HomeMy WebLinkAboutConstituent Letter - Mail Packet - 7/21/2020 - Powerpoint Presentation From Serena Bettis, Colorado State University Student, Re: Sleeping Solutions In Fort Collins1
Sarah Kane
From: Serena Bettis <serenabettis3@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2020 12:54 PM
To: Sarah Kane
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Public Comment to Fort Collins City Council
Attachments: Bettis_Community Argument Presentation.pptx
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
Categories: Council Packet Item
Hello,
My name is Serena Bettis and I am a journalism and political science student at Colorado State University. This summer, I
have taken the course Composition 300, in which throughout the term we worked to build a community argument. The
final step in the class is to deliver this argument to a specific audience. My audience is the Fort Collins City Council.
My argument regards the need for a safe space to sleep in Fort Collins for people experiencing homelessness. I have
attached a short PowerPoint presentation about this issue, which I hope you will consider as a public comment for the
upcoming City Council meeting and review if you have the time.
Thank you,
Serena Bettis
--
Serena Bettis - she/her(s)
News Editor - The Collegian |
Journalism & Poli Sci Undergraduate |
Colorado State University
July 16, 2020
TO: Mayor & Council
FROM: Serena Bettis
FYI /sek
SLEEPING SOLUTIONS
IN FORT COLLINS
Presented by Serena Bettis
Colorado State University
Composition 300, Section 801
Who I am
COLORADO STATE
UNIVERSITY STUDENT
FORT COLLINS
RESIDENT OF 15 YEARS
WHY I AM GIVING THIS
PRESENTATION
HOMELESSNESS IN
FORT COLLINS
FINDING SHELTER IN
FORT COLLINS
Fort Collins Municipal Code
◦ Article X – “Offenses Involving Camping”
◦ Sec. 17-181 – Bans camping on public
property, which is defined as sleeping,
spending the night, or residing/dwelling
temporarily with or without bedding or
shelter.
◦ Sec. 17-182 – Bans camping on private
property or in vehicles, with some
exceptions.
◦ Camping is permitted outside and in a
vehicle on the property of a residential
dwelling, with the property owner’s
permission.
◦ Camping cannot exceed 7 consecutive days
or 14 days within a calendar year.
ARTICLE SERIES FROM THE
COLORADOAN
Reporting done by Eric Larson, Kevin Duggan, Pat Ferrier, and Jacy Marmaduke
Shelter & Housing in Fort Collins
◦ According to the series by The Coloradoan:
◦ The average wait time for subsidized housing in Fort Collins is 3-5 years
◦ Median rent in Fort Collins increased by 36% between 2007 and 2017; median
renter income increased by 17.5%
◦ In a paragraph from an article about affordable housing in the Coloradoan series,
Jacy Marmaduke writes about a homeless man’s perspective on the cost of being
homeless.
“The costs of being homeless compound over time, Page said. Without a permanent
address, he can’t open a bank account. With no kitchen and no place to store things,
he can’t buy food in bulk, cook meals to save money or hold on to anything he can’t
carry around with him. When he used to sleep at the Rescue Mission, he could never
“sleep through the craziness” and was constantly tired from lack of quality rest and the
exertion of being on his feet day in and day out.”
WHY THIS IS AN ISSUE
People need a safe place to sleep
“But there are other problems with impossible
laws which extend beyond the mere fact that
the person cannot do what is asked of them and
it is wrong to blame them for acts they could not
avoid engaging in and that may be morally
innocent in nature … The fact that someone
does not have the basic capacities or
opportunities to obey the law like everyone else
should not mean that they lose their dignity or
right to be treated equally; it should not detract
from their inherent worth as people or mean
that they are less worthy of respect or
consideration” (Skolnik).
“Daytime impairment due to sleep problems
was reported by 54% and 43% of the SH and H
samples. Within each sample, depression,
anxiety, and PTSD diagnoses were each
associated with a 4- to 9-point increase in sleep
disturbance scores (SH p's< 0.01; H p's< 0.05)
and 2.5x-6.0x greater odds of reporting
somewhat or greater daytime impairment (p's<
0.05). Perceived stress was also positively
associated with sleep disturbance and daytime
impairment (p's< 0.01) in both samples”
(Redline).
POTENTIAL
SOLUTIONS
MY AUDIENCE
Fort Collins City Council - Concerned citizens of the City
– Organizations for the homeless
THEORISTS WHO
GUIDED MY WORK
Lloyd Bitzer – Richard Young – Lisa Ede & Andrea Lunsford
WORKS CITED
Found in the note sections of each slide on this PowerPoint