Pueblo announces location for potential homeless shelter
Back in July, the city of Pueblo set out to find the location for a brand new state of the art homeless shelter. This would replace the shelter that shut down earlier this year.
Now Pueblo City Councilman Mark Aliff, who has been working on this project for months, and the city believe they have a place for their shelter in sight.
The city has announced that the Bargain Box on the 300 block of east 4th street is the ideal spot for the shelter. The Bargain Box has been located at that spot since the 60’s and is owned by the Assistance League of Pueblo.
Aliff also suggests purchasing a nearby building behind the Bargain Box on the 500 block of North Chester Avenue. That building would be apart of the ultimate shelter, but would serve as a warming shelter for homeless and displaced during the upcoming winter months.
“The location has the acreage it has everything we’ve been looking for and talking about,” said Aliff back in early September when they first found the property.
The new three-story shelter would include a courtyard, a kitchen, and many services for the homeless located throughout the entire city.
“It’s not smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood so you shouldn’t have a lot of problems with people not wanting if where it goes,” said Aliff.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Despite promising fences and 24-hour security, the shelter’s back door neighbors say their business could be done for.
“The homeless are going to look at my shop like a candy store,” said Jim Neighbours, owner of Better Rate Transmissions.
Neighbours’ business has been located there for sixteen years, and he has always had homeless problems on his property. He says many homeless shelters on Fountain Creek nearby, and the proposed spot for the shelter would just exacerbate the problem.
“We’ll have the largest homeless camp in Colorado,” said Neighbours. “With the facilities right here by the Fountain Creek, they’ll be so many people that we cannot control them.”
Neighbours believes he’ll lose customers if a shelter moves in, b ut fears all of Pueblo will suffer from it.
Neighbours hopes the city will wait until a mayor is elected before coming to any decision. Aliff has said publicly they must work with Neighbours, and be proactive to keep the neighborhood safe.
Pueblo city council will need to approve the purchase of the property and sign off on the plans to transform the building. The first reading of an ordinance to do just that will be read Tuesday night at the regular meeting. Final vote is scheduled for October 22nd.
