Have a Heart houses homeless

While families circle around their fireplaces (or space heaters) to keep warm through the cold winter nights, the homeless population of Taos is normally left with no option but to freeze. This winter, however, a full scale effort is being made by multiple organizations to help house the homeless through the coldest months.

The ‘Have a Heart’ campaign aims to put a temporary roof over those without permanent housing. The campaign was kickstarted by the efforts of Jill Cline, youth minister at St. James Episcopal Church in Taos. Cline said that she didn’t realize how bad the homeless problem was until she immersed herself in the cause.

“I just never realized how drastic the need was,” she said, adding that she has received calls from 64 individuals or households over the past eight weeks.

The campaign hopes to raise $60,000 by Feb. 14 in order to help house the homeless population for 90 days, or at least until “they won’t freeze to death,” said Cline. The campaign hopes to provide 10 rooms nightly for 90 days. The first $10,000 in donations will also be matched by the Robert T. Keeler Foundation.

St. James Episcopal Church has partnered with the Taos Community Foundation to have a single source of donations through the foundation. The DreamTree Project, HEART of Taos, Valle del Sol, Inside Out Recovery and the Taos Men’s Shelter are all participating in the cause; Sagebrush Inn & Suites and Hotel Don Fernando de Taos are also offering rooms. Cline said that currently they have about 16 rooms available between all of the spaces, but the need is far greater.

Though the campaign has been successful, there is still a waiting list of 69 people, and according to Cline, there is currently no facility that could handle that many people. However, several community members, including town of Taos manager Rick Bellis, have brought up the idea of leasing an unoccupied wing of a hotel and putting staff on site to take the burden off the hotels.

Cline said working with the homeless population has made her realize just how bad it has become in Taos, and that while the campaign is a start, something more needs to be done.

“The reality is our community has a horrible housing issue and the last eight weeks of my life have made that so abundantly clear,” Cline said. “We have got to come up with a collaborative effort for longer-term solutions.”

In a town council meeting Tuesday (Jan. 26), Bellis said that the problem was indeed bigger than just getting people out of the cold.

“I just think we need to take a long term look at this and separate out what our immediate need is for COVID versus what our longterm approach is,” Bellis said in the meeting. “You aren’t just homeless, you are homeless for a reason. And if you don’t treat the reason, you’re not really solving the problem.”

Cline agreed, adding that it takes a broad look at the interrelatedness of many issues. “Poverty, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, lack of housing and mental health support all go hand in hand. We cannot be looking at one without truly looking at all of it together.”

To donate, go the taoscf.org and click ‘Donate.’

Anyone who finds themselves in these circumstances can call 575-425-1738 to receive help.