A Grants Resident’s Quest to Help Homeless and Local Economy
Cold temperatures are driving residents inside their homes to stay warm. For those residents without housing, bridges, abandoned buildings and tents are the only protection against the cold and the wind. Homelessness is a problem across the country, and in Cibola the cold temperatures can be fatal.
“You can’t replace people,” Grants resident Cindy Anderson said with tears in her eyes as she recounted a homeless resident who passed away recently due to the cold.
For years, Anderson has been formulating a plan to help address the homelessness issue. She wanted to make sure that this plan would not only help shelter those without a home, but help to give them a job and set them up with social assistance to get them back on their feet. Anderson’s plans are coming together, she recently hired a grant writer and has been working with the City of Grants Code Enforcement Office to make sure all proper permits are acquired and all city codes are followed.
“They will work, or they can’t stay there,” Anderson said when explaining the program she’s planning, “I want [residents] to take pride in the building. They will help fix it up and make it nicer,” she said. Anderson has not yet acquired a building for this project, but she has a few across the city in mind, and is currently working with attorneys to determine the best building for the project. She is searching for an older, more run-down building where the residents can find purpose and pick up some marketable skills by helping in the rehabilitation and beautification of the building.
“This is not a homeless shelter,” she said, “There has to be safety with this project. We have to respect the homeless who come here, and they have to respect the building.”
Anderson then explained, “This is a residential work program. Not a shelter. In a shelter you get three meals a day and a bed – not unlike jail. We will let them stay, eat, and improve their lives. Working on the building gives them purpose, we need them. This is a way to help the city. By rehabbing an old building, we make the city look nicer, which can attract new businesses and restaurants.”
Anderson plans on making the building solar powered, so it can contribute back to the local grid, and ultimately plans on promoting commerce in the city by helping those in the program to start up their own businesses.
For her part, Anderson said that she understands how difficult it is to survive with high prices that never seem to go down. She said that ultimately she feels in a position to promote hope and positivity to people suffering from homelessness and is excited to see this project come to life.