Homelessness is a hot topic in the City of Boulder right now. But housed people are not the only ones wondering what the solution is; some of the homeless in Boulder are also reflecting amongst themselves about the situation they find themselves in. Tammy Norem, 49, is one of those people. She came here in March 2022 from Little Rock, AR, with her sister, two other people, and four dogs, just a couple months after the death of her husband.

 Tammy’s two sons anchor her story. She lost custody of her eldest mere hours after her youngest was born in 2004. She did not hold her oldest son again for 17 ½ years; he was killed on December 30, 2022. Her youngest son, J, now 19, is currently sheltered at The Source, and just got the news that he will be going to Job Corps in Wyoming, where he will receive job training in heavy machine operating, finish his high school degree, and obtain a Driver’s License. Tammy’s joy at seeing him walk towards her while we sat on the bleachers of the Bandshell was palpable.

 Tammy’s current husband, Bill, joined us for much of our conversation, as did their friend, W., who has housing through TGTHR. J., W., Bill, and Tammy are family to each other. They look out for one another, and their encampment is their home. Tammy and Bill have complicated pasts, including bouts with alcoholism, mental health, and the criminal justice system. Their lived experience gives them insights into homelessness that deserve to be heard.

 I’d asked to meet Tammy because I wanted to learn more about the protest she’d organized on Pearl Street. She wanted to voice her frustration with the City of Boulder’s response to encampments. As she put it, “the City created a problem with no solution.” Tammy understands that it is against the law to camp. What she finds frustrating is that she has few other options. The Boulder Shelter does not meet her family’s needs, and she says when she has confronted them about this, she has been blacklisted. In addition, the Hot Team only pushes the Shelter. I asked her to clarify why the Shelter does not work for her or for Bill, and she explained that her husband has grand mal seizures and needs to always be guaranteed a bottom bunk, and that she has similar physical requirements due to having Stage 4 Kidney failure, insulin dependence, and a failing liver. Tammy and Bill need accommodations for their extensive health impairments, and they have not been able to get them. Tammy is also disturbed by the lack of mental health care services available to her. While she goes to MHP, she says it just is not enough. She described an occasion where she’d overdosed, been placed on a 72-hour hold, and then released to the street with no services and no medication.

Tammy’s protest on Pearl Street garnered attention. She said that businesses had not responded negatively because she was not one of what she called the “squeechers and squallers.” Sgt. Kessler, the lead on the Hot Team, eventually came and told her that she had made her point, and she agreed to move. They left and went to 17th Street and Pearl, behind Circle K, but within 10 minutes, CU police came and told them to move immediately (no 36-hour notice). Tammy said she knows that keeping Pearl Street hostage is not the answer. She does not want to get arrested. What she does want is to sit down with what she called the “higher-ups” and explain the importance of paying attention to the why of people who are homeless. While housing addresses one essential need, Tammy wants the City to recognize the absolute necessity for more supportive, needs-based services.

Tammy’s own story is a history of trauma. She was removed from her biological mother’s care at 22 months old, and placed in foster care; her foster mom died from ovarian cancer when Tammy was 14. She was the victim of domestic violence for over 12 years with an ex-husband who was a dope cooker, and passed her from drug dealer to drug dealer. She had 21 years of being housed, and 35 years of working at the Waffle House in Little Rock (with her youngest son being taken care of in the back room for the first four years of his life). And, as Tammy put it, “I’ve fought and clawed myself out of one homeless situation after another.” Her medical problems make her life that much more difficult (she showed me the box she carries with her insulin, always kept close to her in a backpack).

What Tammy has outside now is what keeps her together: a family, a community. J. and W. both visit her and Bill. As W. explained, even while being housed at TGTHR, he continues to interact with the homeless every day because of resources, and he tries to help with laundry and whatever other aid he can provide. And yet, housing or not, W. is still financially insecure. Feet Forward’s Tuesday in the Park program helps him feed his cat. Both Tammy and W. are Native, and that creates another bond between them.

Tammy, Bill, W. and J. all wanted to share their take on homelessness in Boulder. They spoke of encampments being displaced every Friday, and how the edge of the “clean up zone” is right near CU. While they had issues with Boulder police (who they said continually walk right into encampments, hands on their guns, and take their things), they said CU police were even more disruptive. They also expressed their concern about the increased drug use and the growing number of sex offenders. And, they had a number of suggestions, including the possibility of the City having the homeless “work for services.” For example, they proposed the City loan them money to open up a food truck with proceeds going to pay for more port-a-potties and services for the upcoming Day Center. As Bill said, “if you give [us] a chance, [we’re]willing to better [our]selves, and [we’ll] do it.” Bill and J. and W. talked about the skillsets amongst the homeless, including people who were once EMTs and construction workers. Bill and Tammy both spoke of recognizing that the homeless have the ability to “police” themselves when given the opportunity to do so. Bill wants to be involved in helping “clean shit up… if people screw up, we can help get them out of town.”

Tammy advocated for a different kind of community policing. She recalled a policeman she greatly admired in Little Rock, a man named Tommy Norman (you can find videos of him on YouTube). She said when she was at Dorcas House, a Battered Women’s Shelter, they mandated attendance at church. Tommy Norman went to the same church, and there were ½ dozen armed police officers on the building, and plains-clothed police officers in the church, with the children in a locked-down area of the building. Tammy said she felt safe and protected by Tommy and the other officers, and that Tommy would give the clothes off his back to help those in need. Per Tammy, when Officer Norman was offered a job in Los Angeles, he refused, saying “I’m not leaving my people.” I think Tammy felt she was one of those people, and misses having that kind of trust with police officers in Boulder.

 Bill said more attention needs to be paid to the root of the problem.

“People out here are begging and screaming for help. All you see is them acting out, but if you talked to them when they’re sober, they’d tell you a story. You’d understand why we are the way we are. Don’t automatically condemn us.”

Tammy echoed this. “Ask why someone is homeless to start with. Don’t wait to offer help. Stop the cycle.” She spoke about the problems of battered women shelters not taking in women with boys over 10, and how beneficial it would be to use lived experience skills in battered women shelters to help teach boys between 10-18 the necessary skills to grow up to be better men.

 W. also emphasized that “people need to listen to us.” J. affirmed this, stating that it would be beneficial to “ask other homeless people to help when there is problem.” W. added:

 “At the end of the day, people’s needs are not being met. Mental health is not being addressed, and there are not enough services. If drug use is an issue, deal with that specific person; don’t blame the whole community.”

This small family living in an encampment has much to teach all of us in Boulder, including the “higher-ups.” Tammy’s protest calls attention to what so many housed and unhoused community members want: solutions that include more supportive services in addition to housing. It is time to call upon the voices with lived experience.