Homeless Cares

03/01/2023

CAN'T A GIRL JUST GET SOME REST??? Hectic, busy day with lots going on. Ran out of burritos at breakfast then took 8 people to the shower in 2 trips. Sweet Rosy was the 9th passenger and she was so sleepy today. Turns out she has worms so we were trying to get her to Humane Society but ran into some issues so I hope we can make it tomorrow after laundry. One of the other individuals I took to shower was the person who was shot Monday night at 13th and Canyon you may have read about. He was shot throught he leg but it missed anything major so he is remarkably ok, just needs to keep it clean. Glad people are making good use of this service. the more self-care they can provide for themselves the more other things they are able to consider accomplishing.

02/22/2023

Despite the 2nd Wednesday in a row with snow and extreme cold, we made it out (to library this time) to distribute breakfast. Last week we got rid of all 50 burritos but this week only 30. But today I was able to take 4 people and one service dog to showers! People were really in dire need of showers and looked like entirely new folks afterward. Hopefully, that will help them navigate the rest of this horrible weather today and tonight.

02/08/2023

Very pleasant day in the park today. Still seeing consistently long lines for the breakfast. And people were definitely ready for showers after the sweeps last week at the bandshell that had everyone in an uproar. There were five people from the park and one from Harvest of Hope needing showers today. It's good to see the unsheltered take advantage of this service. It takes some effort and attention for them to get organized for that one opportunity every Wedesnday, but some of them have hygeine related health issues and really benefit from regular access to showers so I'm glad to see it.

02/06/2023

POWER -- What is it? What part do you play?

We all want power. The power to attract what we want, avoid what we don’t want, and create what we want to see in the world. But what is power, and how do we get it?

01/19/2023

Hey Folks -- Just learned some interesting news from one of the guys I brought to laundry this morning who has been living at the shelter since mid-December. Evidently, beginning about 1 month ago, the shelter changed its policies regarding who has access to beds are for how long. Two new rules he alerted me to (1) The shelter is now imposing a 90 day time limit TOTAL on access to all beds, even reserved beds. (It is possible to get an extension from a case manager, but that's the exception and not likely to happen for most people.) For example, if someone was in the general population for a month, then moved to a reserved bed, they would only have two month remaining available to them for the rest of the season. What could possible go wrong with this plan?? (2) Women (unless they are transgender) are no longer allowed automatic entrance. They now have to participate in the lottery just like the men.

There are a number of other details that have changed as well it seems, but these strike me as the most egregious. I can't understand why they would need to do this. The shelter recently moved 42 people to the Millenium hotel for the winter season. Perhaps they need to move more people to hotels if they simply don't have enough beds. I don't know what the problem is, but I'm going to write city council to let them know about this, and I encourage you all to do the same.

01/04/2023

One of my customer's case managers told him there are at least 15 new homeless folks coming to Boulder each day now! Thankfully, they've made more beds available at the shelter by moving a bunch of people to the Millenium. And another resident of the shelter said there are plenty of spare beds there now so I hope we are good for the winter. No more turn-aways please!

We had a good turnout again at the breakfast, about 50 people so ran out of food a little early, then I took 6 folks to shower at the Y. It's always such a relaxing treat for them to have a nice hot shower in a hassle free environment, good for the mind, body and soul.

12/28/2022

Good turn out today at the breakfast. We cut down on burritos for winter and then ran out today. Crowds tend to be very weather dependent in the winter. It's not too fun hanging out in the park in super cold weather good food nonwithstanding. We are passing out lots of hand warmers now and, today, someone stopped by with a few books of regional day passes for us to distribute! Took 4 guys to the Y for showers. It's always heartening to see long-time campers with mental illness take advantage of this service. That self-care is life affirming.

12/16/2022

Feeling guilty: Lots of laundry today. Took 3 people from Deacons Closet and 2 from Harvest of Hope. People tend to save up their laundry for a long time so there's lots to do and it can cost a bunch. One of the new folks, Harold, accidentally put his phone through the washer and it was toast. I feel bad because I was slightly hurrying him along which didn't help, yet he never thought to criticize or blame me. It's doubly tough on him because he's dealing with a lot of struggles stemming from getting beaten up and robbed recently in Denver, losing his out of state ID, trying to settle a legal matter in NC, trying to get his birth certificate ordered through Denver so he is able to unfreeze his funds, and so on. We strategized for the entire time on how to prioritize what he needed to do over the next two days, and I was able to contact the ever helpful Christian from BTHERE. I so hope he can get him a new phone soon!

12/15/2022

Despite the cold weather today, still served over 40 people breakfast in the park. We are there every Wednesday no matter what. Five peeps also went to the Y for showers and we stopped by Harvest of Hope. Laundry day tomorrow. Homeless Cares is planning some new projects for 2023 if all goes well!

12/02/2022

One of these days I'll get a functional phone camera! Had a great chat with Finley today at the laundromat. She's been in Boulder a long time and has deep knowledge and insight into the many issues faced by the unhoused in Boulder. We discussed a broad range of topics spanning mental health needs, addiction, difficulties surrounding losing documents and belongings to theft or camp sweeps, lack of shelter options and more. The highest priority in winter is mainly survival, especially for folks that are booted out of the shelter for offenses they may not even be at fault for committing. It is extremely taxing and dangerous living outside with little to nothing more than a blanket and the clothes on your back, and some of our most vulnerable residents have no other options sometimes. There needs to be places to go for people kicked out of the shelter in cold weather, and for others who live outside with mental illness who are not good at taking care of themselves. The shelter shouldn't just send folks out into the night with just a blanket for an offense that is not serious. If they deem someone too intoxicated to stay there, then they should at least spend the night in detox, not just be turned away.

12/01/2022

A good turnout at the breakfast this morning and then took 4 folks to shower at the Y and to Harvest of Hope. Met a couple of interesting people today that I will follow up with to help me on some projects I'm dreaming up. We can do more productive things in Boulder. We just need the vision and the determination.

11/23/2022

Winter is stressful unless you have plenty of resources. I packed 6 folks into my van today after breakfast to go the Y for showers. V told me she was kicked out of the shelter until January 6th for some miniscule offence. She also just had her tent and belongings confiscated by the clean up crew. She had nothing but what she was wearing and one blanket. After dropping off a newly housed individual in S Boulder, I went home and gathered my own sleeping bag, and extra sweater and a pair of socks and drove back down to the bandshell. Chris was also there and donated a quilty blanket! Hopefully, this will be enough to keep her from freezing through the holiday season. Then I drove over to the library to see if I could find her an abandoned cart, and sure enough, right by the parking lot was a small cart. So at least she can now lug that heavy bag around when she goes for food. I just hope she can hang onto these items for a few weeks which is a long time when you are homeless. This just sucks though. I wish we could have some sort of independent ombudsmen or something like that to investigate and advocate for people who are banned from the shelter for such minor offences.