Cops to work on clearing homeless from tent cities

Starting today, the three officers who make up the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team will begin enforcing a new city ordinance that prohibits camping on public property.

They and three other officers temporarily reassigned to help will be kept busy visiting the Springs’ tent cities as they try to persuade the residents to get out of the camps and move into a shelter, enter a drug or alcohol rehab program if they need to or accept a bus ticket out of town — or risk receiving a citation.

But they’d have been a lot busier if they’d started enforcing the ordinance when it passed a month ago, when the camps had 300 to 500 residents.

On Wednesday, the number was down to about 125, according to Bob Holmes, executive director of Homeward Pikes Peak. He credits the rapid drop in population to three factors: volunteers Teresa and Karl McLaughlin, who have devoted endless hours to building relationships with the residents and assessing their needs; a $100,000 emergency housing grant from the El Pomar Foundation to Homeward Pikes Peak; and an offer of affordable rates at the Express Inn on West Cucharras Street.

“It was those three things that happened in confluence,” Holmes said.

The McLaughlins have brought about 130 people to the Express Inn, but 27 were kicked out for intoxication, drug possession, bringing visitors into their rooms and other rules violations.

Twenty-nine of the people they’ve gotten off the streets have found jobs at landscaping businesses, fast food establishments and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, she said. Two families have gotten jobs, moved out of the Express Inn and into apartments.

So who’s left? Holmes says it’s mostly meth and heroin addicts, but the HOT team will be equipped to deal with them with the additional officers assigned to help them for up to a month.

“It’s an officer safety thing, in case someone doesn’t like what we’re telling them,” said HOT officer M.J. Thomson.

He said that three two-person teams will be able to split up and cover more ground. But the HOT cops are the only ones who will issue citations.

The no camping ordinance passed Feb. 9 on a first reading, but could not go into effect until passage on a second reading, which took place Feb. 23, and a brief waiting period.

Thomson reiterated Wednesday that the HOT cops’ primary role will be to move the campers to suitable shelter or programs, not clog up the judicial system by ticketing homeless campers.

Homeless by the numbers

Nearly 200 tent city residents have moved out of the camps since mid-February. A breakdown:

• 102 have moved into the Express Inn on West Cimarron Street, with stays financed through an El Pomar grant

• 13 have moved into other accommodations through the El Pomar grant.

• 40 have accepted a bus ticket out of town, with a guarantee of a place to stay or program to enter at their destination.

• 29 have found jobs. (Anyone with available jobs is asked to call Bob Holmes of Homeward Pikes Peak at 955-0731.)

• 2 families have found jobs, moved out of the Express Inn and into apartments

• 27 have been kicked out of the Express Inn because of intoxication, drug possession and other rules violations