Springs Rescue Mission staff assists clients at the resource center on the organizationâs campus. Courtesy Springs Rescue Mission
It may be inconvenient for people to stay home. It may be annoying not to be able to dine out at restaurants. But for homeless people, the COVID-19 pandemic is life-threatening.
âWe realized pretty quickly just how much that population relied on drinking fountains and bathrooms, buildings like the library, and food that would be either left out for them by restaurants or that people would give them if they were downtown,â said Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities.
People trying to escape homelessness who were enrolled in job training and life skills courses lost their access to these classes when they went virtual, as many did not have the means to connect to the internet.
Workers assemble a large electromagnetic pulse shielding container at the Jaxon Engineering building in Colorado Springs on Dec. 11, 2020. Jaxon contracts with the Department of Defense and many private companies to provide hardening and shielding systems for electromagnetic pulses, which can wipe out electronics. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette)
Forrest Czarnecki
Forrest Czarnecki
Forrest Czarnecki
Forrest Czarnecki
For the first time in two months, in-person masses were held at Catholic churches in Colorado Springs. Lillie Hattman brought her niece, Anna Akins, to the mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday, May 17, 2020. The masses were very different than they were before the COVID-19 Pandemic. Only 70 people were allowed to attend per mass and reservations were taken to make sure that they didn’t go over the limit. They were required to sit in certain pews and socially distance. Most were wearing masks, put the priest requested that they not sing if they were maskless. At the end of the mass, each parishioner was given a wipe and asked to wipe down where they were seated. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)