The Colorado Springs Homeless Union is at a crossroads. Not a labor union, the volunteer initiative endeavors to “present a unified voice” and “call for fair treatment” for our city’s homeless, as noted in a Gazette report last week.
As the two-year-old union announces it’s in the midst of a “regrouping” and “soul-searching” process, it’s a good time to offer some constructive criticism rooted in pragmatism to help the union’s work and, in turn, the local homeless population.
The totality of the union’s advocacy can’t equate to demanding more services from local government. That not only burdens taxpayers but also enables drug abuse and fails to address mental health and other issues that keep many of the chronically homeless on the streets. Some commit crimes against other homeless people as well as the greater Springs citizenry…