The closure of the main library branch in Boulder due to people’s use of meth in the building is terribly disturbing. A place that is meant to be a safe space for all of the city’s citizens, both housed and unhoused, has been rendered a space that is safe for no one. Continuing my series of “Stories We Don’t Know,” I interviewed Sheri Bosworth, who has been sober now for the past five months, and living at The Lodge (a women’s shelter in Boulder; see link below). She used crystal meth, but says she never did it in the library. She knew people had been caught using meth inside the library before, but was shocked to hear how much the situation has escalated. Sheri said she frequented the library to read, use the computer, and hang out with her friends. She said she worries about the children using the library, and said she finds the uptick in meth use there scary. When I asked her how many of the homeless people she knew used meth, she guessed it was about 50%.

 Sheri, 46, is originally from Littleton, Colorado, and grew up in a single-father household with eight brothers, some of whom have mental health issues. She was the only girl. I asked her if her brothers or father had any addictions to drug or alcohol, and she said they did not. Sheri said there was a history of sexual abuse in the home. Her father died about ten years ago, and a number of her brothers currently live in group homes, while others live independently in Colorado and Texas. She remains in touch with some of her brothers, and one in particular has been trying to help her.

Sheri graduated high school, and was certified as a CNA. She said she has a history of drug use, and did several out-patient programs in an effort to get clean. She said she has never been in an in-patient program. Sheri attributes her current level of sobriety to the fact that she has been housed at The Lodge, and that the people there have “helped her with a lot of things including getting a job, being able to think more about her situation,” and that being there has made her a stronger person. “I’m a totally different person than I was this summer.” Sheri said she knew she had to get off the streets, that she was too old to be out there any longer. She has stayed off meth, and said that the major reason she used drugs was in response to stress. Being sheltered, and now having a job at Goodwill, has kept her away from drugs and she feels less stressed out. She admits that she thinks about using, but is determined to change things for herself. She has been assigned an apartment, but hasn’t moved in yet because there are some issues with the Compliance Department that still need to be resolved.  Once she is granted her apartment, she says she will have the assistance moving in and furnishing it. Sheri says she has a stronger support system in place right now than she has had to date.

Sheri was unhoused in California for two years, prior to returning to live in Colorado. Like many women who end up unhoused, she was in a very toxic relationship that ultimately led to her living on the streets. She was unhoused in Boulder for two years, before staying at The Lodge. Sheri is mother to four sons. She originally intended to live in Ft. Morgan, where two of her sons, aged 12 and 18, continue to live with a good friend of hers. Her youngest son, aged 8, lives in California with his father, and she does not have contact with either of them. Her eldest son, now 25, spent part of his childhood in a foster home. He graduated high school, and now lives on his own.

Sheri hoped that Boulder’s services would help her turn her life around. She says the case management at The Lodge has been the most helpful. I first heard about Sheri via Next Door, and reached out to see if she would be willing to share her story as part of my series on the unhoused and previously unhoused of Boulder. The fact that Sheri has been battling an addiction to meth makes her story even more pertinent, especially considering the community tragedy of the library being closed. While Sheri did not use in the library, she was aware that others did. She did not condone that, and in fact called it out, most especially out of concern for children. “There are a lot of people who use meth, and it is not good. It is affecting not just homeless people, but people around the country.”

As always, I want the words of those with lived experience of homelessness to be the ones most heard. I think we need to listen more to what they are saying, and to recognize that addiction affects communities across the board, both housed and unhoused. As Sheri said:

“A lot of people who are housed think they’re better than us. A lot of their lives are hidden behind closed doors. And to put all homeless people all in the same category is really messed up. Until they walk in our shoes, they have no reason to judge us. A lot of homeless people also have a lot of mental issues. A lot of them are still very smart, and they handle things differently than someone not on the street would. In my personal opinion, don’t judge a book by its cover until you’ve really known and talked to those people.”

I am very grateful that organizations like The Lodge and Feet Forward exist in Boulder, and I believe the major reason Sheri has been able to maintain sobriety is because she has had a roof over her head. Let’s start there, and then let’s add in the kinds of affordable addiction services and mental health services that are really needed to allow people to transition out of homelessness. If you google Meth & Addiction Tx, there is very, very little available for people who do not have health insurance (or money), and waiting lists are long. There has to be a way we can do better than we are.

For more information on addiction in Colorado, please read this information put out by MHP, this more recent piece in the Denver Post, and this from Boulder County.