This month, I’m rolling up my sleeves to discuss what is probably the most controversial topic I have encountered as Mayor - homelessness.  Not only is the subject controversial, but it is usually the one that is most misunderstood or couched in rumors and misinformation.  

Many of you might know that City Council voted to keep St. Benedict at their May 7 meeting and some might wonder why.  For me, it carried so much weight that the Alamosa Sheriff’s Office and Alamosa Police Department both recommended that St. Benedict should remain open. Additionally, the Homeless Coalition recommended that St. Benedict remain open as long as the enforcement of the rules continues.   

That brings me to the next key consideration, which is the enforcement of the rules. Under the leadership of Chief George Dingfelder, our police department greatly increased the enforcement of rules for the campsite and the City Council also adopted more rules to ensure accountability and reduce nuisance behaviors. 

Because of this increased enforcement, we saw a dramatic drop in calls for police, fire, and ambulance services. Previous to the increased enforcement, the police department was averaging about 17 calls per month. After the increase in enforcement, they are averaging 4 calls per month. We saw calls for assaults, violent/sexual assault/domestic violence, and unattended deaths drop to zero. The environmental and cleanliness concerns were addressed. Simply put, the enforcement of the rules resulted in certain individuals being trespassed and those who remained coming into compliance.  

Finally, the input provided by community members had changed significantly since the City Council last considered closing St. Benedict in August of 2024. In 2024, at least half of the input provided to the City Council through phone calls, emails, and public comment at the meeting urged us to close the campsite. 

Additionally, during that time, almost everyone who spoke both in favor and opposed to the campsite noted that changes needed to happen in order to improve the conditions of the campsite and its impact on surrounding properties. 

During this discussion in 2025, the amount of public input received to close the campsite dropped dramatically. In fact, no one who attended the meeting urged us to close the campsite.    

It is important to note that St. Benedict will not solve homelessness. That solution lies in national and state investment for housing, mental health, substance use treatment, and jobs.  

The city will continue to work with housing partners to address the housing crisis, work with businesses to help grow the economy and create jobs and support our Co-Responder and LEAD programs to connect individuals with existing community support networks and get on a path of healing. 

The city will continue to provide funding for bus tickets for those individuals who feel that they would be more successful in a different community. 

However, since approximately half of the homeless individuals we have encountered over the past several years are from the San Luis Valley, this is a local issue that is not going away. 

We remain hopeful that our continued focus and dedicated efforts will lead to meaningful and positive ways to address homelessness. 

Have a super-fantastic day and don’t let anyone steal your joy! 

Ty Coleman is mayor of Alamosa.