Pueblo’s “Clean-up” leaves dozens of homeless people with nowhere to go

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)- The City of Pueblo started clearing homeless encampments near Fountain Creek. According to the city, the cleanup will make the city trails safe but organizations that help out the homeless population believe this will harm them.

Jaime Cook is part of Project Apollo Street Medicine and since 7 a.m. they've been helping people move their belongings. Now him and many organizations are worried about what's going to happen to them.

"And really, the folks here are not just disappearing. They're. They're being displaced here. They'll move somewhere else. They may come returning to this location, but they're really just pushing people around and shifting them around," said Cook.

We did ask Mayor Heather Graham if the city would help or provide services for the homeless.

"Yeah, the city is providing no resources to any of these individuals at this time. This is a cleanup. to make sure that our waterways are safe. Our trails are safe. and that people feel comfortable being down in this area and, not scared," said Graham.

KRDO 13 asked if that could change in the future.

 "No. I mean, the city's sole responsibility in this matter is to make sure that the environment in which people, you know, walk, run their bikes again, the waterways are safe. And that's what we're out here to do. The city provides, funding to many nonprofits that are actually out here to, to help with services and resources. if people choose to accept those resources today," said Graham.

Organizers who were out helping the homeless would like to work with the city in hopes of finding a solution.  

    "We would like the opportunity to engage earlier with, you know, with the city and, and see what we can do to kind of address the more the root causes of the unhoused population here," said Cook.

65 people were displaced today and 3 of them went to Pueblo Rescue Mission. The city will continue their cleanup efforts until Thursday.