On Tuesday, the day conservative political activist Charlie Kirk would have turned 32 years old, homeless people in Colorado Springs received “patriot packs.”

Essentials like ham and turkey sandwiches, socks, water bottles, can openers, blankets and clothes, including a Colorado Freedom Convoy shirt from members of the group, were included inside.

“We wanted to do something meaningful instead of standing around lighting candles and being sad; we wanted to give back to the community,” said Heidi Bear, who founded the Colorado Freedom Convoy in 2014.

Kirk, co-founder in 2012 of the student organization Turning Point USA and known for presenting and debating his conservative views on all types of college campuses, was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University.

Both chambers of Congress approved resolutions last month to honor Kirk on Oct. 14 with a National Day of Remembrance.

And President Donald Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

With a 5-4 vote and heated discussion on Tuesday morning, Colorado Springs City Council narrowly approved a resolution to recognize the man and the day proclaimed in his memory.

City Councilor Brandy Williams introduced the resolution, read a portion of a letter from the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, and said the issue was about bringing love and grace back to conversations.

“I never thought something like this would happen in my lifetime. You hear about JFK, you hear about Martin Luther King, but to have this happen in America is something I never thought would happen,” she said.

Council member David Leinweber said he had gotten multiple threatening or disturbing emails against the resolution.

Leinweber voted in favor of it, saying he believes Kirk represented civic discourse, including during the debates with college students who disagreed with him.

Council member Nancy Henjum, who voted against the resolution, pointed out that actions by Trump and other Republicans to silence critics of Kirk in the past month went against Kirk’s free speech ideals. She also said such a local resolution might not happen for “a radical left-wing” speaker who was killed.

“I support free speech and much of what is written in this amendment, I fully support,” Henjum said. “What I struggle with is the naming of one person who is very polarizing.”

Near the South Tejon Street underpass and close to the city’s largest homeless shelter, people living on the streets accepted the free stuff from the Colorado Freedom Convoy, which assists communities in times of need, and next will head to Pagosa Springs to help people affected by a damaging flood.

“It’s ‘We the People’ that need to start uniting,” Bear said. “There should be no more division. We all need to help out our communities.”

She said she got the idea to conduct the drive for the homeless from driving around so much with the convoy and seeing so many people living on the streets.

“Homelessness is sad, and throwing money from the government doesn’t seem to be working,” Bear said.

The group handed out about 350 survival bags on Tuesday and a little more than that on Monday, she said.

Like many of Kirk’s other views, his position on homelessness stirred controversy, particularly his belief that homelessness is largely a product of choice due to people being addicted to substances and having other mental illnesses that often are not attended to.

“Homelessness is not a money problem,” Kirk said in a YouTube video while speaking at one of his many college appearances.

He also did not believe that providing housing before addressing other personal challenges was the answer.

Kirk advocated for towns and cities large and small to make and enforce laws against urban camping, take people to homeless shelters and rely on churches and charitable organizations to provide basics to those who lost stable homes not by drugs, alcohol or mental disorders.

“This idea that we’re being loving and caring by allowing them to camp on the streets – no, we’re being weak is what we are. It’s bad for humanity, for society, for people to wander the streets,” he said during another event, which is also posted on YouTube.

Kirk said in some communities, children are being taught what to do if they find needles on the ground. “It’s not sanitary, it’s not good for our kids,” he said. “It’s reprehensible. That’s us having to adjust our mode of being for issues other people are having.”

The El Paso County Commissioners also proclaimed on Tuesday as a day of remembrance for Kirk, lauding him as a free speech champion. 

“It’s really important that we take some time to remember why we are here serving and to honor his example,” said commissioner Lauren Nelson. 

Commission chair Carrie Geitner condemned “continued callousness towards fellow Americans, regardless of what their beliefs are.” She said talking about Kirk’s death with her teenage sons was difficult. 

 “This will be an impact on the youth in our country for the rest of their lives,” she said. 

Stefan Hoffman, Turning Point USA chapter president at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, told commissioners Kirk had an outsized impact on his life, with the group becoming a place where he found community and purpose. 

“No one should be killed for their political opinions,” he said. 

A man who goes by the name of Blue who was wearing a Charlie Kirk ball cap on Tuesday and said he’s been homeless for 10 years, said he appreciated the items he received from the convoy — recognizable by the copious amount of American flags planted on vehicles.

“This shows that Americans can help Americans without the bureaucracy,” Blue said. “The division makes us weaker. Community makes us stronger, and we stand strong. We need more of what these people are doing. They are good Americans, just like I am.”

Jerome, who goes by “Silly” and also is homeless, said he doesn’t appreciate the way the community looks at people who are homeless.

He’d like to see a sanctioned homeless camp set up.

“Instead, people ridicule us. Everyone wants to judge us,” Silly said. “We all need to come together and work together and show the community we’re not a waste.”

Honks of approval from passing vehicles were met with convoy participants hoisting large American flags high into the air and waving them.

Greg Noble’s “Freedom Hauler” truck that is decorated with signatures and words of encouragement from cities the convoy visits, has its own website, he said. The truck can hold up to 35 flags and draws attention wherever it goes throughout the state, he said.

“We fly American flags because we want our communities to be red, white and blue — not red versus blue,” Bear said.

Gazette reporters Brennen Kauffman and Savannah Eller contributed to this story.