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| 1/17/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Let's be problem-solvers with creative solutions
BILL CARROLL
Guest Column
Throughout my life, I have known many people who had no ideas, many others who had great ideas but did nothing about them. I am just planting a seed in hope that something positive can be done. I admit this sounds ridiculous at first. It may always sound that way, but let me make my arguments and then you decide.
Since moving out of the mountains to the beautiful little town we love, Cortez, very little has troubled me, but the two issues that have constantly bothered me have not gone away, nor has there been a proper solution to each. One of the main issues is the meth/poverty issue, but we will save that for another column. The other issue is the Native Americans wandering the streets, looking for a warm place to rest or to hide.
We could surmise what we think their problem is. Alcohol, drugs, whatever, that doesn't change the fact that here they are, cold sick and, most times, unwanted. They know that! They live with that every day when they leave wherever they slept for the night and then start out on their mission for money or food.
Thank God we have benevolent organizations that are feeding people and sheltering them through many cold nights. Otherwise, how would these folks survive?
There are retired men and women working hard every day to help the poor and homeless in this town, and they should be held up and honored. They are too modest for that, but I will say that there are too many to mention and do not get enough praise.
The area I am addressing would attempt to fill the needs of the Native Americans, by giving them a place to stay, during the day and sometimes the night, when the wind is cold and bitter, when they just want to lie down and sleep off whatever is ailing them. It could be a gathering place, where they can sit and maybe listen to the advice of an elder who has seen a lot and can help them with sage advice.
If I was in another country and felt out of place to begin with, if my life took a terrible turn for the worse and I found myself homeless, it would be nice if the people of that area did something special for me and my kind, something that fit my culture and made me feel more welcome, even if I was not living up to their standards. If we truly have Christian charity, let's take it to another level and go beyond what we are doing now. You don't have to be a Christian to feel the pain of people hurting, of people who are waylaid and beaten down. You do not have to belong to a religious body to feel the need to help; you just need to help!
Here is my suggestion. We build two teepees, one Ute, one Navajo. We designate them and place them close to town, where too many whiners won't complain, and we can monitor them along with the governing bodies of each tribe. The town/county has land next to the detention center, where the people can walk over from the homeless shelter, and the whole thing could be watched very carefully. Of course there would be rules and regulations - there always are - but we could give them a chance first at regulating themselves. It would be a place where they could begin to restore the dignity they have lost.
Teepees aren't expensive, and they are quickly assembled. With donations from the tribes, the city and the people who always give generously, they could be built and maintained.
There are always reasons not to do something, but with our unique situation in this area, let's be problem-solvers, with creative solutions. Believe me, the people in the jail don't care if there are teepees outside.
While many of us were celebrating the birth of Christ, others were cold, hungry, homeless and with no reason to celebrate anything. Is it their fault? Maybe, but would you want to trade places with them? You wouldn't, so let's make a teepee and give those with very little dignity left something to hold onto as their own.
Bill Carroll is a Cortez resident.
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