Author: By Debbie Kelley debbie.kelley@gazette.com
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Colorado Springs focuses on housing stability in awarding federal HUD grants
An experimental yet successful Colorado Springs Municipal Court resource-navigation table where people who are homeless or recently incarcerated can pick up information about how they can obtain housing, food, identification and other necessities will remain staffed inside the courthouse. Lawyers will continue to represent seniors and disabled residents facing eviction. Two new Early Head Start…
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Child trafficking educational summit in Colorado Springs to present solutions
Each year thousands of children in the United States are preyed upon, exploited, held captive, forced into labor and sold into sex and human trafficking markets. And with some half a million unaccompanied minor immigrants crossing the southern border and being released to adult sponsors under what critics call a fairly lax system, more are…
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Homelessness decreases in El Paso County this year, new data shows
After being delayed by months, data collected for a single night in January and released Wednesday shows that the homeless population in the Colorado Springs area appears to be on a downward trajectory in several key categories. Most notably, the number of “unsheltered” people who live on the streets and sleep in vehicles, under bridges,…
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‘Sneak peek’ at Colorado Springs’ new Homelessness Response Plan reveals additions, changes
More public restrooms, additional police street patrol, non-congregate housing for homeless singles and families, permanent rental housing for homeless people, expanded sidewalk cleaning, increased regional collaboration and more work opportunities could be new strategies the city of Colorado Springs adopts to prevent and address homelessness in the community, under a new initiative the city intends…
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Public input sought as city of Colorado Springs prepares to roll out new action plan on homelessness
A new action plan for the city’s response to homelessness — which Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade has called “one of Colorado Springs’ top public safety issues” — will be ready by the time Mobolade delivers his State of the City address on Sept. 10, according to city employees. While Mobolade has identified six key focus areas…
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‘J6 Praying Grandma’ from Colorado Springs area says she’s not scared as sentencing nears
Rebecca Lavrenz doesn’t want to go to prison, but for the past four months the 72-year-old great-grandmother, retired registered nurse and small-business owner in El Paso County has been steeling herself for that possibility. “I don’t think it’s right. I’m not happy about it. But I’d rather be in prison obeying God than be out…
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Fentanyl and alcohol-related deaths rise in El Paso County, coroner’s report shows
Although drug overdose deaths involving the potent synthetic opioid pain reliever fentanyl continue to increase in El Paso County, the six-year rate of rise seems to at least be flattening, according to the 2023 coroner’s report released Tuesday. “This is two years in a row that we’ve seen relatively mild increases in our total fentanyl…
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Advances on the mental health care front: High heels to high schools
The need for mental health care in the post-COVID-19 landscape means more people than before are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, phobias, addictions, thoughts of suicide and emergencies such as psychotic breaks — at a time when services and treatment providers are in short supply. Initiatives from an innovative grassroots startup in Colorado Springs to…
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Top health concerns in El Paso County: drug overdoses, suicides, access to health care, stable housing
In taking the temperature of El Paso County to determine the overall health of more than 744,200 residents, four areas of concern stand out in the 2023 Community Health Assessment, released Monday by the county public health department. Eliminating barriers to accessing physical and mental health care, preventing drug overdoses, increasing housing stability and decreasing…