End of the Season Cleanup

What a cleanup we had Friday October 30, right before Halloween! Together the group managed to clean up 3 known abandoned encampments that totaled in 2,780lbs of trash.

The trash ranged from expired food, food containers, tents, sleeping bags, blankets & pillows, bikes, space heaters, wood + so much more! It sure felt good to get this out of our forest, returning the areas back to its natural state and we could NOT have done it without some pretty awesome people…

Shoutout to:

• Chaffee Outdoor Service Association (a student lead outdoor volunteer group) for coming out on their day off of school & putting some real work in!

• Josiah Engstrom: Homeless Outreach Coordinator at Chaffee County Hospitality who was able to help identify these encampments with Chesney, GARNA’s Programs Manager.

• All the AWESOME volunteers that showed up & got their hands really dirty that day!

There’s a lot of layers to being unhoused in this community and Josiah put it quite well when he said “They are all individuals, all of which have their own story and their own needs.”

Interested in getting involved?

•Join our Chaffee Rec Adopters Program so you know when the next cleanup is! Visit Garna.org/chaffee-rec-adopters/

•Josiah is looking to raise money in order to pay another staff member (whom is a former homeless person) to assist him in various tasks. To contact him: 785-224-1098

Josiah was recently gifted a mobile shower of which will be housed at Grace Church in Salida, giving the unhoused community access to a clean showers 5-7 days a week as opposed to 1-2 days a week. There are various tasks to be completed in order to keep this mobile shower functioning throughout the winter, plus a consistent need for volunteers within the shelters that are now open to complete different tasks.

Thank you to ALL the community members, you really showed up that day!