Winter weather highlights Colorado Springs' homeless conundrum

Even on one of the coldest nights of the season so far, there were still people sleeping outside Thursday night.

Businesses in Old Colorado City say they are of two minds when it comes to the homeless camp that recently sprung up near their buildings. They tell 11 News their customers are concerned because they've been harassed, but they are also worried for the people camping out in the cold.

"It's really cold and dangerous. If you don't have the right gear on, you could freeze to death."

Lt. Mike Lux is part of the CSPD Homeless Outreach Team, or HOT. He says winter is a difficult time of year.

"There’s the compassionate side that says, 'Hey, I don’t have a place to stay, where do you want me to go?' That’s from the homeless community. Then there’s [sic] the people who see this in their own backyard. There’s always the ripple effect to people living outside. So people who own the property or live next to the property are upset,” he told 11 News.

He said Springs Rescue Mission, Colorado Springs' primary shelter, is 50 over capacity right now.

"What they said is they won’t turn anyone away; they’ll put mats down because of the extremely cold weather.”

Lux said his team is making the rounds letting people know that.

“With the extreme cold, I had the teams out early this morning to see if everyone was OK and to let them know there is available shelter space in Colorado Springs. It might be limited space and it might be a mat, but at least it’s a warm place to stay.”

But many homeless are turning to the outside anyway.

"Once you get used to this, you're really uncomfortable being inside," Christina Thompson said.

Thompson is one of the many area transients making a home on a 1 1/2-mile stretch of land known as "No Man's Land," which straddles Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs along 30th Street. Thompson says the proximity to businesses and restaurants is convenient for people like her.

"Physically, I'm not able to walk six or eight blocks to get things."

And except for the most dangerously cold nights, shelters do have to turn people away. Lux says even if the shelters were completely empty, there wouldn't be enough room for the roughly 1,400 people surveyed in the Springs who say they are homeless. The shelters can only hold about 500 people max.

In other words, there will always be some who camp. And though police give out tickets --

"Once we clean up a camp, it doesn't mean it's not going to be reused. It's normally reused within days. We clean up a camp ... two days later, we're right back there in the same spot."

There is no easy solution in Colorado Springs, Lux said.

"There's just too many people and right now we just don't have the space available for them at alternative shelters. ... According to our city attorney, that's [not being able to pay tickets] an issue. According to our homeless community, that's an issue."

Lux told 11 News that if someone is trespassing at a business or residence, law enforcement will get involved. But as far as illegally camping, just giving out tickets doesn't work. There's no address to send a summons, so the homeless person will usually end up with a failure to appear warrant. If they're arrested and go to jail, it just adds to the jail overcrowding. It's not solving the problem, Lux said, it's just moving it elsewhere.

With no obvious fix, Lux called for people to be understanding of each other as fellow human beings.

"I'd say to both of them, you have to look at both sides. We have to make sure we go by the law and we treat each people like they're human beings. ... We just don't have right now enough shelter space to shelter everyone in Colorado Springs."

HOT is looking at how bigger cities are dealing with the homeless population to find ways to help in Colorado Springs.