The founder of a Colorado Springs nonprofit that seeks to place 100 military-grade tents near Calhan to provide temporary shelter for chronically homeless people and services to prepare them to assimilate back into society says her plans have been unfairly tarnished by an inaccurate social media post from an Eastern-plains police department.

Kelly Morrow said Tuesday that she has been working in good faith to advance approvals to bring the project of her organization, InTents of Hope, to fruition.

“The project is just at the beginning phase, which was made clear to the police chief, and at no time did I mention the location,” she said.

Morrow said she had contacted Calhan Police Chief Dave Weinberger to let him know about her organization’s goals. Then on Feb. 15 a press release appeared on the department Facebook page, signed by Sgt. Anthony Tribuzio.

“While the police department appreciates the intention behind this effort, it raises several concerns that require further examination,” the post says in part.

However, Morrow said the release gave an incorrect location of the proposed encampment.

“The post intended to do what it did — cause alarm among citizens — and it somehow has become something entirely different than what we are doing,” Morrow said. “It created misinformation and uproar by the way police delivered the information.”

Requests by phone and email for interviews with Weinberger and Tribuzio were not returned.

Tribuzio said in the online release that police have concerns about safety, security and community support and would alert residents as they learned more about it.

“We have received numerous concerns from members of our community, and it was in the best interest of all parties involved to issue a release that could be seen by all,” he wrote.

“I want to assure you that nothing in the release is derogatory towards your mission or goals,” he said, directed toward Morrow. “It is merely a means for addressing the concerns of our community and ensuring that accurate information about your organization is readily available.”

Morrow said such communication was premature and unnecessary, since she intends to hold public meetings after she meets with El Paso County officials later in March.

“We always intended to inform direct neighbors, extended neighbors and the entire community,” she said. “We’re working now on informing police, county and the sheriff’s offices.”

Morrow said she had spoken with county officials in 2020 to review the concept and make inroads, but the pandemic stalled the project’s evolution.

She’s now relaunching the effort and recently acquired nearly 35 acres of land in rural eastern El Paso County.

The vacant parcel off Ramah Highway, where antelope roam and wind turbines churn, is ideal, Morrow believes, for a monitored encampment featuring heavy-duty tents and basic necessities including food, clothing and transportation to jobs. The site also would provide individualized plans for clients, case management, addiction recovery, other mental health assistance and no time restrictions for getting back on their feet.

“We want to bring in services and have them available to residents away from the city environment, where we see the hostility toward individuals who are coping with homelessness,” she said.

But the online communication created a “Not in My Backyard” sentiment before anything has even happened, Morrow said. Several posters decried the idea based on what the police department wrote and without knowing how the system would work, she said.

“We are not unaware there can be dangers, and we understand why people feel like they do,” Morrow said. “That’s why we’ve chosen a rural location — so as to not be subject to what’s known as NIMBYism.”

Calhan has limited assistance for homeless people, she said, and many of the chronically homeless population in Colorado Springs don’t use existing services.

Morrow said the encampment would bring a new model to El Paso County, with the encampment being staffed 24/7 and having on-site security. Also, the program would not be open to illegal immigrants, she said, as some people online inaccurately stated.

Tents are beneficial to chronically homeless people, who often experience anxiety when moving from living on the streets to brick-and-mortar housing, Morrow said.

“Tents still have that outdoor feel and are considered open air,” she said. “The rural area creates an environment where people can heal and doesn’t interfere with other businesses or residents’ backlash because they feel their property is devalued.”

Morrow formed InTents of Hope just before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020. Something her grandson said to her touched her heart and led her to believe God is calling her to offer a hand up.

The boy, at the time 8 years old, begged her to let a homeless man, who was outside a store on a bitterly cold night with his dog, to come inside their car to get warm.

“My daughter said we don’t know who he is, we can’t do that, and my grandson was very distraught,” Morrow said. “His child’s heart was like mine, and it’s time each of us does something to help these people.”