Homelessness is a big topic in Glenwood Springs. This summer, the town’s Police Department and social service providers reported an uptick in transients spending the warmer months in Glenwood. Aspen Public Radio visited one spot where people can get a free hot meal.
It’s lunchtime at Feed My Sheep Homeless Ministry, a nonprofit tucked into the basement of a Catholic Church in Glenwood Springs. There’s a generous spread of chips, salsa, burritos and pie. “I was living in a room around the corner,” says Tony Gibbons. He’s been coming here for about six months. “I was working in Aspen, and I had been doing that for the last 3.5 years. And I was getting claustrophobic and burnt out. So I decided to go camping.”
Gibbons now sleeps in a tent outside Glenwood Springs. He continued commuting to Aspen this summer, where he worked long hours at the Little Nell. He’s working with a temp agency for other work up valley now, and expects to have a busy schedule again this winter during the high season. Gibbons says the Feed My Sheep day shelter makes that combination of camping and a busy work schedule doable. “This is a good place for hanging out meeting people. I’m a social person, I didn’t realize I was that way,” he laughs.
Feed My Sheep and other providers have seen an increase in people coming to Glenwood Springs in need of food and other resources. A vigorous debate began this summer when business interests downtown complained that more panhandlers and transients were scaring away customers.
At this day shelter, Tony Gibbons says there’s a lot at stake when incidents do happen. “If they’re causing trouble, and making it worse for everyone else then it’s going to end up being a problem.” He’s only seen one incident this summer, even though “the numbers are way higher than they were last year, as far as summer goes. That’s the whole thing, a few rotten apples will ruin it for everybody. So it’s a matter of trying to weed them out as quickly as possible and sending them on their way.”
“We have very strict rules down here,” says Director Karen Peppers. “And the rules have to be followed to a ‘T.’ If they break a rule then they’re out the door." Rules include respecting staff and other visitors, doing chores, and showering regularly. And if someone doesn’t follow them, "...they are given an option of either a bus ticket to Grand Junction, or to Denver, to the local homeless shelters."
Peppers reports a significant increase in people over the last two summers coming by for food and showers, with the day shelter serving around fifty people a day. Peppers works with everyone who comes to the day shelter, helping them look for work or housing, and she says there’s been a shift in the newer visitors. They’re younger, 18 to 24 years old, they’re excited about legal marijuana, and aren’t as interested in finding a job.
That description echoes what Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson has said about the increase in transients in Glenwood Springs. His officers report a shift in younger folks who have chosen to be mobile. City officials, social service providers, and others are holding a community meeting in early October to tackle the issue. One change could be increasing the police department’s budget, to monitor the downtown area more often at night.
Matthew Hernandez is relaxing after helping serve lunch here at Feed My Sheep. The 48-year-old says he’s noticed more people ignoring the day shelter rules and choosing to hang out instead of looking for work. But it’s also true that he, too, has chosen a more flexible lifestyle. Hernandez recently had relatively steady work at the Climax mine in Leadville. “And then we got laid off, so I said hey, ‘let’s come this way and play.’ Fish, hike, come see how everybody’s doing, and find another job over here. Maybe for the winter, I don’t know.”
Hernandez has had other times between jobs, and says he’s been stopping through this day shelter on and off for five to ten years. “I love it. Showers, laundry, food,” he smiles. “It’s just a good way to get back on your feet.” Right now Hernandez sleeps on a golf course, and is hoping to get a job with Aspen Skiing Company this winter, which could include housing.
