Edmon Lessley was cheerful as he stood outside the Loveland Resource Center on Tuesday morning, drinking coffee and chatting with other guests. The night before, he was among several dozen people who slept there after the city cleared tents from the municipal plaza and reopened the center for overnight use.
But Lessley’s sunny exterior couldn’t quite hide his worry that the city’s latest move was just a stopgap, not a solution.
“I’m right on the cusp of pulling myself out of the hole,” he said. “Now the tents are gone, Fort Collins isn’t an option and there’s still nowhere permanent to stay.”
The reopening of overnight shelter at the Resource Center on South Lincoln Avenue came a week after the city , which had offered up to 50 overnight beds. The next day, tents began to appear outside city hall as displaced residents tried to draw attention to the fallout of the closure.
By the weekend, the encampment — known to residents as “Camp Hope” — had grown to roughly 50 people, according to Mayor Jacki Marsh, who spent Saturday night among them. On Sunday, as rain moved in, and allowed about 15 people to sleep inside its hallways and in City Council chambers.
Marsh’s decision drew criticism from several colleagues on the City Council and raised questions about whether she overstepped her authority. City staff said Monday that, under Loveland’s municipal code, only the city manager or an authorized designee may change the operating hours of city buildings or approve their use after hours.
Loveland police officers arrived at the plaza later on Monday with instructions for those remaining to pack up and leave. Lessley said people were given about two hours to gather their belongings and move to the Resource Center or elsewhere.
“You’re acting in fear,” he said of the order to move. “You’re nervous, you’re scared, but you don’t know what else to do.”
The transition wasn’t entirely peaceful. As tents came down, there was an altercation between two campers, resulting in one’s arrest on suspicion of assault.
In a statement Tuesday, the city said it has added a 30-day permit at the Resource Center “as a short-term measure … to provide shelter for individuals with the greatest need and to establish a temporary designated camping location, as requested by City Council.”
The city said the arrangement is being evaluated daily while staff work with nonprofit partners and community stakeholders “to identify additional short-term options and explore long-term solutions.” A discussion with City Council was scheduled for executive session Tuesday evening as part of that ongoing review.
For Lessley, the latest move felt like one more obstacle on a long climb back to stability. A recovering alcoholic who quit drinking nine months ago, he’s lost 70 pounds, attends AA meetings at Unity Club and recently accepted a management position at Walgreens. He’s now searching for permanent housing, but said his history of homelessness has made him a target of discrimination and stigma.
“You put the Resource Center’s address on an apartment application and you get turned down every time,” he said. “You put down your boss’s address and they call you back the next day.”
Lessley said what the homeless community needs most is understanding, opportunity and the recognition that they are human beings like everyone else.
“Since I’ve been homeless, I’ve met some of the best chess players, the most talented musicians, the most talented artists out here on the streets,” he said. “We’re not all just useless vagabonds. Some of us have potential; we just need a scenario where we’re utilizing it and sharing it with the world.”
