City can start with census of those who are homeless

The other day in the TC Line someone asked if we’ve asked the homeless people about their situation. This caught my attention because it’s been weighing heavy on my mind about the homeless who are currently camping out in our parks and streets.

This problem can’t be solved without at least some involvement from them. So, perhaps it would be a good idea to take a census of the homeless.

Ironically, when I started to do some research on this topic it turns out there was a 2017 report put out by the

City of Longmont and Longmont Community Services addressing this very issue. The report may be found here: longmontcolo rado.gov/home/showpub lisheddocument/18101/636281021882 270000.

Here’s a brief summary of the report:

• It’s estimated there are between 80 and 100 homeless people in Longmont.

• This number is assumed to be higher for a number of reasons, including loss of job, substance abuse, relationship breakup and mental illness.

• There are several agencies actively helping this population, but agencies are not coordinating their activities.

This begs several questions from our City Council:

• What is the current census of the homeless people?

• Have the underlying factors changed or remained the same?

• Are we closer to a truly integrated support system for this group of people?

• Does this report need to be refreshed to address new impacts from COVID?

I call upon the Longmont City Council to dust off this report and get to working on the many recommendations outlined in this report and present a new, comprehensive plan to tackle the homeless issues facing our city.