Pueblo Rescue Mission to close soon

The Pueblo Rescue Mission has a month remaining to serve the city’s homeless population before the facility closes.

Reduced services for the homeless start Friday.

The mission’s special use permit from the city expired and isn’t being renewed because of community opposition to the mission’s location at 13th and Elizabeth streets.

As of Friday, the kitchen will close and a daily meal will not be available.

Showers also will be unavailable, and distribution of clean clothing will end.

The mission’s staff says it will keep working to help about 120 people who come in every day.

“We want to continue to provide access to bathrooms for people,” said Jackie Jaramillo, the mission’s president. “We want to provide a cooling shelter where they can get out of the heat. We also will provide them with bottled water and snacks.”

Jaramillo said the shelter will close for good by the first of July. By then, she hopes to find a permanent location for the mission.

The homeless say there’s nowhere else in town that provides many of the same services.

The mission also services low-income families, disabled people and people with special needs.
“I don’t know where those people will go,” Jaramillo said. “People don’t understand how badly a facility like ours is needed.”

The situation was scheduled to be a topic of discussion at a Thursday night meeting hosted by a city councilman.