ALAMOSA — What a difference eight months can make.

Wednesday night, members of the Alamosa City Council heard from city residents whether St. Benedict, the encampment for people who are homeless, should stay open.

After listening to comments, council members were unanimous in voting to continue operations. But the context for Wednesday’s vote to keep it open was distinctly different from previous votes held, due to steps taken by Alamosa Police Department (APD).

Wednesday night’s discussion was a follow-up to a meeting last August when a Supreme Court ruling eliminated the legal necessity responsible for St. Benedict being opened. That put the future of the camp in question.

At that time, more than 50 people addressed council, many advocating for the camp, citing the need to help others, and some who were strongly opposed, citing unsanitary conditions, reports of destructive and illegal behavior and a lack of rules being enforced.

Alamosa’s City Manager Heather Sanchez had asked APD Chief George Dingfelder to weigh in. Dingfelder said APD “wants it gone” but, if that wasn’t an option, they would take steps to enforce city ordinances, camp rules and trespass anyone who failed to comply.

Dingfelder – with support from the city – then created a position for APD to oversee St. Benedict operations.  APD Sergeant William Squires was assigned to the task.

Once on site, Squires went from campsite to campsite, informing people of the new rules, discussing consequences if rules were violated and obtaining signatures from those who committed to comply. Rules were then enforced and the camp cleaned up.

Squires periodically updated council with data that showed big changes. There was a drastic drop in general calls for service, including a decline in violent crimes. Patrol officers’ attitude toward St. Benedict had even changed.

“Chief told me to clean up the camp,” he told the Valley Courier. “So, that’s what I did.”

All public comments Wednesday night were in support of keeping St. Benedict open, including from APD. Don Thompson, Dale Cooper, Jamie Keairns, Sam Bozart and many others spoke of the importance in being compassionate and treating people with dignity.

Alamosa County Sheriff Robert Jackson also encouraged the camp stay open but his reason was different from the others. 

When Squires took over operations at St. Benedict, there were about 100 people living there. Some chose to leave, some moved into the shelter and others were given a bus ticket to elsewhere. There are now ten to twelve people living at the camp.

So, where did the people who left or were trespassed go?

Jackson gave a partial answer to that question.

“We walked the river dyke on both sides of the river,” Jackson began. “We saw eight camps and we know there’s more. Heather, we’re right back where we were four years ago [before St. Benedict was opened].

“Conditions are terrible there. The private properties on both sides of the river are trashed again. It smells bad. It’s a public health issue. It’s not fair to the property owners out there.  I’m surprised none of them are here tonight.

“We’ve written 16 trespasses and…” Jackson glanced over at city attorney Erich Schwiesow. “They’re probably going to end up in my jail. And now we’re going to work on restraining orders. They will end up in my jail. That’s how the whole cycle works.

“We talked to some of the individuals and they want to appeal their termination from St. Benedict. I know there are rules they have to follow – I’m not saying to change that. But please consider taking some of them back.

“And please keep the camp open. If you close the camp, you’re going to push more people out there, and it’s not fair to the property owners.”

In their comments prior to voting, Councilor Jamie Dominguez made a point of acknowledging what Jackson was saying.

After thanking the multiple partners who had worked together to better circumstances at St. Benedict, Dominguez said, “And now partnership with the county is our next course correction. Ruthie [Brown, one of the commenters] is right. The people didn’t leave, they just moved. We need to have conversations about how we can facilitate helping the county and still help the people who are homeless - not just pushing them someplace else but really helping them get an apartment or a house or some kind of residence. And the same thing with the people in the Industrial Park. We need to listen to them, too. But collaborating with the county to see whatever is going on there now is our next course correction.”