance may have been derived from personal observances of the homeless encampment. Some call it “The Jungle”.
“I live and work in that area,” he said. “At night I hear gunfire. I see the fire marshal down there and ask him why. He says to prevent a drowning.”