Last week, the La Plata County commissioners voted to extend the loan of $500,000 to enable Community Investment Alliance to continue piecing together bridge housing for individuals/families experiencing “episodic” homelessness. Bridge housing does not address “chronic” homelessness, but helps those on the cusp of losing their home or because of an unexpected loss of income, are rendered homeless.
Eligibility for bridge housing at the Adventure Inn will be restricted to those who qualify. Many homeless individuals/families possess housing vouchers but are unable to access housing in Durango, a chronic issue in our city county, state and nation.
It is so important to understand the complexity of the burgeoning homelessness. Episodic and chronic homelessness have different causes and require different approaches. We are seeing across the globe that more people are spiraling from episodic into chronic homelessness.
Addressing the homelessness issue is a continuum of care and structural change that requires a broad pallet of resolves and options. The Adventure Inn is a piece of that continuum of care.
The glaring absence in that continuum is no safe place to sleep in Durango for the homeless. In Kalispell, Montana, despite the contempt for homeless people sanctioned by the county officials, the community provides a safe place to sleep in the winter.
Durango may be more subtle in its contempt, but there is no safe place for the homeless to sleep in our city this winter.
Linda Barnes
Durango
