Author: DEBBIE KELLEY
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Point in Time homeless count begins Sunday following last year’s record high for El Paso County
A surveying crew of 125 volunteers on Sunday will begin counting people who are homeless at 50 areas known for encampments and other activity throughout El Paso County. The process will continue through Wednesday for the yearly Point in Time and Housing Inventory Count, according to organizers. This year’s big initial weekend push to collect…
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New housing needs assessment for Colorado Springs and El Paso County: ‘No market segment is adequately served’
For decades, Colorado Springs and El Paso County leapt rooftops ahead of housing demand and now fall so short that it’s uncertain whether catching up to the growing need is feasible, a new Regional Housing Needs Assessment shows. While the 314-page report concludes that “no market segment is adequately served,” sectors having the most problems…
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Tenants’ union at private, market-rate apartments in Colorado Springs call for improved living conditions
After tenants’ unions formed at two low-income public housing apartment buildings in Colorado Springs, residents of a privately held, market-rate complex in the city have recruited more than half of the estimated 120 occupied units to sign a union card in seeking change. Tenants of Aviator Apartment Homes at 1670 N. Murray Blvd., say their…
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Amid outbursts, Colorado Springs City Council postpones proposed vehicle camping ban
After about three hours of presentation, discussion and public comment, Colorado Springs City Council voted 5-4 Monday to postpone a proposal that would add a vehicle camping ban to city ordinances pertaining to illegal urban camping and consolidate them for standardization and consistency. The issue will be taken up in six months, at the May…
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El Pomar releases $1.5 million for food assistance to Colorado communities
El Pomar Foundation is releasing $1.5 million in immediate aid for food assistance that will be distributed to 112 nonprofit organizations across Colorado this week, the organization announced Monday. The move is in response to “increasing food prices and growing food insecurity, as well as recent suspension of federal funding to critical food systems,” according…
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Free food and other assistance for Colorado Springs-area families affected by government shutdown restrictions
Worry over the impending freeze on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program coupled with some federal workers not being paid due to the continuing government shutdown is contributing to increased need for social services, according to Colorado Springs food pantries and other agencies. Several new efforts are underway to help fill the gap. Ent Credit Union…
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Colorado Springs pantries feeling the crunch even before food stamps go dark
Some people wanted to talk turkey in the days leading up to the nation’s food stamp program going dark on Nov. 1 because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. Pastor Jayme Pezoldt-Justice, who leads Pikes Peak Biker’s Church in Colorado Springs, said she’s already getting calls. Will there be turkeys for Thanksgiving at her church’s…
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Gov. Jared Polis stops in Colorado Springs to tout emergency food stamp funding, as agencies say demand is up
If you want to see the human face of the federal government shutdown, look for the hungry mouths, was the message Gov. Jared Polis delivered in Colorado Springs on Wednesday. He stopped at Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado’s headquarters after announcing at the state Capitol that he will ask the Joint Budget…
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Dissatisfied subsidized renters picket Colorado Springs Housing Authority
Now that Colorado Springs has formal tenants’ associations set up at two publicly subsidized low-income housing complexes, residents — who are largely disabled or elderly — say they’re trying to figure out how to get their needs addressed. Dissatisfied with how it’s going so far, COS Tenants, a group of residents from the newly formed…
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‘Conversations on a Bench’ focuses on 24 hours of talk about homelessness in Colorado Springs
From 1 p.m. Thursday to 1 p.m. Friday, a park bench in downtown Colorado Springs is taking on the persona of a talk show stage, with the topic of the 24-hour day being homelessness. “I see a community that wants to be part of the solution and not just complain from the balcony,” Travis Williams,…