(EFE) – The city of Salida, in southern Colorado, approved an ordinance that allows local workers starting this Friday (the vast majority Hispanics) sleep in their vehicles because, due to the high cost of rents, they cannot find homes and could leave businesses in the area without employees.
The program, known asSafe Outdoor Space”, or SOS for its acronym in English, is the first of its kind in Colorado and it is a pilot experience which could then be extended to other cities and counties in this state facing similar situations.
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In the case of Exit, the median cost of renting a one-bedroom home is about $1,200 a month, close to the $1,300 monthly rent average in Denver for a similar home. But while in Denver the median annual income is $65,000, in Salida it is $26,000, according to the Census Bureau. That means that while Denver residents spend on average nearly 25% of their income paying for their home rent, workers in Salida must spend just over 55%.
For this reason, “many restaurant employees, many tour guides and even many professionals have problems paying for a place to live in Chaffee County and end up sleeping in their vehicles in various places, with or without authorization”, explained Cory Riggs, a local activist who promoted the project.
The measure is supported by the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners and the Salida City Council who, together, allocate spaces on city streets, parking lots, and camping sites where workers can sleep in their vehicles, and will offer health services and police surveillance.
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Also, county Public Health and Housing departments will assist, as needed, people sleeping in their cars. And it is anticipated that local businesses (restaurants, supermarkets, laundromats) will offer discounts to those people.
So far, as reported Councilmember Jane Templeton told Colorado Public Radio, two people have already been approved for the show and “several others” They have already completed their applications and are expected to be approved in the coming days.
The municipal authorities estimate that dozens, and perhaps hundreds of people, could participate in SOS from now on and until the program ends probably at the end of October; that is, during the fall and with the arrival of low temperatures.
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Simultaneously, with the help of the state government, Salida and Chaffee County work to provide affordable housing for workers, either through subsidies, agreements with short-term rental housing owners, or new constructions. “It’s not going to be perfect. I want the citizens to know. But we have to act,” said the councilor.
Until now There are no federal or state laws in the United States that explicitly prohibit sleeping in the car, but there are numerous prohibitions against parking on private property. or “camping” in urban areas or even in public areas (such as roadside rest areas). In this context, the new ordinance implemented in Salida that allows sleeping inside a vehicle on city streets is considered a pioneering measure at the national level.
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