Carbondale officials hope a regional coalition of governments and nonprofits will step in to serve the Roaring Fork Valley’s new population of unhoused immigrants as the town prepares to close its temporary shelter system on March 31.
At a town meeting on Tuesday evening, Carbondale trustees reinforced that they want to step back from their role as the main service provider for the region’s recent increase in unhoused refugees.
Rob Stein has been managing Carbondale’s newcomer response with Town Manager Lauren Gister since December, and they’re working now to form a “Community Connections Coalition.”
Stein said Tuesday that his vision for the coalition includes offering refugees a designated campground, sanitation services, case management, and legal support.
The West Mountain Regional Health Alliance has agreed to organize this coalition and connect newcomers with service providers if Carbondale can help them acquire funding.
Stein told town trustees the nonprofit may have to hire new staff as a result, and it’s worried about committing before resources have been secured.
“Without strong commitment from municipalities and counties, they're going to be stuck carrying the ball,” Stein said. “And so they need to see some levels of commitment from funders. And to me, I think that means everybody has to contribute their part, and we have to also aggressively look for external sources of funding, or this thing is a shell game. It'll just fall apart.”
If the town of Carbondale can get other governments and funders on board, the coalition would alleviate any pressure on towns and counties to develop plans of their own.
However, staff and town officials are worried that the process isn’t moving fast enough.
Carbondale staff plan to meet with shelter residents one-on-one to help individuals and families develop a plan for April 1, but Carbondale Town Trustee Colin Laird worries that without more of a concrete plan, the town will lose the progress they’ve made in recent months. He said some of those who decide to stay here won’t have a place to go.
“There's no place to camp,” Laird said. “What do they do? I don't know that we have the capacity to get individual plans for all these folks.”
Town Manager Lauren Gister has sent a letter to Pitkin, Eagle, and Garfield counties, requesting each provide $50,000, shelter space, and organizational support for their current efforts.
Pitkin County donated 50 cots to the town of Carbondale in November, and according to Marci Suazo, the county’s communications manager, they’re interested in offering financial support for long-term programmatic efforts.
On Tuesday morning, Garfield county commissionersrefused to support the effort financially, citing concerns about doling out funds to new immigrants over existing residents and issues with federal border policies.
Gister said at Tuesday’s meeting that if Carbondale wants other regional governments to step in and fund this coalition, they need to develop more specific requests.
“It almost has to be structured as if it's a response to an RFP (Request for Proposals) where there's clear goals, clear tasks, a clear budget,” Gister said. “And I think if we can get something like that put together, I think it can move more quickly.”
Carbondale expects a large number of people will stick around after the shelters close, sleeping in cars and tents on public lands.
Town trustees are concerned about the impacts of large numbers of unhoused people sleeping on Carbondale’s streets, but they also wonder if the increased visibility will spur action among government partners and nonprofit organizations.
If people leave Carbondale’s temporary shelters before March 31, the town will no longer fill the empty bed with someone who’s been on their waitlist. And on March 22, the town will stop its meal service at Crystal River Elementary School.
