ALAMOSA — City council got updates at the meeting Wednesday night from three key programs, including Boys and Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley (BGCSLV), Habitat for Humanity, and LEAD – Alamosa Police Department’s (APD) Co-responder Department. 

Aaron Miltenberger, CEO of BGCSLV, gave a brief synopsis of what the organization has been doing, starting with the significant growth that has taken place since he assumed a leadership position almost seven years ago.  

When Miltenberger started, the only BGCSLV facility in existence was the one still operating on Highway 285. However, seven additional sites have since been added, including Mountain Valley in Saguache County, Moffat, Crestone, Center, Sangre de Cristo, Antonito and an arcade that recently opened in San Luis. 

In 2024, BGCSLV had 789 members across the Valley, resulting in 31,554 member visits and, in Alamosa, an 89.8 average daily attendance.  There were also 28,749 healthy snacks served. 

BGCSLV also has a constellation of teams working on different tasks, including a team working on youth homelessness prevention, substance abuse and prevention plus a Resource Group that’s been hard at work lining kids up with dental appointments and buying shoes for those kids in need. 

“We do a lot more than tutoring and homework help,” Miltenberger said. 

In their facility on San Juan, BGCSLV was recently licensed with a commercial kitchen, has a garage space on site where kids are learning basic vehicle maintenance, and a gear library has been created where members can check out hiking gear plus weather ready clothing like the jackets recently donated by Melanzana.  

Miltenberger also reminded council of the BGCSLV of the Youth of the Year annual breakfast scheduled for March 25 at 7 a.m. 

At the close of his presentation, members were truly effusive in their praise of all Miltenberger has accomplished. 

Audrey Liu presented on Habitat for Humanity, noting this marks the 30th year Habitat for Humanity has been in the Valley.  Liu spoke very briefly, highlighting the enormous impact the program has had on individual lives by not just supporting a person owning their own home but the tangential skills and abilities gained in the process, such as self-sufficiency and home maintenance. She also said the funding Habitat for Humanity received from the city had purchased windows and doors for the program’s most recent participant. 

Again, council had very good things to say. 

The final update came from LEAD and the Alamosa Police Department co-responder department.  

Clarissa Woodworth briefly summarized the accomplishments and challenges the program is experiencing, starting with the good news that referrals are happening quickly. The organization is still encountering a high number of people with mental health needs and continues to find the best ways to work with people who “really don’t want to work with anybody.”  Woodworth also let council know LEAD may be looking at a 12% reduction in funds next year due to the budget shortfall at the state level. 

Finally, Woodworth praised the increased communication between LEAD and APD. 

Sergeant William Squires, who supervises the co-responder program and is the point person for law enforcement agencies making referrals to LEAD, updated council on some of the significant strides the department was making, starting with getting people resources at level that hadn’t happened before. 

“The resources may have been there before,” he said, “but we didn’t know how to access them.” 

Those resources included lining people up with the right service provider and, to date, getting 4 four people into treatment at either rehab facilities or facilities treating mental health issues.  

Also, in a first not just for the valley but the state, APD managed to have a person involuntarily committed to a facility where they will get much needed treatment. Squires described that as a major win for the individual and credited case manager Stephanie Johnson with having the background knowledge and experience to make that happen. 

“This woman is just driving us forward,” he said. 

Squires reported that APD has made seven deferments – that is, referring to LEAD instead of going through the court system when they feel low level criminal behavior may be the result of another issue. “Referrals to the LEAD program are up across the valley,” he said, stating that he had been in contact with Monte Vista Police Department and Alamosa Sheriff’s Office about LEAD. He believes the Center Police Department will begin making referrals once the department goes through somewhat of a transition and expects to be speaking with Rio Grande Sheriff’s Office, Del Norte Police Department and South Park Police Department at some point. 

Co-responders have answered 98 calls in the last 3 months, a number which does not include the significant amount of communication that takes place after hours that co-responders then address the next day when they’re on duty. 

Staff with the co-responder department have also assisted the Alamosa Sheriff’s Office (ASO) at the jail.  ASO went for an extended period of time without any behavioral health support and, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, co-responders are spending up to 16 hours a month at the jail, either intervening with someone who is experiencing a crisis or their case manager doing an onsite assessment. 

Squires also discussed the fact that the police officers are more open to the co-responder program than they have been in the past, which he attributes to two things. 

“It’s because of the delivery system,” he said, referring to a police officer presenting the co-responder program to other police officers. Prior to being charged with supervising the co-responders, Squires was a patrol officer for a number of years and feels that “cops talk to cops differently” than people who have not had that experience. That common shared background and experience paves the way for patrol officers understanding at a more fundamental level how beneficial a co-responder program can be. 

Squires also credits APD Chief Dingfelder for having all officers trained in “Crisis Intervention Team” training, training Squires believes helps those in law enforcement “listen to people differently than maybe they have before.” 

At the end of his presentation, council members were highly complimentary of the work being done by the co-responder program, praising the city with having the forethought to create the program in the first place and Squires and staff having the skills to do such a good job.