I’m sure there’s little doubt in anyone’s mind, that camping in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains can be a lovely experience.
But only for a few days, preferably. Not necessarily as a lifestyle choice.
Eventually, you want to return home, to a real house. Take a hot shower. Check your email. Pop a pizza in the oven. Sleep in your own bed.
Unfortunately, a real house is beyond the reach of some folks in Pagosa Springs — either too expensive, or impossible to find — so some of our residents are living, semi-permanently, in the national forest. Or crashing temporarily on a friend’s couch. Or sleeping in the back of a pickup truck, at the end of a lonely cul-de-sac.
How many people might that be?
Pagosa Housing Partners, a volunteer charitable organization created three years ago to help facilitate workforce housing development in Archuleta County, is currently conducting a community survey to get a sense of how many Pagosans are without permanent housing, and also how many are paying more than 30% of their income for housing. (The 30% limit is a common measure used by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, HUD, and other housing agencies.)
The survey also asks if folks are considering leaving Archuleta County for various reasons.
Full-time residents of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County — working or retired — are urged to participate in the survey. The resulting data will identify which sectors of the economy are most affected by changes in housing availability and pricing here in Pagosa, and will help guide local government and charitable organizations, as housing policies are reviewed, and as budgets are developed for the coming 2022 fiscal year.
PHP conducted a similar survey in 2018, and this new survey asks many of the same questions, to help give us a sense of how much the housing situation has changed over the past three years.
PHP conducted a similar survey in 2018, and this new survey asks many of the same questions, to help give us a sense of how much the housing situation has changed over the past three years.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that housing has become a more serious problem for certain demographic sectors since 2018.
The 2021 survey is co-sponsored by Pagosa Housing Partners, the Town of Pagosa Springs, the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Pagosa Springs SUN, the Pagosa Daily Post, and local realtor Mike Heraty.
The survey takes about 7-10 minutes to complete, and is totally confidential. You will not be asked for your name, address, email, or other identifying information.
You can participate in the survey by clicking on the image below:
If you have no Internet access, you can pick up a paper version of the survey at the following locations:
- Pagosa Springs Town Hall
- Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce
- Ruby Sisson Library
- Higher Grounds Coffee
- Turkey Springs Trading Post
Many of our local employers have volunteered to distribute the survey information to their employees, and several Pagosa churches are participating in getting the surveys into the hands of local residents.
Call Pagosa Housing Partners at 970-903-2673 for more information, or to request surveys for yourself, your friends or your employees.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.