Editor’s note
The Pikes Peak Bulletin received a letter this week from Kandy Lewis, a resident of Greenway Flats – a 4-story, 65-unit apartment building that provides permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless in Colorado Springs, run by the Springs Rescue Mission (SRM).
We can’t independently confirm everything in this letter, but we did ask SRM to weigh in. You can read SRM’s response below the letter.
Letter: Greenway Flats has an accessibility problem
The parking situation at Greenway Flats is unworkable.
I live there. There is only one handicap parking spot and it’s located past the dumpster. The building’s side door can only exit, so we have to go all the way around to the front door. Since there isn’t any property maintenance, the stairs and sidewalks aren’t shoveled, so it’s always a hazard. There are several handicapped residents with vehicles so it’s pretty much a race for the spot.
A resident, Michael Tubbs, was parking in the visitor lot because he has had neck surgery and it’s hard for him to walk far. His vehicle was tagged on Friday. He pulled the sticker off, moved his truck back to the resident lot. On Saturday his vehicle was towed from the resident lot. Before the vehicle was on the tow truck he had his keys, but security blocked his way.
According to the Fair Towing Act, towing companies must release a vehicle that has been hooked but not yet towed if the owner appears. If a vehicle is illegally towed the company must return it to the owner within 48 hours at no cost to the owner.
Mike had to pay $549, which took him 3 days to come up with and he couldn’t pay his rent for that month.
Mike’s vehicle was towed because security found it inconvenient to accommodate his mobility issues which led him to repeatedly park in the visitor lot.
Mike went to the CEO of the Rescue Mission, Travis Williams, to inquire why his vehicle was towed and was told to get out of his office or he would be trespassed. Gee, that’s real compassionate. [A Springs Rescue Mission spokesperson disputed this and said “Travis did not have a conversation with anyone about a towing situation.”]
Mike isn’t the only resident to have this problem. Another resident had their vehicle towed and because they couldn’t afford the impound fees they relinquished their vehicle, leaving them unable to get to important appointments and losing their job, and eventually being evicted.
Springs Rescue Mission can’t continue to screw over residents of Greenway Flats and believe they can get away with no consequences. They think that we won’t stand up for ourselves out of fear of reprisal.
It’s all about the hearts you touch and the smiles you spread.
Kandy Lewis
Springs Rescue Mission responds
An SRM spokesperson responded to the letter from Lewis by saying, “Springs Rescue Mission does its best to approach every situation with hospitality while adhering to pertinent law and policy, and that can sometimes be a difficult balance to strike.”
“If you would like to see our campus or Greenway Flats yourself, please let me know and I would gladly give you a tour; or feel free to drive around the parking lot at any time if you’re curious,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said an interaction between Tubbs and Williams alleged in the letter did not occur and asked me to remove Williams’ name. I opted to leave it in and note within the letter that SRM disputes the account.
I went to Greenway Flats to take a look at the parking situation and followed up with Tubbs, the subject of Lewis’s letter, to confirm the account given in the letter and that he consented to its publication. There is some resident parking closer to the entryway, but Tubbs said it was frequently full which led him to use the visitor parking area rather than a more distant resident spot.
Want to write a letter to the editor? Send it to [email protected].
