COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — While a homeless camp cleanup operation was taking place in the City of Colorado Springs last week, News5 spoke to about two dozen people impacted, as many of them shared gratitude for the services provided by Westside CARES.
The organization, located in the Old Colorado City area, helps those experiencing homelessness and low-income residents. They say their focus is on housing solutions along with health and hope-centered programming. The nonprofit operates on only private funding, in a time when state and federal cuts continue to take a toll on many nonprofits. CEO Kristy Milligan says they are constantly accepting and reacting to feedback from the community.
"We exist to centralize the experience of our neighbors to provide care and compassion to them," Milligan explained. "Their reviews of us are the most important element of feedback that we receive from the community. We regularly try to integrate feedback from our neighbors in our program development."
Westside CARES provides a number of resources and support to the community. In 2024, the organization points to the following successes:
-45 people housed
-499 people assisted through housing navigation
-328 households received support applying for utilities assistance
-502 households received rental assistance
Milligan added they have about an 85-90 percent retention rate when it comes to finding anyone unhoused a home. In 2024, the organization added that it had 386 volunteers who provided about 25,776 hours of service.
"Westside CARES is fortunate to have nearly 400 volunteers, many of whom have been with us for as many as 30 years," Milligan added. "I am our only full-time employee. We have 11 other program staff who are all part-time, and we all just show up, work hard and try to centralize our neighbors and their needs. We are so fortunate to have really talented people contributing over 25,000 hours of service."
The cash operating income for Westside CARES in 2024 was $1,243,499, with expenses of $949,252. Twenty percent of their income is from individuals donating, 12 percent from grants. What really stands out is their in-kind income and value provided. According to Westside CARES in 2024, 63 percent of their income was in-kind, with in-kind value provided estimated at $2,124,541.
"There is a philanthropic buzz that happens when you are supporting vulnerable people," Milligan said as we toured the facility along Colorado Avenue. "It's really something to earn the trust of people who are vulnerable and marginalized and to walk with them on their journey. And our volunteers really see that they get to experience that, and I think that's why they keep coming back."
One service that those experiencing homelessness told News5 they were thankful for, was obtaining documents. Several people News5 talked to near the I-25 and Bijou bridge said they had tried to get a job several times, but they lacked the proper identification. Westside CARES helped with 700 documents in 2024 including IDs, birth certificates and school records.
"We see a lot of folks who have lost their documents, and we see a lot of folks who have lost personal items, such as a family member's ashes," Milligan said of homeless camp sweeps. "That is that's very painful to witness... we exist to help people recover from any setback, irrespective of what it is, but we would hope that moving into the future as a community, we could come together around solutions that are statistically proven more cost effective, more outcome effective, and, frankly, more humane than mass sweeps."
The city defended its two-day operation on Wednesday and Thursday, citing public safety. Dozens of people were arrested, including someone categorized as a sexually violent predator. More than 300 tons of trash was collected along trailers in the Dorchester Park area, which featured about 70 homeless camps, according to officials.
Milligan wanted to point out that the services of the organization that has been around for more than four decades are needed more than ever.
"Last year, we experienced a 25 percent increase in service at our pantries," Milligan stated. "We served 44,000 four-day food bags, and the year proceeding, there was a 30 percent increase. So we are seeing an increase year over year in people who are struggling to make basic ends meet, and we are hopeful that as we continue to wait out some of the cuts that are happening nationwide and here locally, that we will be able to weather any financial storm that arises... But if you were thinking that now might be a time to be generous with a local nonprofit that's doing work that you care about, you're right."
For more on Westside CARES including how to donate or volunteer, click here.
A family in Colorado City says illegal dumping near their home is becoming a safety issue
One official told News5 the trash piles could be infested with rats or other dangerous factors, so they are waiting to work with the health department to remove trash from the area.
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