Vol. 3 No. 9
SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
JAVIER QUINONES 8 | RECIPE 13 | VETERANS’ VOICE 22 | FIBER ART 24
• DIG DEEPER •
WHERE TO TURN? By Rory Harbert and Nico Grayson
The City of Pueblo via the Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo Municipal Court, Pueblo Parks & Recreation as well as Team Up and other organizations stepped in to help BNSF Railway, clean up the land along the railroad tracks near Fountain Creek, where a large encampment of people set up shelters. Photos by Rory Harbert and Nico Grayson.
A
ccess Point, a local outreach organization that addresses substance use, has their mobile services van parked nearby. Community Resources United, a local coalition focused on activism, sets up a table, taking donations by people who dropped off bags to help with the packing process. Railroad workers fill bulldozer buckets with tree branches and others replace damaged ties along the railway. Fire trucks idled nearby. Dump trucks filled with litter, furniture and clothing create a pile of trash near the outreach tables. Large construction vehicles, police cars and ATVs weave back and forth. The sound of all the commotion makes it difficult to converse. Periodically, a person carrying all of their belongings comes through the overgrowth, crossing the railroad tracks to the volunteers. Some volunteers run back and forth, helping a dog abandoned in the displacement get to safety or assist a woman struggling with a walker over the terrain and get to the tables. It is less than an hour into the first day of the cleanup, or unofficially called by
| COMMUNITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | CURIOSITY | CONNECTION |
Stretched to the limit, Pueblo’s unhoused population and support services must adapt again as city cracks down on encampments volunteers and those affected by the clean up: the sweeps of the Fountain Creek encampment. From the city council’s public camping ban to forced closures of densely-populated, inadequately kept hotels, Pueblo’s residents have seen many high-impact measures taken to address the rising concerns of litter and illegal dumping of trash, trespassing, property damage and other activities that can arise in areas populated by people without proper housing. Though these measures, as well as the frequency of these actions paired with an apparent disregard to the aftermath of these measures, have sparked intense debate and concern. On Sept. 3, the city via the Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo Municipal Court, Pueblo Parks and Recreation as well as Team Up to Clean Up and other organizations stepped in to help the private company, BNSF Railway, clean up the land along the railroad tracks near Fountain Creek, where a large encampment of people had set up shelters. The associated organizations in this measure have been adamant about calling these measures a clean-up. According to the Pueblo Police Department’s community engagement manager, Bianca Hicks, the purpose of this activity was to address the blocked drainage system and large amount of trash in the area as well as removing overgrown foliage for fire mitigation. When asked if this activity would result in the displacement of the people living in the area, Hicks confirmed that “to the extent that city officials, during the cleanup activities, encounter people living on the property, those people will be required to vacate the property.” As authorities moved in to clear the areas where many had lived for years – even decades -- the voices of those directly impacted tell a story of hardship, community and survival.
How the first day progressed
Prior to the clean-up, the public was informed that these efforts would be focused on the areas between Fourth and Eighth streets. Project Apollo Street Medicine, an outreach organization that provides donations, food and medical care every Sunday to the two major encampments, has spent every outing informing the encampment residents of the impending displacement. Where to turn? continued on page 4