There is a way

A few months ago, I was purposely smashed into while driving my car. The car was totaled, and I started using the buses here extensively. For the most part, the buses are good and usually arrive on time.  

The only problem is the lack of driver authority to kick off some of the more odious folks who use the bus regularly. Sometimes it’s just obnoxious smelling. This can be fixed, as programs all over the country have shown, by making soap and showers readily available to people.

We could have a warming center if the City Council would just get the hell out of the way. The Durango Catholic Worker, of which I am part, would happily make showers, food and beds available, but we need funding, and a lot of it. Mental health can be nonviolently treated, and it’s time to help District Attorney Christian Champagne back onto the golf course.  

I’ll gladly run for office as a Democrat and help institute nonviolent treatments, and get enough showers and food sources to help people get to work, into some kind of housing and find supported care in the community. 

– Christa Turnell, Durango