Housing Solutions Summit July 14th
Description: A Letter to The Editor from Dee Leyba with Arkansas Valley Communities That Care concerning the Southeast Colorado housing crisis.
A SECO News Community Column
By: Dee Leyba - Arkansas Valley Communities That Care
It’s really no secret there’s a housing crisis (among other things) in our area.
Let me share a personal example:
There is a young couple (early 20s) in my neighborhood that both work full time, rent a house on the corner, have two dogs and are quite lovely. They take care of the property, their dogs, no complaints. When they paid their June rent, they learned that the landlord has sold their home and now need to be out by August instead of January, when the lease is up. Surely they have some recourse but too many people don’t have an understanding of how all that works. This couple now must try to find a new home (there are none available), save 1st & last month rent and deposit (while paying on their current home), and save to transfer utilities – if they can find a landlord that will take pets, let alone two dogs. Again, this is a two-income household.
There are many people out there like this couple. These are the people that work in our grocery stores, are teachers or support staff in our schools, the folks we once referred to as ‘essential workers’ at the height of the pandemic. You know what else? These folks also have children that will feel the ripple effect of these very real and very stressful situations. We struggle with behavioral and mental health issues across agencies like school, family court, human services, law enforcement.
The fact that people within our community are one emergency or unexpected event away from homelessness should be enough to pause and re-evaluate what it really means when we say, “It Takes A Village.” I know many of you are like me and lie awake at night trying to figure out how to save the world and still ask, “But what can *we* do, realistically?”
I’m glad you asked. We can start here; we can start at home. Helping our youth by helping our neighbors, and we can start by attending this Southeast Housing Solutions Summit to better understand how to make an impact in our community. 100 people with 1% of a solution still contribute 100%.
Here is the link for more information. Click the image to take you to the registration page:
Southeast Housing Solutions Summit
Related Links:
2021 Southeast Colorado Unhoused Count
Otero Junior College 1802 Colorado Ave. La Junta, Colorado.
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