Notable Notes in March and April

By March, we had settled into a routine. We had trapped all but one of the cats so Susie, Karen and I took turns leaving food for the last cat and if there were at least two of us, we would go down under the bridge to check on the welfare of our peeps. (After the stabbing and arrests, we were a little more cautious). We were constantly watching the weather report and made sure we had room vouchers to pass out if extremely cold weather was predicted. On Friday, March 19, we stopped by to make sure everyone had enough room vouchers to stay the week end (there was a storm predicted) when Brenda walked up. We hadn't seen her for a few weeks and didn't recognize her. Her lip was cut up and swollen, her eye was black and she had dried blood caked on the side of her face and up into her ear. She said someone named Marvin had hit her last night when she was looking for a warm place to sleep. Since we had already given Sam the room vouchers and didn't have any more, Sam gave one to Brenda so she could go clean up and have a warm place to stay for the night. (Sam's generosity never ceases to amaze us.) Since Brenda was drunk, Karen helped her to find her room and get settled in. We reminded Brenda repeatedly that she was not to leave her room (Brenda has a habit of wandering around and knocking on doors) but, of course, as we were leaving we saw Brenda stumbling through the parking lot, headed to McDonalds with her last dollar. Sometimes we just have to give up.

On March 18th, I went to the City Auditorium for Project Connect. Thirty agencies were there with all kinds of information to help the homeless. I found a business called Men with a Mission, a construction company who was hiring. The guys turned in applications and were scheduled for an interview on April 8. Karen and I told them we would pick them up at 1:30 for their 2:00 interview but when we got there, Kevin was too drunk to stand and Taz was just drunk enough to think he was the only man for the job. They thought it was April 7. Sam was sober and had a great interview.

Since we're only hoping for 10% success we were happy. Our expectations aren't too high


We hadn't seen Kevin for a few weeks so started asking about him. We heard from more than one source that "word on the street is that Kevin died." We were very sad especially since we had just learned that he is an epileptic and suffers gran mal seizures. We assumed that the epilepsy combined with the drinking finally became too much. A few days later we ran into a group of our guys and there was Kevin. We were thrilled that he was alive and well.



A week later I found Kevin at Dorchester Park (where a church group provides a lunch for the homeless every Sunday). He had just walked back from detox (4 miles) and was trying to eat


His forhead was all scraped up and he was shakey and sick. He told me he was drinking with Taz the night before and had a seizure and fell on his face. The police gave him a ticket for public drinking but he tore up the ticket. We worry about him.

We lost track of Lisa towards the end of March. We heard that she was in the mountains. Since her mom lives in Divide we hoped that she had gone home to get sober. Not the case. On April 7, while looking for the cat, we found Lisa. Passed out under the bridge with her face dangerously close to the fire. A new guy, Randy, was asleep in a sleeping bag nearby and Jeff was passed out on the mattress. When we started talking to Lisa, Jeff popped up and said "can't a guy get any peace and quiet down here?" Randy eventually crawled out and told us he was just waiting for April 9, his 50th birthday. Told us the girls in San Diego say "rock out with your cock out on your birthday".
We didn't want to be around to witness that. (We heard later that while 'running her sign' on April 9, someone gave Lisa a cake and $10. Yum...cake and vodka)

The week before Easter, Susie made an Easter basket for the guys. They were at the motel so we delivered it complete with a chocolate bunny, jelly beans,trail mix and a card. They loved it. Sam said it was hard for him to eat anything but the jelly beans. "I ain't got no teeth."

On April 11, we met Joe. He just got out of prison in Wyoming on March 15 and hitchhiked to Denver. He walked away from a $35,000 drug deal. Said he had a feeling that that deal would put him away for life. He ended up in Colorado Springs and started walking until he found a place to toss his backpack and get some rest...under the Nevada Ave bridge. He was planning to leave after a few days but "The good Lord told me to get back down under that bridge and take care of that woman" (Lisa).
On April 13, I stopped to feed the cat and ran into Joe...'running his sign' on the corner.

He told me Lisa was in detox and could we go see her. After prayer meeting that evening,we went to see Lisa. When the three of us marched across the parking lot and got buzzed in, we imagined we were Charlie's Angels (OK...maybe elderly Charlie's Angels) Lisa seemed very surprised but happy that we were there. We talked to her about New Hope and Harbor House and she said she'd think about it. She's familiar with all the programs...she used to be the manager at the Alano House, s recovery home.
As we were leaving, we inquired about Kevin and were told that he was there on the men's side. He was surprised and shocked to see us walk in. We talked with him awhile and he shared that he doesn't know how he got there and he can't find his coat,and pack which has his seizure meds and food stamps. He thinks Billy might have it and if we see Billy can we get it? Sadly, Kevin was released the next day before we could find Billy. We haven't seen Kevin since that night at detox.

On April 15th, we took Joe, Zennison and Doyle to Men with a Mission for their interview. Joe and Zennison were told they would be hired. The job is to start on May 10. Not soon enough.

On March 22, Sam, Taz and others were walking down Nevada when a car pulled up and a man said, "Dad?" Sam said ,"Son?" Yes it was Sam's son whom he had not seen for years. Sam spent the night with his son. When I saw him that Friday, he proudly told me he was a grandpa. A week later I ask Sam if he'd talked to his son or seen his granddaughter again and he said, "No, I lost the number. I'll just have to wait until I run into him again."

Shortly after we met Lisa, we were feeding the cats and saw her sitting on a rock under the bridge. When she turned to look at us, we were shocked. Her face was black and blue, one eye was swollen shut and the other had stitches across the eyebrow. she was covered with blood. She said she had tripped and fallen on a rock. She had no idea how she got to the hospital and from there to detox but we've learned since then that detox is a revolving door for Lisa. She goes in about every 4 days and stays for 2 to 3 days. At least for those 2 to 3 days, we know she is safe. During one of her more sober moments, she asked me to call her mom. I asked her what she wanted me to say and she said, "Tell her I love her." Her mom said she loves her, too.

Prayer Meetings and More

In early March, we started attending the Tuesday evening prayer meetings at Sun Springs Motel. Nam and her family open a room off the lobby of the motel for a place for homeless people and volunteers to gather for praise, worship, fellowship and prayer. The Springs of Life Ministry and Outreach, led by Pastor Patricia is a warm and welcoming refuge for all. The service begins with songs of praise, followed by a message, and concludes with a nourishing meal. This may be the only meal of the day for many of the homeless attending. During the meal, anyone in need is encouraged to put their name in a drawing for the possibility of winning a free night's stay at the motel. On an average Tuesday, we can expect anywhere from 10 to 20 homeless people so there are many who could use the warm bed and shower.

Hopefully everyone who shows up for bible study is sober but that's not always the case. If anyone arrives drunk and is disruptive, Patricia calmly and gently quiets them. On one occasion, I arrived during the singing and sat down next to Sam. The smell of alcohol was quite strong and Sam leaned over and shouted in my ear, "Can you hear me, Barb? I'm singin' my ass off." On another Tuesday, the message was about asking Jesus for what you need and he will answer your prayers. As I was drawing the name out for the free night's room, Taz said out loud, "I ask that my name be drawn out, in Jesus's name". I reached in the bowl and drew out his name (out of 12 names that night). The second name drawn out was Sam. Sam and Taz decided to share a room and give a room to Larry, an out of work landscaper sitting next to Sam. They had just met him that night. One thing we've learned, or one of the many things we've learned, is that these guys look out for each other.


On Tuesday, March 16th, Sam and Taz were 55 minutes late to prayer meeting. They thought they were 5 minutes early. When Patricia was already in the middle of her message, Sam kept looking at his watch and back at Patricia in disbelief. When I told him daylight savings time had started on Sunday, his comment was, "The sun came up at the same time on Sunday and went down at the same time on Sunday." And he was exactly right!


We started going to prayer meetings because we knew it was a way to find "our guys" during the week. We now consider it an important part of our week.....not only to check on the well being of everyone but for the singing and fellowship.

Not fit for man nor beast

On one particularly frigid day in February, Karen and I were feeding and setting traps when I commented to one of the homeless people, Lisa, about how cold it was. She replied, "Yea, it's not fit for man nor beast out here." We didn't catch any cats that day, and we returned to the warmth and comfort of our homes. The next day, I contacted my friend Jenny, who had organized a fundraiser with her co-worker, Jess, to benefit the homeless. The money was given to Westside Cares to distribute as needed. When I contacted Steve at Westside Cares he graciously agreed to negotiate with Sun Springs Motel so "our guys" would have a place to stay on extremely cold nights. (Sun Springs is a short walk from the Nevada Ave bridge and a friendly oasis for the homeless.) Steve printed room vouchers and we headed under the bridge with hamburgers, hot chocolate, room vouchers and cat food.
When we got there, there was a flurry of activity. Someone had been particularly successful at panhandling that day and returned to the camp with enough vodka and beer for all.

I had a prepared speech, to go along with the room vouchers, but I soon realized it would be like 'spitting in the wind'. As Karen fed the cats and passed out hamburgers, I waded through the tall grass, tripping over drunk bodies, trying to find someone coherent enough to understand the room voucher. We passed out 5 vouchers and a bus pass that day. We also learned about 'bridge etiquette' that day.

In the beginning....

For the past year, I had repeatedly seen three different cats, living dangerously close to the Nevada Ave. off ramp on I-25. One time, one of the cats darted across the off ramp in front of me. Other times I would see the cats sitting close to the highway under a tree. I was concerned about their safety and decided to see what I could do. In January of 2010 I went under the bridge where I had assumed the cats lived. While under the bridge, I noticed signs that read "NOTICE" this area will be cleaned up, get your personal belongings out of here. I realized that this area under the bridge was home to not only homeless cats but to homeless people as well.

I started leaving food for the cats daily and planned to return on February 6, the scheduled day of the cleanup. I went under the bridge on February 6 and met the people in charge of "Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful" and 2 of the 3 HOT Cops (Homeless Outreach Team). I explained about the bowls of cat food, why I was there and my concern for the homeless cats. They shared information about the homeless people that were living under the bridge and explained that the area was being cleaned up and the homeless were being evacuated and encouraged to move on.

The next day I went back under the bridge to feed the cats and saw 2 adult cats and 1kitten sitting on the rocks.Two of the cats I had seen before but it was the first time I had seen the kitten. So now I know that there are at least 4 cats, a Siamese, a gray and white, a black white, and a black kitten.I left food for the cats, went home and decided that it was time to assemble a "cat trapping" team.



Between February 6th and the 18th,some of the homeless people returned to set up their camps. We (the team and I) continued to feed daily. During this time we started to meet and develop relationships with some of the homeless people. We explained to these people our mission to feed and eventually trap the cats. They shared that they had been feeding the cats whatever scraps they could spare. It took awhile to convince them that it was in the best interests of the cats to trap them and move them, as they had become fond of the cats and considered them "their cats".

Mike, one of the first people we met under the bridge slept on a child's mattress under a pile of sleeping bags. His first comment, when we explained our mission was,"you ain't trappin my cats". Soon after that we met Sam and Taz, whose camp was further south along Fountain Creek. They usually arrived under the bridge with Kevin, Lisa, Grover, Brenda and Mary to spend the day with Mike, and drink if any of them had been successful at "applying their sign" (panhandling), the drink of choice was vodka and Cammo beer, or mouthwash when they couldn't get vodka or beer. (one of them told us that mouthwash was easier to steal) We began to bring hamburgers and hot chocolate for the people we had met when we would go leave food for the cats.

On February 18th, their day started and continued with constant drinking,the drink of choice that day was mouthwash. Later that day there was a stabbing under the bridge resulting in one person taken to the hospital, police questioning and an arrest.

We decided it was time to start trapping and get the cats out and relocated to a safe environment. The first cat was trapped on Feb 19, we named him Kevin.



The next two cats trapped on February 22; the black and white, named Mike, and the little kitten, named Lisa. March 2nd, the fourth cat, Brenda was trapped. March 3rd the fifth cat, Mary was trapped. We know of at least one more cat that is still living under the bridge. We continue to leave food and hopefully we'll be trapping that one soon.





"I particularly appreciated the partnership with Barb, who went looking for cats and found people. She has functioned as an informal case manager with a number of folks, forming genuinely caring relationships with people that many consider to be outcasts." Steve Brown