Emergency warming shelter sparks concerns among nearby business

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Cold, bitter nights are here to stay, and a local business says an emergency warming shelter is causing serious problems for them.

The shelters exist to keep people experiencing homelessness safe during the winter, which is important, but balancing the two problems is a tight-rope act.

To keep people alive during the snowstorms, organizations like Springs Rescue Mission and Hope COS worked with Colorado Springs to open emergency warming shelters this week, but we spoke with a medical office that operates two doors down from one of the shelters. 

They say they immediately started dealing with harassment and litter when the shelter opened.

"I can't tell you how many times I've had someone challenged me to a fight to the point that at now I don't even tell my wife about it," says Doctor Cableb Bennett at Apex Audiology.

Mayor Yemi Mobolade held a press conference about the city's efforts to support winter shelter coordination and response during cold weather, but Apex Audiology doesn't share the same enthusiasm.

"I've been urinated on a couple of times. I have had to dispose of so much trash and, you know, so much drug paraphernalia. And it's really unacceptable at this point," says Bennett.

KRDO13 asked the mayor of Colorado Springs today what's being done to meet the needs of everyone involved. 

"That is that is an ongoing, process. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't get it right. But one of the things that we do, as Andrew has, alluded to, it says this after action report to ensure what worked, what didn't work and how can we do better," says Mayor Yemi Mobolade.

Bennett told KRDO13 that he feels their concerns are falling on deaf ears.

When Hope COS was asked about these concerns, they told KRDO13 the following.

"People have free will, and and we can control the things in our purview. When people are in our building, and when they're under our care. But as an emergency response, once we shut down, we're really limited in what we can do," says Joel Siebersma, director of clinical and behavioral health integration with Hope COS.

The city says this is all part of the process, and they plan to prioritize communication between neighbors and businesses, working closely with law enforcement to address the community's concerns.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.