In the small town of Durango, the first thing many people notice is the town surrounded by amazing mountains. Many people travel from all over the country to visit Durango. Although it is one of the most beautiful places, there are still many homeless and unemployed people living on the streets. Out of the 17,557 people living in the Durango, 4.4 percent of them are unemployed. Statistics say there is a job growth of 5.16 percent. They predict the future job growth over the next 10 years will be 45.9 percent.
Homeless people endure all sorts of things. There are hundreds of reasons why someone is homeless or unemployed. They could be simple things such as dropping out of school to work to try to survive. Maybe they were fired, or maybe they don’t get paid enough to keep up with the cost of living. But there are also other times where it could be a consequence of trauma or life circumstances. Car accidents, major illnesses and so on. Most people live paycheck to paycheck.
Homeless people aren’t the only ones close to being homeless. Many people in Durango are at or below poverty. Durango School District 9-R spokeswoman Julie Popp says, “About 36 percent of the students in the district are at or below the poverty level, and it’s higher at some schools, like Animas Valley Elementary School, where it’s more than 50 percent. There are numerous families living in motels.”
The median household income is $53,173, which includes all children and adults. The income per capita is $29,656. Durango is a great place to live, but wages are decreasing for the cost of living, and Durango depends mainly on restaurants and tourism. It also has a college in the town, which means there’s even more competition for jobs. Not only that but it is hard to save here.
The people of Durango should come together as a community and help the homeless find jobs, food and homes. No one should have to be living like that. What if it was you?
Brianna Martinez
Durango
