City struggles to enforce homeless camping ban within city limits
The city of Colorado Springs said its homeless population is going up and more people are camping, but its struggling to enforce a ban to stop it.
The city passed a no camping ban in 2010. However, camps are cropping up, especially near downtown. Bicyclist ChrisChris Sgaraglino posted a video on social media documenting all the tents and camps he sees during his ride near downtown.
“In this case here, it’s so crowded, you don’t even know if you are going to make it through here on your bike, much less, is it safe to make it through there on your bike,” said Sgaraglino.
He said he’s lived and biked in Colorado Springs for almost two decades. He said he’s never seen as many camps as he has now.
“There is a guy in a green tent sitting there and hitting on his crack pipe. He doesn’t care that I am in there. I’m in his territory. He’s not in mine anymore,” said Sgaraglino. “There is probably two dozen down there. If I wanted to stop and say something, there is absolutely no way that I could.”
In his video, Sgaraglino calls out the city, asking why nothing is being done.
“That was the whole idea of the video that I posted. To get enough people out there to yell and scream and say, we don’t like this. We want to help, but we don’t know what to do. Someone stand up and give us some guidance,” said Sgaraglino.
According to information collected by the city, the city’s homeless population is increasing, and more people are camping.
Aimee Cox, the city’s Community Development Manager, is leading initiative on homelessness in Colorado Springs. Cox said the city is struggling to enforce the no camping ban, because there are currently not enough beds in local shelters.
“Time and time again, we’ve heard the courts say that people have a right to life-sustaining behavior and continuing to displace them lacks compassion, and it isn’t a effective law enforcement strategy,” said Cox.
The city is allowing homeless people to stay in their camps, because there is no where for them to go.
“As a policy, the city of Colorado Springs does not enforce the camping prohibition if we have no place to relocate them to,” said Cox.
Cox said the city is meeting with stakeholders, including nonprofits and law enforcement, to come up with temporary solutions until the Springs Rescue Mission opens in November.
Cox said they want to come up with a plan to unite homeless people with local resources. They also want to come up with a plan to make sure the public is able to enjoy public facilities and spaces.
