A small Colorado mountain town already struggling with a housing crisis has been inundated by more than 120 Venezuelan immigrants seeking refuge.
Immigrants have reportedly been drawn to the city of Carbondale (6,181 feet above sea level and 25 miles from an interstate) in hopes of working in a city they had heard had a severe shortage of jobs. workforce in the ski and hospitality industries, as well as in construction.
But many residents of the town of less than 7,000 people are finding themselves excluded from the community that increasingly attracts tourists to its artsy downtown, without enough housing even for ski resort employees, 9News reports.
“We don’t want to become a destination for people,” Mayor Ben Bohmfalk told the local news station.
“We cannot accept more people than we have now. “We have really surpassed what we can handle.”
The city has been battling the migrant crisis since a group of 80 Venezuelan men were found living under a local bridge.
Carbondale, Colorado, has been struggling with the immigration crisis since a group of 80 Venezuelan men were found living under a local bridge. REUTERS
Since then, local officials have said, even more have come, including some women and children.
Some have taken refuge in hotels, with the support of local organizations. Others are living out of their cars as temperatures in the area drop below freezing.
About 20 more immigrants are housed inside the city hall meeting room, while another 60 are housed in the gymnasium of the Third Street Center, a former elementary school that now rents space to artists and a ballet studio.
It was supposed to be a short-term solution, since the showers are located blocks away, according to the Washington Post.
Many residents of the town of fewer than 7,000 are finding themselves excluded from the community that increasingly attracts tourists to its artsy downtown, without enough housing even for ski resort employees. REUTERS
For the past month, residents have complained that garbage is piling up outside, and migrants staying inside the makeshift shelter report that pipes are constantly clogged.
But as winter approaches, Third Street Center agreed to extend its agreement, although it said it would reduce its occupant load from 60 to 45, making it more difficult for city officials to house those who remain.
“Carbondale is generally pretty Democratic and liberal, so we get a lot of ‘You’re doing the right thing’ comments,” Third Street Center director Colin Laird told the Washington Post.
“Unfortunately we no longer have the capacity to do the right thing.”
City Manager Marty Silverstein added, “While I have a lot of sympathy for our new residents, we have people who have been living here for five or 10 years who are struggling badly.”
The immigrants have reportedly been attracted by the hope of working in a city that they had heard had a severe labor shortage in the ski and hospitality industries, as well as in construction. REUTERS
Still, the board has committed to supporting housing for up to 100 people through March and recruited a former schools superintendent to manage the situation.
In his new role, Rob Stein said the city is working to finalize a shelter agreement for 20 more people and establish a fourth shelter for women and children, according to the Aspen Daily News.
But officials are struggling to find space for these shelters, and more than a dozen sites in the region are refusing to provide assistance, according to City Manager Lauren Gister, who once counted more than 140 migrants in the city.
He added that nearby cities and counties have only offered to send cots and COVID tests.
“If we ignore the problem, we could create permanent homelessness in the Roaring Fork Valley at levels never seen before,” Alex Sánchez, executive director of Voces Unidas, a regional advocacy group, told Aspen Public Radio.
“People will die at the end of the day if we continue to see this lack of structure and coordination.”
Mayor Ben Bohmfalk said the immigrants “effectively increased the city’s homeless population by approximately 500% and increased the city’s population by 2%.” fake images
Gister said she is also concerned about staffing more shelters.
Local organizations and municipalities are already understaffed, he noted, and shelters would require bilingual staff for daily operations.
To try to cope with the influx, Bohmfalk requested nearly $224,000 in emergency state funds earlier this month.
He noted in his letter to the state that immigrants “effectively increased the city’s homeless population by approximately 500% and increased the city’s population by 2%.”
Bohmfalk says he is disappointed by the lack of support from state and federal agencies.
Bohmfalk says he is disappointed by the lack of support from state and federal agencies. fake images
“When we talk to our supporters at the Department of Local Affairs and say, ‘Is there state support for this or federal support?’ Is there an agency that intervenes when this happens in a community?’ They basically said, ‘No,’” he told CBS Colorado.
The mayor warns his counterparts in the region to prepare for a humanitarian crisis: “You will probably soon feel these impacts in your community.”
In the meantime, he warns immigrants to stay away.
“We don’t want people to see these stories and think, ‘Oh, Carbondale is the place to go. They’re really welcoming,’” she told 9News.
“We are not at all equipped to accommodate more people.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn