Colorado Springs Police officers tell 11 News the homeless community in Colorado Springs now numbers in the hundreds. There is a big debate now over whether people who donate directly to the homeless are helping or enabling. A lot of donations have now become visible in the form of trash.

John Clavin used to live along Fountain Creek. He says, just like he discovered for himself, the homeless do not have to live like they are. Clavin used to work at a casino in Cripple Creek. He says that’s where he got addicted to meth, then became homeless. It wasn’t until he hit rock bottom that he got help from the Salvation Army. "They picked me up and dusted me off," Clavin said.

Clavin feels the donations people are making directly to the homeless are misguided. "The people that might be getting close to the bottom where they'd find help, [then] all of the sudden someone comes along with a bag of groceries and some money or cigarettes or whatever, they don't have to move," he said. Clavin thinks the donations keep people from hitting their bottom, like he did.

Chris Torres spent his Sunday cleaning up after some of his neighbors. “It doesn't look good for us, and it doesn't look good period," Torres said. A resident of the “tent cities” for about nine months, Torres said he appreciates the donations, and tries to share.

Boxes of clothes sit next to wasted food, shoes, books and even more food, most of the donations have turned to trash.

"We don't want these people to continue to live like this. It’s heart breaking," said Ann Gaffney. She regularly heads down to the camps to drop off donations and meet with the homeless. "We're able to connect with people and treat them as individuals."

Whatever the method, many of those individuals tell 11 News they need the help. Police officers and Clavin say donations are a good idea, but you should make them to local charities and homeless organizations.

11 News first reported Saturday, a complaint had been filed with the Environmental Protection Agency about all the trash in the “tent cities” and in the nearby creeks.

Colorado Springs City Council is expected to discuss the homeless issue at its informal meeting Monday at 1:00 p.m. at City Hall.
There are also going to be a few public meetings about the city's homeless issue. Law enforcement and city officials are expected to be there. The dates and times for those meetings are listed below.
Wednesday January 13th at 12:00 p.m. This meeting will be held at 518 N. Nevada Ave. Anyone can come.
Monday January 18th and Wednesday January 20th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. These two meetings will be held at the Marion House Soup Kitchen located at 14 West Bijou Street.