<\/p>\n
Homeless campers living west of Durango have created a governing council and adopted 19 rules for themselves to give order and security to an otherwise disorderly community.<\/p>\n
Some of the self-imposed rules include: Hail other campsites before approaching. Keep noise levels to a minimum after dusk. Donate two hours per week to keep the camp clean. And use designated locations for bathroom needs, which includes burying waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it (Camp Council) was first created, I didn\u2019t expect it to work,\u201d said Tom Bates, one of three councilors on Camp Council. \u201cWe had chaos up there prior to this. Any community that doesn\u2019t have structure, you have chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Homeless residents have camped west of Durango for several years. The La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office used to perform sweeps, in which deputies would go through campsites and place green tags on tents, giving campers a certain number of days to move or face citations and possible seizure of their property.<\/p>\n
This year, the Sheriff\u2019s Office took a different tack by allowing campers to stay in exchange for a certain level of self-policing. So far, the experiment appears successful, with relatively few incidents and more adherence to basic rules, said sheriff\u2019s Deputy Ed Aber, who acts as a liaison to the homeless camp.<\/p>\n
Aber said Camp Council started with five of his own rules, including: pick up after yourselves, no criminal activity, don\u2019t camp on trailheads, keep campsites small and don\u2019t harass trail users. After that, camp leaders began adding their own rules, including no more than four people per campsite \u201cbecause then it\u2019s just a party\u201d as one camp host said.<\/p>\n
Giving campers a permanent home and creating Camp Council has created a safer environment, Aber said. Homeless residents are more willing to report crimes because they no longer fear retribution for camping illegally. It is similar to allowing residents who have entered the country illegally to report crimes without fear of deportation, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I was trying to do was create a harmonious environment where we weren\u2019t having negative interaction with the trail users or mutual harassment back and forth,\u201d Aber said. \u201c\u2026 There\u2019s a trust that wasn\u2019t there before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camp Council is less formal than a traditional governing body: It has no budget, no set meeting times, doesn\u2019t publicly notice meetings, doesn\u2019t keep minutes and doesn\u2019t follow Robert\u2019s Rules of Order \u2013 a standard often used for group decision-making. Instead, councilors meet informally when necessary and conduct weekly \u201ccommunity meetings\u201d at Manna soup kitchen, which are attended by dozens of residents who want to share concerns or stay informed.<\/p>\n
In addition to three councilors, there are four campground hosts who help oversee compliance with the rules and report violations or concerns to Camp Council. Only councilors have voting powers; majority rules.<\/p>\n
The Council derives its power from the Sheriff\u2019s Office, which enforces decisions made by the Council. In other words, if the Council votes to temporarily or permanently ban someone from the campsite for failing to obey the rules, the Sheriff\u2019s Office enforces the edict.<\/p>\n
About six campers were temporarily or permanently banished this year, Bates said.<\/p>\n
Two of those expulsions occurred around Sept. 13 when one man stabbed another man<\/a> after being attacked. The initial aggressor was given a one-month expulsion, and the man who did the stabbing was permanently expelled based on other actions, Bates said. The Sheriff\u2019s Office investigated but didn\u2019t file any charges, saying the man who stabbed the other man was acting in self-defense.<\/p>\n The kerfuffle greatly upset other campers, who stayed up late trying to figure out what happened and if it might result in them losing their campground, Bates said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had that shock and horror going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Otherwise, the Council tries to maintain peace and create unity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really like any community where we have an HOA or community watch \u2013 we\u2019re all looking out for each other,\u201d said Jessica Hill, a campground host. \u201cWe\u2019re all coming together as a family and doing what we need to do, and it\u2019s really working out well.\u201d<\/p>\n Having a permanent campground with a social order has helped give structure to residents\u2019 lives, Hill said. Before having a sanctioned spot, residents worried about leaving personal belongings behind for the day for fear of theft or seizure by law enforcement.<\/p>\n It is difficult to apply for jobs and to be taken seriously by potential employers when applicants show up with all of their personal belongings on their backs, Hill said. The camp has given residents a sense of security and stability, she said; they no longer worry about relocating at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n \u201cI can leave my home up there and not worry about people stealing from me, for the most part,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI don\u2019t have to pack my entire house on my back every day and worry. So I\u2019m really pleased with the way things have evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n She also thinks it has reduced the amount of panhandling downtown because more homeless residents are able to maintain jobs now that they have a secure location to call home.<\/p>\n Hill and Bates have lived in the area west of Durango for about three years. They became leaders almost by default because of their tenure.<\/p>\n Since becoming a campground host, Hill said she stopped panhandling downtown and has a greater sense of meaning in her life.<\/p>\n \u201cI panhandled downtown for two years solid every day like it was a full-time job because I took it seriously,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI made decent money because I treated it like my business. I was respectful of the business owners down there, I was clean, I didn\u2019t swear. It was my storefront, plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n She has since learned that \u201cGod provides\u201d and says too many people would be mad at her if she returned to panhandling. \u201cThey want better for me, and they see that I\u2019m pushing for better for myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bates also said he has noticed a difference in homeless residents\u2019 lives because they have a permanent campground.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot more determination, I\u2019ve seen a lot more willingness, I\u2019ve seen less people down in town panhandling because people would rather work than fly a sign, because they\u2019ve got a permanent place that they can leave their stuff and go out and find a job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bates also serves as the homeless-outreach coordinator for the Business Improvement District, which means he tries to keep other homeless residents in line and answers tourists\u2019 questions about anything and everything.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t try to prevent residents from panhandling, saying everyone needs money to survive. But he tries to prevent panhandlers from being overly aggressive. Some blow him off, he said, in which case he will tell a police officer to keep an eye on those individuals.<\/p>\n Some campground residents have tried to challenge the council\u2019s authority, but Bates said he sticks to his guns.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you believe in something bigger than yourself, you have to be willing to stand tall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The homeless can be a tough population to manage. Some have criminal backgrounds, mental-health problems or severe substance-abuse problems. Those problems are not unique to homeless residents, Bates said, but camp leaders must be careful about how they approach certain people and situations.<\/p>\n Alcohol is allowed at the campsites, but \u201cmoderation is the key,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got one rule when it comes to drugs or alcohol: Do it, don\u2019t let it do you.\u201d<\/p>\n The number of campers on the county-owned property has grown from about a dozen campsites three years ago to about 45 campsites this summer, Bates said. Each site can have between one and four campers.<\/p>\n Camp Council approached Aber earlier this year to ask for a dumpster and portable toilet at the campground. Aber accommodated both requests. The dumpster helps keep the camp clean, and two portable toilets are emptied once a week.<\/p>\n Bates and Aber recently took a trip to Denver to attend a workshop about other homeless camps and permanent supportive housing. They also visited a homeless camp in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to see what they are doing that might be adopted locally. La Plata County Commissioner Julie Westendorff joined them on that trip. One thing homeless residents have advocated for locally are lockers so they can store backpacks and other belongings.<\/p>\n Bates said homeless residents are always grateful for donations that can help them survive. Camp Council also accepts donations, including blankets, first-aid kits and other goods that can be given away as needed. Likewise, if anyone is experiencing homelessness and needs help, he encourages them to seek out a campground leader.<\/p>\n Some residents are one paycheck away from homelessness, Bates said. Camp Council serves as a resource to anyone needing help to stay warm, safe and well-fed, Bates said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of knowledge and a lot of talent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n