Dear Editor, 

It is a sign of the times that local residents feel the need to start a GoFundMe site to show their support for the Gilpin County Sheriff’s department.  It is also a vivid indication that no one expects Cory Gardner and the Senate Republicans to provide any financial relief to our state and local public institutions like they did for their corporate buddies. State and county governments are on their own for finding the resources needed to continue basic operations. There are also financial impacts from this pandemic that local institutions will need to deal with that are going to be severe and traumatic for a lot of people. The Sheriff’s department can work to provide security against physical harm, but it can’t provide the security of a decent job or the security of a roof overhead or food on the table. The Sheriff’s department can’t turn on the electricity again for a family that has to choose between eating and staying warm. We face a looming tidal wave of human misery as the pandemic rages on and houses are foreclosed, renters are evicted, and the material basics become beyond the reach of struggling families. The Sheriff’s department can’t help these people, but the Gilpin County Human Services department can.

In hindsight, Gilpin County voters avoided a colossal fiscal folly by choosing not to build a twelve-million-dollar new jail. The new Human Services building is going to be built with the help of a grant of about a million dollars that the commissioners were able to obtain and it will free up room at the Justice Center for use by the Sheriff’s department. That’s a win/win. It will provide new space for critical services like helping people get through the maze of unemployment and food assistance applications. It will be a place where the most vulnerable and desperate in our community can turn to for help in a time of dire need. I don’t know if folks want to setup a GoFundMe for the Human Services Department but it is as vital to the well-being and broad security of our community as the Sheriff’s department and its funding has also been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

Being an American means being part of something larger than ourselves or our political associations. Now is the time for all people of goodwill to show their support for each other and work to contribute to new solutions to deal with funding our public institutions and protecting our citizens from the tragedies of our times. We can get through this if we work together for the benefit of all.

Wes Isenhart
Black Hawk