“It’s nice to know the folks here have shelter to go to. We’ll see what the next phase brings, but it buys us some more time,” Carbondale Trustee Colin Laird said on Jan. 30.
In more than one way, Laird has been on the frontlines of Carbondale’s response to the recent influx of more than 100 newcomers, mostly from Venezuela and without work permits. As executive director of the Third Street Center, Laird was thrust into the role of emergency management coordinator while locals rallied to provide basic support for at least 70 people discovered to be camping in cars beneath a bridge at the entrance to town.
As outlined in a memo to other town trustees (www.bit.ly/Jan9memo), Laird sees the clear need for a more regional response to assisting the Valley’s growing unhoused population. While the current situation has driven it to an extreme, the need has and will continue to exist as even longtime locals are priced out of rentals.
Although the Third Street Center was intended to serve as a short-term emergency shelter, it took the Town more than 70 days to procure an alternative. Even then, the Carbondale Community United Methodist Church was the only option that surfaced, with room for just 20 people, and the Town fell back on dividing its municipal meeting room in half to accommodate another 20.
The challenge is not unique to Carbondale. Even Denver, with significantly more resources for transitional housing, reached a point of desperation in early January with over 4,400 migrants being temporarily housed in hotels and hundreds more arriving daily.
Although Venezuelans who arrived in the United States prior to August 2023 qualify for Temporary Protected Status and a work permit, it’s a process that takes months at best, if not over a year.
Organizing legal clinics to file the necessary paperwork and get the process rolling is one crucial piece for helping the Venzuelans who are eager to work to become self-sustaining. In early January, Voces Unidas gathered nine attorneys and other volunteers who successfully completed applications for 16 people. A second clinic is being planned for February. It’s a role the advocacy nonprofit feels more at home with, after initially bringing the crisis to light and helping to manage the shelter response.
Voces Unidas spent nearly $80,000 in direct assistance and advocacy efforts, president and CEO Alex Sánchez told The Sopris Sun. An emergency fund, now closed, received $35,600 in donations from individuals and businesses. This money was allocated toward City Market gift cards, Visa cards to assist people with hotels and transportation when the shelter was full, hot meals when no volunteers signed up, reimbursements to other nonprofits, transitional housing costs, legal clinic costs, interpreters and other professional services.
The Town of Carbondale since received $223,880 from the state’s Department of Local Affairs to assist with sheltering and custodial services, security, case management and other needs. Aspen Community Foundation also set up a fund for the Town which has raised a little more than $12,000 and is yet to be utilized (www.aspencommunityfoundation.networkforgood.com). Some of this funding, The Sopris Sun was told, could go toward organizing a regional response.
The Town of Carbondale’s clearly stated intention is to begin winding down its response by the end of March. Transportation is already being offered to people who decide they’d like to move on. When the weather warms and more day labor jobs are available, however, it’s inevitable that others will arrive in search of work.
Why are they here?
What dynamics have prompted the Venezuelans to leave their home country, risking their lives by crossing multiple borders, often by foot and without resources?
More than 7.7 million people have fled Venezuela due to an economic crisis attributed to the government of Hugo Chávez (succeeded by Nicolás Maduro) and exacerbated by foreign sanctions. In 2022, the country reported an inflation rate of 234%.
How can people help?
Since Jan. 8, meals have been offered on weekday evenings at Crystal River Elementary School. Meanwhile, all breakfasts and weekend meals are being covered by volunteers. To help out, contact newcomersresponse@carbondaleco.net
Age-Friendly Carbondale is renting a storage unit, first acquired in November with help from Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist and the Aspen Jewish Congregation. Sopris Self Storage provided the first two months at a highly discounted rate. Volunteer Niki Delson is posting updates and requests on the Carbondale Facebook page and Age-Friendly Carbondale intends to keep the unit through the end of March. They will then attempt to store quality items in basements and garages in case the need resurfaces.