PUEBLO — The city of Pueblo is taking ownership of the Pueblo Rescue Mission after weeks of uncertainty about whether it would stay open. The deeds of the mission's two buildings on West 4th Street were signed over to the city.
As the city searches for a new shelter operator, several organizations stepped up to help ensure no services will be taken away.
"In the end, the city's responsible for their citizens," said a mission resident, Matthew Hernandez.
For the last several weeks, the Pueblo Rescue Mission has not had the staff to operate during the day.
"You have to be at 7 o'clock in the morning and you have until 9 o'clock at night before you can come back in," said Hernandez.
The city said this comes after two executive directors left the Pueblo Rescue Mission and a financial scandal from a former employee.
"As part of the drama of all of this, a staff member at the mission stole money from these residents," claimed SafeSide Recovery Center's president, Rob Miller.
SafeSide partners with the Pueblo Rescue Mission to help unhoused individuals recover from addiction.
"The investigation regarding the financial misconduct remains ongoing and is being conducted by the Pueblo Police Department," said the city in a statement.
"Three days ago, nobody knew what was going to happen and the community and leadership in Pueblo has just stepped up and found a solution," said Miller.
SafeSide has been providing more daytime help and programming for Pueblo Rescue Mission Residents.
"I've had more hugs in the last month in my life," said Miller.
At the next city council meeting, providing emergency funding for the shelter will be up for a vote.
City leaders plan to choose a new shelter operator by the of this year.
News5 previously spoke with Pueblo Rescue Mission leadership when the future was, "TBD."
Ken Wood is one of the board members at the Pueblo Rescue Mission. In an email, he said the future of this homeless shelter is to be determined.
“TBD . . . we are actively discerning our capacity to continue to serve the homeless at their point of greatest need,” Wood stated.
He wrote the shelter's hours have been reduced with no daytime services offered and they are transitioning to be only an overnight shelter in the near future. This leaves many people relying on the shelter's services unsure of what to do next.
“A lot of good people in here, good hearts, good people that need somewhere to stay, need that stability, somewhere to be and somewhere to lighten their load and something to look forward to, you know... a leg to stand on, and now it's being kicked out from under them,” Joseph Hampton, a part of the residency program at the Pueblo Rescue Mission said. “We stay here. We got a bunk, a little place to keep our food and everything we're in, off our feet, and, you know, like little load, a little bit, the backpack, whatnot."
He has been staying at the mission for two weeks.
“It's been a blessing, a lifesaver and just to have it pulled out from under me is devastating,” Hampton said.
Now, Hampton is worried where he sleeps is being taken away.
“Having a structure and stability right here was kind of a big deal for me. It's kept me out of the elements and everything and actually, just for it to have us, have it pulled away from us, I know what I'm gonna do,” Hampton said. “Just that sense of stability and structure is all the difference in my world right now.”
Wood said the funding for the shelter comes approximately 75% from grants and 25% from donations and this year's individual donations are down 39% from last year.
According to past KOAA News5 reporting, the shelter has received grants and donations. So where did all the money go?
“All grant money and donations have been allocated to appropriate expenses. At the beginning of the year and through our transition to a new Executive Director, there was a lapse in acquiring new grant funding that has led to significant financial shortfalls,” Wood states.
Josh Lane has been serving as the Executive Director of the Pueblo Rescue Mission for a little over two months, but he tells me he stepped down from that position on Tuesday. Other members of the leadership team have also left.
Wood wrote four board members have resigned since June 2024 for various reasons.
Lane said the shelter needs at least $100,000 to continue to provide its services.
According to Wood, “Our typical operating budget is around $60k/month. We are attempting to scale back to around $20-$25k/mo to continue to be sustainable for the short term and offer overnight sheltering.”
We asked Hampton what his plan is going forward if the rescue mission closes its doors.
“I am good to keep on keeping on trying to better myself, better my situation, prosper and grow,” Hampton said.
Wood said it's possible that another agency or group will have to take over the Pueblo Rescue Mission. He wrote, they are trying to avoid closing the doors entirely.
News5 reached out to Mayor Heather Graham to get a statement regarding the future of the Pueblo Rescue Mission and how the possibility of it choosing would affect her efforts in cleaning up the city. The mayor's office provided us with this statement.
"The City of Pueblo has continually invested in the Pueblo Rescue Mission through grant writing initiatives, authorization of CBDG funding for the purchase of the Porchlight campus and allocation of general fund dollars to meet operational cost needs. In addition, the City purchased the vacant building next door to the main campus and has since demolished it with the planned intent to use it to further serve the unhoused population. The City has made every attempt to help the Pueblo Rescue Mission be successful as they serve Pueblo's unhoused population.
While the City does not own or have any organizational oversight of the 728 W. 4th St. building, the City has engaged in multiple conversations regarding the Porchlight campus located at 710 W. 4th St. which the Pueblo Rescue Mission purchased through CBDG funds in fall of 2023. The Porchlight campus has not been available for overflow emergency sheltering since December 2023 because of needed sewer repair work. As early as February 2024, the City of Pueblo requested the Pueblo Rescue Mission to deed the building back to the City so it could pay for repairs and maintain the building going forward which would have allowed the Pueblo Rescue Mission to focus its funds on programming and direct assistance to the unhoused population. The City of Pueblo’s efforts were refused by some members of the current board and former leadership.
Mayor Graham has continually expressed concern over the Mission’s lack of financial security and the mismanagement of funds since her time on City Council, yet has worked to find a solution to bring long-term, secure shelter to the unhoused community of Pueblo. Unfortunately, the Pueblo Rescue Mission’s Board has failed to come up with a plan to correct the situation which has brought them to their current status of lack of funding and potential closure in the near future.”
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