An urban planner who studied Greeley’s homelessness issue last yearsaid the absence of a partnership with the county was one of the top threats toward progress.
After taking stock of what's happened since that report was published, Greeley librarian Annie Epperson fears this threat is coming true.
The city of Greeley's new Housing First initative has helped house 26 people experiencing homelessness so far this year. Through the program recipients get vouchers and a place to live. The city’s goal is to reach 60 people by February.
But Epperson recently discovered her county commissioners have declined an invitation to participate. She also said the county has not been engaging with the local housing authority at public meetings.
"Surely the county is talking about this (homelessness issue), if they have responsibility, right?," Epperson said.
“I’m a librarian so I know about open records and I started looking for the minutes,” she said.
Videos of the county’s housing authority meetings show the commissioners haven’t been talking about it.
KUNC reviewed records of the county-level housing authority board meetings going back almost two years.
For the last 21 months, Weld County commissioners have adjourned their public housing authority board meetings without taking any action or having any policy discussions with the director. Almost all of the meetings last less than a minute.
The lack of dialogue concerns Epperson, who said all of her elected officials have a responsibility to address homelessness and housing instability.
The apparent rift between the two governments on the issue also has her wondering if more people could be reached if the county had a more active role.
'Not our jurisdiction'
Weld County Commission chairman Mike Freeman said the silence at the meetings isn’t unusual andhe doesn’t think the county has a role in discussions about building more affordable housing.
“We don't do affordable housing and subdivisions and all that in unincorporated Weld County because those kind of things require water and sewer of which Weld County doesn't have."
The county shares a housing authority with the city of Greeley. Freeman explained a separate board with members who are appointed by the commissioners and the city of Greeley hold regular meetings and discuss day-to-day operations.
However, Freeman said the county doesn’t ask questions at its monthly meetings with the housing authority's director because it doesn’t see itself having any significant role. He said the county would only ask questions if, for example, a new law was passed in Congress affecting the housing authority.
And when it comes to helping people experiencing homelessness in Greeley, Freeman said that’s Greeley’s responsibility.
“I think we probably all have somewhat of a role in it to some degree, but…we're talking about places that, for example Farr Park or wherever, that are completely not in our jurisdiction,” he said. “We don't have any jurisdiction whatsoever inside of any of our 31 municipalities.
So far, the county is also choosing not to participate in other housing endeavors.
Greeley’s leaders approached Weld county commissioners in January to talk about working together. The city wants help working with landlords and distributing housing vouchers to the homeless population.
It’s a national model called Housing First because it doesn’t require recipients to get behavioral health or substance abuse treatment. Voucher recipients are first provided housing and then needed treatments come later.
Freeman says commissioners declined the invitation.
“Unless it was going to be a dry facility, we weren't going to partner,” he said. “If you're just going to put housing and still allow drug use and alcohol use and no incentive to get a job, that wasn't the intent of why we should be funding for homeless.”
Meanwhile, the city is moving forward with several new housing initiatives without the county’s help.
'Our family'
Joanna Martinson is leading Greeley’s new Housing First program.
She says the city has partnered with a dozen landlords to house people experiencing homelessness.
And she said what is happening after they get into a house has been profound.
“We've got an active cancer person in treatment, a lot of (residents getting) mental health treatment for PTSD from childhood adverse episodes. I mean, it goes on and on,” she said. “And so it's interesting as we get them housed we're getting them connected to a provider that they can get to know and trust and get ongoing consistent treatment.”
Martinson said the city is also working to dispel allegations from some residents that the city’s homeless population is coming here from outside of Weld County.
In fact, she said a city survey revealed the current homeless population has lived in Greeley for an average of almost thirty years.
“We're talking about our family,” she said. "It's just not people coming from wherever to to live in Greeley. They’re ours. And really they are our community.”
Juliana Kitten, Greeley’s assistant city manager, says she takes issue with Weld County Commissioner Mike Freeman’s view that the homeless in Greeley are just in Greeley’s jurisdiction.
“People who live in the city of Greeley also live in Weld County. Right. And we pay our taxes,” she said. “And maybe they think that if you're homeless, you don't pay taxes. But at the same time, I think helping someone get on their feet and get back integrated into the community is really a way to help increase and support all levels. Raises everyone's boats.”
The latest survey of the county’s homeless population found two hundred and sixty six people living without a home on the night of January 24.
High Plains Housing, a small non-profit, is hoping to help bridge that gap with a 56-unit apartment complex for people experiencing homelessness. But construction isn't expected to start until Summer 2024.
Slow it down
There are other obstacles and tension in Greeley’s quest to help people experiencing homelessness.
Epperson was one of 40 residents to attend a community meeting about homelessness in Farr Park.
As city officials gathered under a gazebo, on a scorching hot day in August, several groups of homeless people were sleeping in the shade of large trees.
Some residents vented about a lack of police response to issues in the park, including alleged drug use.
Others called on their elected officials to do more to help with housing insecurity. Despite the feedback,one of the city’s leaders made it clear he’s trying to slow down the Housing First initiative it launched just months ago.
“I believe that if we build that, they will come. More homeless people will come here if we do that,” city councilman Ed Clark said. “I don't have enough votes on the council to slow this thing down, but it needs to slow down.”
He raised questions about the funding for the program and alleged that trying to improve conditions for homeless people in Greeley could lead to an influx in the homeless population.
“The people need to understand that right now we're applying for funds through the federal government and the states,” he said. “But when those funds run out, that free money, they call it, guess who's going to be footing the bill for a thousand people coming to Greeley.”
Research librarian Annie Epperson called Clark’s argument “bunk.”
“People are homeless where they are and they're not like shopping around for spots to be,” she said.
She also said she considers the people experiencing homelessness in Farr Park her neighbors.
“And I believe that it's important to take care of our neighbors,” she said. “They’re my neighbors whether they're sleeping in the park or whether they're just somebody who lives in Greeley.”
Greeley officials say the goal is to finish giving out housing vouchers by February.
