Most people, when confronted with the sight of a “homeless” person, can relate to the first half of that statement. Maybe we’ve even said it ourselves: “Somebody needs to do something about the homeless situation in Greeley.” The truth is, “doing something” about such a complex problem is no easy task, but United Way of Weld County (UWWC) is not only up to the challenge, but together, we are making significant headway with this multifaceted issue.
Homelessness and housing instability must be taken on in our community because there are two important sides to this issue. One side is the humanity side, as human beings we need to remember that the majority of the “homeless” we see around us aren’t just faceless drifters who hitchhiked in or are just passing through, but that they are from Weld County. They are people whose names we know. We rode the school bus with them, their locker was next to ours or maybe we worked our first summer job together. Somehow, their life has taken a different turn than ours and they find themselves in a place of vulnerability and need.
As human beings, we can’t just sit by and watch them suffer, especially if we have the ability to help. In the Bible, the Book of James (4:17) goes as far as to tell us we are sinning if we don’t “do something” when it’s in our ability to do so. Not long ago, we read about two people whose lives were lost while they struggled to keep warm while sleeping in their car. This shouldn’t happen in our community. We will not look away; we will do something.
The second side to this issue is the financial side. Throwing up our hands and doing nothing incurs a tremendous financial cost to our community. Most people who experience homelessness are able to self-resolve with some support within a couple of days. That is what we do at the UWWC Housing Navigation Center. We provide resources and help to divert many individuals from experiencing homelessness in the first place. Unfortunately, not everyone can self-resolve and so they end up living out of doors. If this continues for an extended period of time and includes a disabling mental or physical condition, these folks are considered “chronically homeless.”
Malcom Gladwell wrote a report profiling three chronically homeless men in Reno, Nevada. The report tallied up just the financial cost associated with each man’s chronic homelessness. It factored in emergency room visits, detox stays and police, fire and ambulance responses over a six-month period. The first man profiled ran up bills in excess of $50,000. The second man’s tab was $ 65,000. The third man, whose name was Murray, ran up a bill of over $100,000, again in a six-month period. It was further estimated that in his lifetime, Murray accumulated hospital bills in excess of $1 million earning him the nickname “Million Dollar Murray.”
The work we are doing at the cold weather shelter, the recently opened United Way of Weld County’s Non-Congregate Shelter at Bonell and the Housing Navigation Center comes at a financial cost, no doubt about that. However, the financial cost to our community of ignoring the problem is higher, much higher.
Greeley/Evans is an exceptionally compassionate community, made up of caring people who are not afraid to “do something.” Maybe locking arms with us to end homelessness in our community is your “something.” If you would like to learn more about the work being done, including the progress we have made in nearly ending veteran homelessness in Weld County, click the learn more link to the right contact UWWC at (970) 353-4300.