Pueblo advocates express concerns for homeless people who have no options for shelter

Pueblo’s homeless are seeking help to stay warm this winter. Advocates are as busy as ever trying to help shield some of them from the cold weather.

“It was terrible, terrible,” said Paul Montoya of a November cold spell that forced Mayor Nick Gradisar to enact an emergency weather declaration. “It’s bad. It’s cold and freezing. I feel sorry for these guys. I really do.”

Montoya, who's long been a central figure in helping Pueblo’s homeless, has continued his frequent outreach over the past month. At least three times a week, he meets up with some of Pueblo’s homeless who live in encampments to offer propane tanks, sandwiches, clothes and blankets.

Crazy Faith Street Ministry, which currently doesn’t operate an emergency warming shelter but did so last year, has been using its mobile buses to round up some of Pueblo’s homeless over the past several weeks. Its founders, Tammy and Lonny Kainz, offer people a chance to sleep in the heated bus.

Tammy Kainz said the van isn't ideal to sleep in, as people have to sleep sitting up, or if space is available, try to use a 3-foot bench on the bus to lie down. But it's one alternative for people with few shelter options in Pueblo who can’t or won’t stay at the Pueblo Rescue Mission.

“Some of them, their only other choice is to be out in the freezing cold,” Tammy Kainz said.

Advocates fear for people who can’t stay at Pueblo’s only homeless shelter

The Pueblo Rescue Mission, the only shelter serving Pueblo’s homeless, opened its new warming shelter last month right before the cold spell. The shelter welcomed 27 emergency clients on Thanksgiving and averaged 35 to 45 clients in the six nights thereafter, Melanie Rapier, executive director of the Pueblo Rescue Mission, told the Chieftain in an email.

The people who stayed overnight at the new shelter last month were allowed to remain there until late morning because of the cold temperatures, Rapier said. The mission is still working through renovations at the new space and plans to work with the city’s Commission on Homelessness and Housing in their effort to provide year-round shelter, she added.

Kainz and Montoya, however, continue to contend that some members of Pueblo’s homeless population won’t seek shelter at the rescue mission, either because they fear how they will be treated by staff or aren’t allowed to stay there. That has left the Kainzes worried about those who are shunned, fearing they will have to fight the conditions this winter without shelter, even if they desire it.

Thomas Hughes, 40, claimed he tried to stay at the shelter during a bout of cold weather in October but wasn’t allowed in because he’s on the shelter’s ban list. Hughes said he feels the ban should be lifted, noting that enough time has passed and that his behavior didn’t compromise the safety of others when he became animated one morning while staying at the shelter.

“It’s upsetting,” Hughes said.

Amanda Larkins, 41, claimed she also was was passed up for shelter in October in favor of a more frequent client. Ben Tindol, a recent rescue mission client, claimed that during the same period, he was banned for 24 hours after he missed the shelter's scheduled curfew. He claimed that shelter staff had given him a separate curfew than the one the shelter enforced at the time and that the ban forced him to sleep outside in the cold.

Rapier on Wednesday declined to address the latest round of claims, stating that the shelter has rules, policies and expectations of residents and emergency clients to ensure the “safety and protection of all.”

Rapier in October disputed other claims that alleged rescue mission leadership mistreats clients and bans people from the facility for minor violations of the mission's rules.

“I'm not going to speak to ominous, anonymous complaints you hear about one-sided stories of individuals being banned or unable to shelter,” Rapier said. “The rules exist for a reason and in order for the Pueblo Rescue Mission to continue to be able to provide community services, we must always carefully consider all risks and liabilities as our organization sets policy.”

Kainzes, Montoya using other methods to help meet the need

Montoya said he recently was given a van to help his outreach efforts which he's used to store more supplies. He also continues to receive support from high school students who offer their help to fulfill community service requirements.

The Kainzes, outside of operating their mobile bus on frigid nights, at times use some of their funds to put people into hotel rooms if they were denied shelter.

Tammy Kainz said there are advantages to being mobile, such as being able to pick up someone who is homeless in another part of town, drop off blankets at a separate location, or check up on a person at someone’s request.

“The homeless, they’re human beings,” Montoya said. “They just fell on hard times. It’s so easy to become homeless, man.”

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: How Pueblo homeless advocates are helping the unhoused this winter