Counselor weighs in on why homeless refuse going to shelters even on extremely cold nights
A well-known homeless man in an Austin Bluffs neighborhood died at a bus stop during blizzard conditions in Colorado Springs this week.
Calvin Reeves wrote in his final Facebook post on New Year’s Eve, “If I don’t die tonight, I’ll be lucky.” Unfortunately, his luck ran out during this latest storm, but it didn’t have to.
There were open shelter beds the night Reeves died which left KRDO asking the question: On freezing cold nights like we saw Monday into Tuesday why couldn’t local law enforcement try to help people like Reeves?
Lieutenant Mike Lux with Colorado Police Department’s Homeless Outreach team says on those nights, they do warn the homeless population about the potential danger and try to convince them to go to the shelters.
“When it’s ice cold and we know about it, we start hitting those locations and start telling people right away,” said Lt. Lux.
Officers even offer rides to homeless to make their journey easier, but many still refuse. There were more than 80 beds available at the Springs Rescue Mission on Monday night, which is just one of the shelters in Colorado Springs.
Lt. Lux says unless the person is in immediate need of medical attention, officers can’t force them to go.
Lt. Lux said, “I can’t do anything else besides encourage them to go someplace out of the cold.”
So why do homeless refuse to go? When KRDO spoke to them, they gave a variety of reasons. Bed bugs, people stealing items, not enough room, and their pets are not allowed.
However, on a psychological level, Jessie Steffes, who is a licensed professional counselor, says there are a few other reasons. One of them being substance abuse.
If someone is on drugs or alcohol when police are trying to talk and reason with them, they may not be thinking clearly.
Steffes said, “If someone is using substances, the first thing to go is our access to our judgment or frontal lobe, which is where we make good decisions.” Adding they’re sometimes not able to tell just how cold it is and may even think everything is okay.
“It kind of becomes the perfect storm of factors,” said Steffes, “Our best decision-making isn’t possible in that moment.”
Persistence is the best way to try and convince the homeless to seek shelter, and even then, it might not be enough.
Lt. Lux says, if you see a homeless person out on a very cold night, you can call the police and they will do everything they can to try and convince that person to go to one of the city’s shelters.
