Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful keeps on task

Steve Saint was prepared to meet Cruella de Vil.

He had read the stories about Dee Cunningham and the nonprofit she heads, Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful, and was well aware of the accusations that her crew had unceremoniously tossed the belongings of homeless campers at a cleanup near downtown.

“My impression was that this woman was dangerous and out to get the homeless,” said Saint, executive director of Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission.

Then he met her in early 2009, and eventually went on a cleanup with KCSB.

“The first time I went out with them, I found Dee to be completely different from how she was portrayed. She was interested in the welfare of the homeless folks, of the environment. I had a completely new impression after that,” Saint said.

But Cunningham and her group still feel the aftereffects from that October 2008 cleanup. Homeless advocate Robert Moran, who runs The Street Church, captured video images of a police officer going through
someone’s suitcase, and several young people stuffing blankets and other belongings into plastic garbage bags.

The video went viral, and Colorado Springs police and KCSB were vilified for trampling on the rights of the homeless. The American Civil Liberties Union got involved. The cleanups were put on hold until the community could discuss protocol and new guidelines could be drawn up.

Cunningham was devastated.

“It was awful,” she recalled last week, shortly after overseeing the cleanup of a west side camp. “It was spun out of control. KCSB and Dee Cunningham are urban legends, and it’s not true.”

She said the people who trashed the campers’ belongings weren’t with her group, and that she told the young helpers to put the belongings back — something the video didn’t capture.

Moran still thinks that KCSB workers inadvertently collected items they shouldn’t have, but he holds no grudges. In fact, Cunningham’s group helped The Street Church with a memorial service for the homeless in December.

“I think Dee has been trying to do the right thing,” Moran said. “Our stance was not to attack Dee or KCSB. It was always a matter of ‘there’s got to be a better way to do this.’”

Cunningham believes the controversy led to better procedures, including oversight by independent third parties during cleanups.

“If it took all that controversy to get to where we are now, that’s a good thing,” she said.

She’s tried to move beyond the “video,” and is focused on the key missions of KCSB, which operates under a $45,000 contract with the city to perform cleanups for the police; clean up roads for code enforcement; dispose of trash, and manage those ordered by the court to help with cleanups as part of their community service. The group also contracts to clean up for special events, such as street festivals.

But in the past year or two, cleaning up homeless camps has taken up a disproportionate amount of KCSB’s time as tent cities mushroomed near downtown and the west side. From January through mid-November 2009, KCSB had picked up 32 tons of trash from the camps.

As Cunningham has gone into the camps for the cleanups, she’s also developed relationships with the campers.

“I’ve been out on cleanups with her perhaps a dozen times now, and I’ve seen her talk to the homeless folks by name and bring them things they said they needed from previous contacts,” Saint said.

“When she comes into the camps, she’s met with open arms,” said Officer Dan McCormack, a member of the Colorado Springs Police Department Homeless Outreach Team.

Sure enough, as Cunningham was overseeing the cleanup of a west side camp last week, two former residents who were helping dismantle the tents and haul out the trash came up and gave her hugs.

“She’s always treated us with respect,” Nancy Wilson said. “She’s gracious and kind.”

That is what the job is all about, said Cunningham, who joined KCSB in 1997 and became executive director in 2006.

“It’s not just about the trash,” she said. “I love people — I like to talk to people and get to know them. It enriches my personal life.”

ETC.
Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful, the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, operates on a $120,000 budget, with $45,000 coming from a city contract. The rest comes from the Colorado Department of Transportation and two corporate sponsors.
From Jan. 1-Nov. 19, 2009, KCSB:
• Removed 40 tons of trash from roads and city properties
• Removed 32 tons of trash from homeless camp areas
• Got help from 321 volunteers (98 percent referrals from Municipal Court)
• Spent 7,030 hours on these projects