The Mayor's Mixtape
Mayor Heather Graham's weekly brief of current events related to the City of Pueblo.
The Mayor's Mixtape
The Mayor's Mixtape-Episode 69
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Episode 69 of the Mayor's Mixtape includes President of City Council Mark Aliff. President Aliff shares about the fundraising initiative for the Donna Aliff Pet Relief Shelter. Mayor Graham and President Aliff explain about the wrap around services offered at The Pueblo Shelter, the future of transitional housing and future non congregate shelter offered onsite with pet kettle.
Donate to the new pet relief shelter by visiting www.safesidefoundation.org/donate and donate to the Donna Aliff Pet Relief Shelter fund.
Welcome And Where To Listen
Haley Sue RobinsonWelcome to the 69th episode of the Mayor's Mixtape. I'm Haley Sue Robinson, Director of Public Affairs for the City of Pueblo.
Mayor, Heather GrahamHeather Graham, City of Pueblo Mayor.
Mark AliffMark Aliff, President, Pueblo City Council.
Haley Sue RobinsonAlmost forgot who you were.
Mark AliffI did.
Haley Sue RobinsonWe're excited to have a guest on the podcast today. I want to remind you that we're available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Buzzsprout, wherever you can get your podcasts. We're also on local channel 17. So there are lots of opportunities to listen to this podcast. Don't forget, if you have questions or topic suggestions, you can email us at mayor @pueblo.us.
Why A Pet Relief Shelter Matters
Haley Sue RobinsonAnd today we're here to talk about the uh Donna Aliff Pet Relief Shelter. Uh President Aliff, thanks for coming on the show today.
Mark AliffThank you for having me.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah.
Mark AliffYou know, the 69th episode, I'm I'm a little put out that it took 69, 68 episodes to get me here.
Haley Sue RobinsonTo get you here.
Mark AliffYeah.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah, yeah. I know.
Mark Aliff68 episodes in a pet shelter.
Haley Sue RobinsonSure, sure. Well, you know, at least we're we're bringing you in with something super exciting, right?
Mark AliffExactly, exactly.
Haley Sue RobinsonUm so you presented this idea a couple weeks ago at the City Council work session. But can you talk a little bit about uh how this idea came to be and why this is important to you?
Mark AliffYeah, as I mentioned when I introduced it, and I guess everybody hasn't heard, uh, you know, my wife passed away in April. Uh she was a big, big-time advocate for uh homeless pets. Now, when we talk about homeless pets, that's just not abandoned pets or anything else like that. These are literally the pets that homeless people have. And it would just break her heart all the time when she, you know, see uh homeless people with their pets, and you know, she just had this extreme empathy towards both people who were unhoused and their animals. So much so that she always drove around with clothes and dog food and any kind of extra supplies we had around the house.
Mayor, Heather GrahamShe would steal your clothes.
Mark AliffShe would take my clothes out of the closet, coats and you know, and say, Well, you never wear those.
Haley Sue RobinsonYou're like, it's summer, that's why I'm not wearing them.
Mark AliffSo when she'd see somebody walking down the street with their dog or whatever, that were on the corner with their dog, she'd always offer a box of dog food, need a coat, whatever. So it was a big deal to her.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah.
Mark AliffUh I knew through the shelter that you know the plans were that, you know, maybe we need a uh a pet shelter, a kennel, so uh it all came to fruition for me personally because way back when, when we didn't have a shelter, and I created the Pueblo Homeless Commission, we were instrumental in getting a new shelter open and so on and so
Breaking Barriers And Saving Money
Mark Aliffforth.
Mayor, Heather GrahamWhat year was that? 2018?
Mark AliffWe started in 18, but I don't think it was until 19 until we actually got everything done.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah.
Mark AliffAnd and the shelter actually opened. But as the commission carried on, the one thing that we always struggled with was barriers. You know, why wouldn't someone want to go into the shelter? Why wouldn't they want to get help and get off the streets, get back into society? So it's one of the homelessness is such a multifaceted problem that there's not one thing that fixes it. There's probably a million things that fix it. So what you have to do when you address this is you take one barrier at a time and you overcome that barrier, and hopefully it helps a certain group of people get back off the streets and into a transitional setting where they can get back into the community. Well, one of the major, major obstacles is I'm not going to the shelter because I'm not going, there's no place for my dog, there's no place for my cat.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah.
Mark AliffAnd all of us that have pets, as I'm looking at Lucy here, you know, all of us that have pets, I mean, we're in a time in our society where pets are absolutely family. And I can only imagine if you're homeless and alone, how important your pet is. And I understand that would keep me out of a shelter if there was no way for them to take care of my pet because I'm so close to my pet. So knowing that that that was a need to break down that barrier, uh, knowing that there's always been plans to put a kennel at the uh shelter, I just thought, you know, this would be a perfect time uh to attach it to my wife because I know that that this would be a very big deal to her and to put a lot of energy into it, raise the money, get this thing built, and uh break down that barrier that that keeps some people out of of uh the transition shelter. So uh I'm very excited. I mean, I came down to the city, uh you helped immensely, the mayor's helped immensely, uh Public Works, the shelter itself through Rob Miller. Uh everybody's on board. This to me, this is a real easy project to get behind for most people.
Haley Sue RobinsonRight.
Mark AliffUh you know, I hear people say, you know, why are you spending money doing this? But literally, if you get them off the streets, you save money.
Haley Sue RobinsonRight.
Mark AliffAnd that's really a piece that the public really doesn't grasp. It costs us more money when they're when people are just out on the streets through services and and things like that as a community than if they go into the shelter, that cost is reduced.
Haley Sue RobinsonWell, because it's fractured when they're out on the street, whereas what we have at the public shelter right now with the wraparound services, it's all in one place. You're alleviating the cost of emergency room visits or uh potentially overnight stays in a hotel or even just the cost of food. I mean, um we have a daily meal that's served every day at at the shelter. We also have the soup kitchen. Um, and when you have all those resources in one place, you're to your point, you're reducing the barriers, but then you're reducing the cost of how it helps folks.
Mark AliffSo, you know, if you you if you want to get technical about it, the the uh the pet relief shelter will pay for itself over a period of time. Uh it it's gonna cost a little money to get built like everything does, but you know, our goal is uh not just saving money, but saving lives.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah.
Mark AliffAnd not necessarily the lives of the pet, because the pets if I always find it interesting when you when you see uh homeless with with their pets. Their pets usually are fat and well taken care of and and
Haley Sue RobinsonThey're more cared for than our unhoused neighbor many times. They they take care of their pet before they take care of themselves.
Mark AliffBut we're talking about saving lives of the pet owner and saving lives and and getting people back into the community. And I mean that's the goal. That's the goal of any uh any shelter isn't just to get people off the streets, it's to get them back into the community and and getting them back on their feet and and helping them get there. I will say that I think over the last three years since Mayor Graham's come in, uh the services and the things that are available to the homeless are are progressing and evolving uh into what it was always envisioned to be. Uh even back in 2018 when I started the Homeless Commission, I mean, it was always within that commission's vision that we had all the services available in one place. You know, that's a hard thing to do because of constraints with the size of the property, so on and so forth. But I think we've proven over the last three years you can take a constrained location and still offer comprehensive services and comprehensive care and comprehensive uh uh programs to get people back into the community. So you know, in the big scheme of things, I think we're really moving in the the right direction, and we're not s uh sitting still and and and just in the past it seemed like everybody just out of sight, out of mind. I mean, we don't want to do this, we don't want to do that, but the reality is that we have to do this, and and things are going good. And this pet relief shelter will just be a small part of the overall picture, but a very important part uh in breaking down that barrier that keeps some people out.
Haley Sue RobinsonAgreed. And um Mark, you brought this up a little bit, but um, Mayor Graham, uh can you talk a little bit about what the the transition or the transitional housing with the pet relief shelter, what that process looks like, um, what people can anticipate of that space that's between the the current shelter.
Transitional Units And Program Steps
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah, and the emergency shelter. Yep.
Mayor, Heather GrahamBut before I'm gone, I assure you we will have eight little units out there. The pet relief, uh Melissa Cook from the Housing and Human Services Department has been a big part of securing grant dollars to help with this purchase, right? This isn't necessarily coming out of our general fund. These were specific dollars that are used uh for these types of services. Um so the goal is to after you go through the residential program with Safe side recovery, you have to be sober, um, you have to have a job, you have to uh be working towards um a better life for yourself. Um once you get through that, uh you'll be able to maybe uh stay in one of these smaller units uh for six to eight months until you can get your uh your feet um to where they need to be, where you're a little bit more stabilized and then and move out. So it's it's transitional, it's not um it's not forever. But along with that, uh you'll be able to have your animal. Um this is going to be really good for the emergency clients that we see come in. So the people who aren't ready to commit to uh stay in the shelter every night and have a bunk. Um, but they we see anywhere from 40 to 70, um, depending on weather in the emergency shelter every night. Um and if they are allowed to keep their loved one with them, um I think we're gonna see those numbers increase. So as President Aliff said, this is just going to knock down uh that additional barrier, and hopefully we can build rapport uh with those unhoused individuals and get them where they need to be. Um so I think it's gonna be a huge help.
The Shelter Vision And City Progress
Haley Sue RobinsonAnd you know, President Aliff, you touched on this uh a little bit as far as um you you helped start the Housing and Homeless Commission um in your previous tenure on council. Was this something that you all envisioned having a pet relief kennel and um incorporating that into the shelter, or has this kind of evolved as the homeless commission um continued their work?
Mark AliffNo, as I as I mentioned earlier, uh when you sit down and you envision what what quality care is when it when it comes to the unhoused, what would you like to see? You have a group of people that that that share their vision and then the the whole commission comes up with a plan.
Haley Sue RobinsonSure.
Mark AliffYeah, this is this was a piece that was always a part of it. I mean there should not be any barriers whatsoever, where it's mental health, whether it's pets, whatever it is, those barriers have to be broken before you can be successful.
Haley Sue RobinsonRight.
Mark AliffAnd and uh so we've always thought of of the whole holistic approach to make sure that every part of it w was covered.
Haley Sue RobinsonAddresses the needs .
Mark AliffYeah, you know, whether it was food, whether it was health care, whether it was pets, whether it was storage, whatever that is, you know, you you have to be able to address those. Uh otherwise some people are just it's it's the the shelter is just not accessible to them.
Haley Sue RobinsonSure. And I I think we've seen that um you look at the original um and the city's only permanent housing shelter, um, when it opened, it is a lower barrier shelter, but uh Mayor Graham, to your point, you do have to be sober and there are rules. Um but then when the city acquired and opened the emergency shelter, that's the lowest barrier possible. Um and that's open 365 days a year, and it allows folks who, as we mentioned before, maybe aren't ready to take the next step of having their own bunk. Uh they're they're not quite there yet, but it gives us the opportunity to start the conversation of, hey, would you maybe like to have a roof over your head every night? And would you maybe like to come to group? Um we have day work available with Catholic charities of Southern Colorado and the Works Program, or you know, we have the pop-up clinic with um Pueblo Community Health Center, we have opportunities for you. And so you kind of start to see where the no barrier and then a little more of a higher bar is set, and then to this point, um, that non-congregate uh shelter, and now I can bring my pet, I can bring my best friend, my loved one with me, and have the opportunity to turn my life around and and have permanent stable housing. Um and President Aliff, you touched on this a little bit too. There's a million different ways and a million different things that folks need. And so, you know, whether whether it's mental health services or it's a a stable job or um it's stable housing, you have to have all of those things to help folks feel safe. So um it's kind of exciting to see this come to fruition from when you started the Housing and Homeless Commission and where we are today.
Mark AliffYeah, I think that it's uh, you know, the city was in crisis when it came to uh the unhoused back in 2018 when uh the Colorado Springs Rescue Mission pulled out. They we had nothing.
Haley Sue RobinsonRight.
Mark AliffAnd uh to see where we came from having nothing and and panic mode to where we are today is is is fantastic. You know, there's been bumps in the road, there's been things that happen that uh that you just uh cannot foresee.
Haley Sue RobinsonIsn't that kind of government in a nutshell for the two of you?
Mark AliffWell, it's life, you know. It's life. Your best-laid plans always have something come up that set you back a little bit or or become a problem. Uh but I think that in the end we'll all be judged by how we overcame those those problems and and how we move forward. You know, it's we don't have a choice, I believe. We don't have a choice in providing services and helping people get back into society and being a part of our community. We want people to be a part of our community.
Haley Sue RobinsonRight.
Mark AliffSo to that end, we have to do these things. I mean, it's the it's the human thing to do.
Haley Sue RobinsonRight.
Mark AliffIt's not a government thing, it's not uh, you know, it's not a Christian issue, it's not it's a human issue that uh that we cannot be a society that sits around and and says this is okay. It's not okay. And uh you know, again, there's so many different ways to and and and problems that need to be addressed to to make this happen. But I believe if you just take one at a time, take one at a time, overcome that, then go to the next one and say, okay, we need what's the next biggest barrier that stops people from For me personally again, I think that uh that's the key is to look at everything as what keeps people out. That's what we need to figure out. And when you figure out what keeps people out of getting help, that's the things that you need to to overcome and address and and figure out how to how to how to change it. So one one at a time. And this this pet relief shelter is just a small, small uh part of that. But maybe maybe it sets the stage for hey, you know, we took care of this. We're now we we're gonna go on to this part of it or this part of it, right and and just move forward one step at a time. And then 10 years, 20 years from now, what we see now will obviously look way different than it does now.
Haley Sue RobinsonAbsolutely. Well, and and you've seen that since you started the Housing and Homeless Commission to to now the the progress and what it was envisioned and what it's become. And um, you touched on this a little bit as well as far as um this shelter essentially paying for
How To Donate And Keep It Running
Haley Sue Robinsonitself. But one of the things that part of this fundraiser to get this off the ground is also the sustainability piece of it. So uh ensuring that pets still have food, they have leashes, there's bowls, um, there's other, I guess, what some folks might call amenities, but just necessities or uh supplies that make this run. Um so how can how can folks donate or how can they get involved? Do they talk to you directly or ?
Mark AliffI'm always available .
Haley Sue RobinsonOkay, great.
Mark AliffUh we're running this all through the Safeside Foundation.
Haley Sue RobinsonOkay.
Mark AliffSo uh people can literally just go to the safesidefoundation.org /donate.
Haley Sue RobinsonYep.
Mark AliffAnd uh
Haley Sue RobinsonAnd then they see this picture, right?
Mark AliffYou have to scroll down. I'm sure I have had people tell me over the last two weeks that it's very cumbersome to try and find out where to go. So I'm gonna spend the next few weeks being very particular about this is where you go, this is how you do it,
Haley Sue RobinsonOkay
Mark Aliffwhatever. But uh SafeSide
Haley Sue RobinsonWe'll put it in the comments too on the podcast and we'll make sure that folks have the direct link to go.
Mark AliffNothing's worse than having somebody that wants to give and they can't find it.
Haley Sue RobinsonNow what do I do?
Mark AliffYou know,
Haley Sue RobinsonThis is cool, I want to, but how?
Mark AliffSo when you go to the safeside foundation.org and to the donate uh section of their website, you then you have to literally scroll down till you see the pet relief shelter, and then it has a donate button under that because there's three different areas within the obviously the foundation takes money for other things other than
Haley Sue RobinsonThere are other ways to donate to the shelter.
Mark AliffCorrect.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah, okay
Mark Aliffso I'm just asking that people uh focus on the pet shelter for now,
Haley Sue RobinsonSure,
Mark Aliffand scroll down and and you'll see a picture of the the kennel, and you can hit the donate button and uh you know five dollars, ten thousand dollars, a hundred thousand, whatever you want to give is a big deal. Uh I've had a lot of commitments from people, so I believe that uh uh uh we're well on our way to making this happen. I have not had an update on how much money's been raised so far.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah.
Mark AliffUh but like I said, we're just getting started and getting the word out. And I'm very grateful that uh you know I have this type of media where we can talk about it. And if you don't keep it in front of people, a lot of times they
Haley Sue RobinsonWell, there's a lot going on.
Mark AliffA lot. I mean, you have Aspen Acres, you have uh literally tons and tons of worthy causes that are all asking for a little bit of our money. And I just hope that people feel that this is one of those worthy causes uh to be able to donate a little bit of money and and help us get to the get to the end. Uh there's no way that it's not gonna get built. I hope that it continues to to be a donation spot for people when they go to the Safe Side Foundation. Uh like you said, you know, once it's built, you still need food, you still need supplies and things like that. I have reached out to several uh uh dog food companies and things like that. You know, maybe we can get some donations as we move along through
Haley Sue RobinsonMaybe get a sponsorship, a partnership, that kind of thing. Sure.
Mark AliffOne of them, and uh
Haley Sue RobinsonThat'd be fantastic.
Mark AliffThey're usually pretty good about that. I haven't heard anything back, but so I just want people to know that we're working hard to make this a reality, and it's going to be a reality, and uh I'm I'll be very, very proud of it when it's done.
Haley Sue RobinsonAbsolutely. Great. Well, um, you know, it it's a beautiful way to pay homage to your wife and pay tribute to um what was special to her, and it's a wonderful way to show the community how um important it is to to care for everyone. So I think it's it's exciting, and um we appreciate you taking the time to kind of explain where this came from and why it's important to you.
Mark AliffAbsolutely
Haley Sue Robinsonum we'll make sure that we have the information of how to donate um in the comments and um provide updates as to what the future looks like and when it when it's complete. We're very excited for that. Um anything else we need to touch on?
Mayor, Heather GrahamI don't think so.
Haley Sue RobinsonNo, okay.
Mark AliffI'm good.
Haley Sue RobinsonGreat.
Mark AliffThank you guys for having me.
Haley Sue RobinsonYeah, we're we're really glad that you came on this morning.
Mayor, Heather GrahamTwo years later.
Haley Sue RobinsonI know.
Mark AliffTwo years later. Yeah, yeah. Let's not wait another 68 episodes.
Haley Sue RobinsonWe won't. We won't. We'll make sure we have you back before then. Okay.
Closing Reminders And Contact Info
Haley Sue RobinsonUm, I do want to remind the listener that you can email us with topic suggestions or questions, uh, mayor@pueblo.us. Don't forget you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Buzzsprout, wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find us on local channel 17. And we will see you next week.