Purple Cliff residents, unable to take all of their possessions with them when they are forced off La Plata County land by Sept. 30, have relief coming in the form of Community Compassion Outreach and the Neighbors in Need Alliance, two Durango-based nonprofits.
Those who sign up with CCO before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday will be able to put their belongings into storage bins or construction-grade garbage bags provided by NINA and place them in a CCO-sponsored Hercules metal storage container at the Tech Center in west Durango.
CCO will pick up packed bags and bins at 10 a.m. Thursday. Residents will be able to store their belongings for up to six months. CCO’s executive director, Donna Mae Baukat, emphasized that the organization is not a storage company and access to its storage container is limited, except in cases of emergency. Those with items in the container will be notified before the six-month cutoff.
Each person or family will load and unload their own belongings to ensure none of CCO’s staff members handle their possessions. Once the person or family has placed items in the container, a photograph will be taken of the owner standing in front of his or her belongings for future reference. Only the photographed person will be allowed access to the tagged items.
Once items are stored, residents will be dropped off at the Transit Center or back at Purple Cliffs, if necessary. Residents can also bring their dogs when dropping off items at the Tech Center, but only one dog that weighs no more than 15 pounds per person/family will be allowed to be transported. Aggressive dogs will not be allowed to accompany owners when being transported.
CCO will need at least 24-hours notice to make arrangements to pick up Purple Cliffs residents and take them to the storage container. Those interested in storing their belongings can call (970) 236-2313.
“Our peer-support professionals staff have gathered names and contact information already,” Baukat said. “We hope there will be more people deciding to participate.”
molsen@durangoherald.com
