Colorado Springs Fire Department’s homeless outreach program to receive permanent funding from City Council
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- During a work session Monday for next year's city budget, the City Council decided to approve allocating additional funding to the Homeless Outreach Program (HOP Team) operated since mid-2019 by the city's fire department.
The department had recently expressed concern about the continued availability of grant funding that has supported the program, and possibly reducing or eliminating the program as a result.
"Without that funding, we would have had to end the program and four jobs would have been lost," said Fire Chief Randy Royal.
The Council said that it will allocate $200,000 -- half of the HOP team's operating budget -- when grant funding expires in June, and will fund the full $400,000 expense starting in 2024.
Council members said that the money will be allocated to the fire department, which will direct the money to the HOP team.
"We need to not only help the homeless, but we have to help our own citizens, and enforce our own laws and ordinances that are here," said Councilman Randy Helms.
Councilwoman Nancy Henjum said that funding the program will save the city money in the long run.
"It actually benefits our police, our fire, our jails, our hospitals, our families -- and then, of course, the people themselves, to find their way back," she said.
Also approved Monday was $130,000 in annual funding to the fire department for a data analyst; that position helps evaluate how well the department's programs are working and grant funding was scheduled to end next year.
The additional funding will come from the city's budget reserves, the Council said.
The HOP team differs from the police department's Homeless Outreach Team (HOT Team), which focuses on enforcement such as cleanup and closing of illegal homeless camps; the HOP Team works more closely with individuals who may be homeless because of mental health or addiction issues.
In a related matter, the Council rejected a request from Council President Tom Strand for an additional allocation of $150,000 to the HOT Team; the Council said that request came in too late, and lacked specifics, to be included in the current 2023 budget process.
However, former Councilman Tim Leigh said that he sent a letter to current Council members, asking them to approve the HOT Team funding -- partly because of thousands of dollars in damages inflicted on his business property by homeless people.
"I'm so adamant about this position, I would be willing to support some kind of a police or protection tax in order to get that mission accomplished," he said.
Leigh is also considering a run for mayor, but said that he hasn't decided for certain yet.
