Opinion Columnists | Robert Underwood: Loveland homeless resource center is the best solution to a complex problem

In regard to Mr. Calaway's Oct. 15 response to my rebuttal to his op-ed "Loveland homeless resource center is just another Baloney Joe's." I respectfully disagree with the many misleading statements he made.

First of all, it is ludicrous to think the 24/7 Resource Center "will go looking for clients to provide services to." The center will focus on providing services to Loveland residents experiencing homelessness. Yes, it will be a partner with the Northern Colorado Continuum of Care in order to share in the resources at a state level that address the many needs of the homeless, including transitioning these people into housing.

It is difficult to find data about the correlation between crime and homelessness in Loveland. Some patterns begin to appear when searching for information from around the country. Homeless people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse are more likely to be victims of violent crime; the majority of homeless individuals jailed are arrested for misdemeanor crimes such petty theft, public intoxication, and trespassing. In 2022, Loveland experienced the latter when it shut down the homeless encampments located in the King's Crossing Natural Area and other local open spaces. Those displaced homeless people who couldn't get shelter space from the city began finding spaces in downtown Loveland.

According to Bob Coleman, Loveland police public information officer, in an article published in the Loveland Reporter Herald on June 24, 2023, "In 2022, Loveland police officers made 379 arrests among Loveland's homeless community, about 12% of the 2,925 total arrests made city-wide. ... Most were for trespassing, violations of the unauthorized camping ban or other misdemeanor crimes, and a handful of arrests for assault, drug possession and harassment."

Coleman stated, "You can't enforce your way out of it. It's not just a PD problem. It's going to be a bunch of disciplines -- mental health, substance abuse."

The resource center offers possible solutions to some of these problems. Currently, Loveland's homeless services are split into three locations: tents for overnight stays at the South Railroad Facility, meals at the Community Kitchen, and the Loveland Resource Center. Consolidating these services into one location will greatly reduce the transient foot traffic in the downtown area. It will also reduce transient-related calls to the police because the center has an appropriate space to accommodate a large group of people, and resources available for mental health and substance abuse counseling.

In regard to Mr. Calaway's concerns about the resource center becoming a "permanent facility and drop off point for the homeless," yes, it will be permanent until such a time that homelessness ceases to exist. It will not be a drop-off point for the homeless; the Homeward Alliance and the Loveland Homeless Task Force have made that clear in their public presentations. The "outreach programs" are not self-serving in regard to increasing the number of people using the services at the resource center. For example, if LPD identifies an individual that is homeless and is suffering a mental health crisis, it makes more sense for trained staff members from the resource center to work with that person, and possibly take them to the center.

As far as the size of the 24/7 resource center, there is no sinister plot to fill the structure with as many homeless people as is possible. The structure itself, the First Christian Church, takes up a modest portion of the 4-acre property, which is made up mostly of turf and asphalt. The site was chosen by the Loveland Homeless Task Force and Homeward Alliance for a variety of reasons -- it is located on 287, public bus access, not in downtown Loveland, it has a building that has at least 12,000 square feet, fewer neighbors, bordered by a cemetery to south and west of property. The facility will also offer onsite showers, commercial kitchen, dining area, multiple restrooms, and an outside courtyard.

The 24/7 Resource Center could be one of the best solutions to a complex problem. Local restaurateur Clay Caldwell summed it up this way, "It's not entirely a city problem, it's a community problem. The effort is going to have to take a lot of different approaches to make it effective."