Logging 15,000 steps over a 3½- to 4-hour shift is one of the many perks of Paul Kavanaugh’s job as an ambassador in downtown Colorado Springs. Others he ticks off are being appreciated, feeling helpful, encountering something different every day and having fun.

“It includes all my skills of talking to people and communicating and trying to help people out,” said the former radio mogul, local TV weather anchor and media manager for the Colorado Springs Police Department.

At nearly the mid-way point, the Clean & Safe pilot program of Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs shows that the 19-month initiative is working to maintain an atmosphere of tidiness and safety, say leaders of the merchants’ association.

“Our focus is to be very persistent to address the negative behaviors quickly,” said Pat Rigdon, director of downtown environment for the Downtown Partnership.

The association launched the experimental project last July, after fielding complaints from shoppers, retail and restaurant employees and office workers.

Concerns about transient activity, sanitation and vibrancy of the city’s central shopping and dining district led to the new tactic. Grants, including those from the city of Colorado Springs, are funding the initiative.

Teams dispel concerns about personal safety by using de-escalation techniques, asking people to move along, monitoring those who might be agitated and yelling, and calling in reinforcements as needed.

Police issue tickets for people violating the city’s ban on urban camping and sitting for a while or lying on sidewalks, benches and business entrances.

On a rainy day last week, Kavanaugh and his work partner, Dean Strain, canvassed the streets in their neon yellow vests, saying hello to anyone they encountered. Some of the homeless people are regulars and known to the crews.  One man was grouchy because he had received a citation for a disturbance the previous day. But he was respectful and not unkind to the workers.

“We show them a little dignity and develop relationships with the business people and the homeless people,” said Mark Goldberg, another ambassador.

“We give them an ear to complain to,” Kavanaugh chimes in.

Crews respond to merchants reporting someone vomiting on their shop’s front window, a suspected shoplifting incident and someone being disruptive to customers.

In all, workers had 1,600 contacts with homeless people between last August and this March, according to newly released data.

Businesses and patrons submitted 371 direct requests for assistance, numbers show. In all, the Clean & Safe staff made 1,500 check-ins with businesses during those eight months.

They also chat up tourists who are looking for a certain store or want a recommendation on where to eat, recording 3,500 visitor interactions from August through March.

All in a day’s work, ambassadors say.

Workers also regularly remove random trash and debris from alleyways, sidewalks and roadsides from Colorado College to the north to Moreno Street to the south. They say they sometimes find knives and hypodermic needles.

Beyond that, a dedicated “Clean Team” removed 193 graffiti tags from the program’s inception through March.

And workers retrieved more than 42,000 cigarette butts and gum remnants from the ground.

No easy feat to get that statistic, Rigdon said. It’s not a scientific calculation but a close estimate. When the buckets cleaning crew members carry reach a certain level, crews are able to estimate how many butts and gum pieces they have collected, he said.

Strain, however, does actually count each individual cigarette butt and reports that he can pick up 300 to 400 per each 3½-hour shift.

Private security guards hired by Downtown Partnership also patrol during key hours to keep streets orderly and a dedicated outreach team from Homeward Pikes Peak is on hand to provide people in need with information on locating food, emergency sheltering, step-up housing and other assistance.

Since last August, two-thirds – or 97 of the 141 unique individuals who spoke with the homeless outreach teams – are actively pursuing housing and 19 have been re-housed or returned to stable housing, the numbers show.

Also, about half, or 70 people who are homeless, accepted case management. That can lead to being rehoused, re-employed, entering addiction treatment or receiving public benefits.

“That wouldn’t happen if we weren’t out there building rapport,” said Downtown Partnership CEO Chelsea Gondeck.

The outcomes demonstrate “meaningful progress connecting people with appropriate services,” Rigdon said.

Kavanaugh said medical response is also deployed if ambassadors or security personnel cannot rouse someone or run across a physical concern or mental crisis.

Police handle suspected lawbreakers – but calls to law enforcement have declined significantly, Rigdon said.

In all, Clean & Safe teams handled 2,066 security incidents from last August through this March, with police being involved in just 2.7% of those cases, according to the data.

“I think it’s pretty positive, however I know not everyone is going to say it’s made a night-and-day difference because merchants have their perceptions,” Rigdon said.

“I look at it as what would it look like if we were not there to help.”

The program didn’t introduce new duties but expanded the size of response with more workers, extended security guard hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and cast a wider scope that reaches 1 square mile of shoes-on-the-ground coverage, Rigdon notes.

Sanitation also is more in-depth and extensive than before.

Johnny Suarez, a barista at Solar Roast Coffee at Tejon and Bijou streets, a favorite corner for buskers, said he’s noticed an improvement in the downtown environment.

“It’s become a lot safer,” he said. “You don’t have to wait around for help if you have some guy hopped up on meth hanging around. I’m not hating it – I’m loving it.”

The specialty coffee shop is known for being a friend to the homeless population, providing free water for street people and their dogs.

Even so, they’ve had problems with behavior of some vagrants, but Suarez said incidents have “definitely decreased,” as has the need to contact police.

When an issue arises, the first thing Suarez does is talk to the person to try to calm them down before ushering them out of the store. Unlike prior to the new protocols, calling law enforcement is the last resort, he said.

“Most of the time we can talk to them and ask them nicely to leave,” Suarez said. Most of the time, they do.

Yet some merchants attribute the presence of homeless people hanging out in the area as a reason customers don’t patronize downtown.

Some people who are mentally ill or use drugs yell and talk to imaginary characters as they walk the streets. A recent Dumpster fire near an art gallery led to head shaking and concerned grumbling. 

The blaze on April 8 was extinguished quickly and did not spread to any buildings, said Ashley Franco, spokesperson for Colorado Springs Fire Department.

“We continue to see fires caused by homeless to be a large number of the calls we respond to; it is one of the top causes of fires in the city,” she said.

Others say they’ve noticed doorways and benches are less occupied these days with people sleeping it off or napping, and street people, who are often chronically homeless for extended periods, appear less intrusive than in the past.

“The supplemental security and ambassadors are creating the sense of visibility,” Gondeck said.

She does not believe the claim that homeless people are being pushed into other areas of the city is materializing.

“That’s why we reach out to connect people to resources,” Gondeck said.

Homelessness is a tough issue, Rigdon said, one that has no particular solution and that involves untreated mental illness, substance use, housing shortages and other related issues.

Every day, Kavanaugh and other downtown ambassadors encounter people who might need further contact beyond a “Hey, how are you doing? Do you need anything?” Ambassadors are trained in how to talk people down from a heated state using de-escalation techniques and immediate support that can be rendered – which make up the first level of approach, Rigdon said. They’ll say hello, introduce themselves, ask if they can get someone water or information.

“I feel we’re another set of eyes and ears for the downtown area,” Kavanaugh said. “Business people really appreciate us, visitors ask where’s a good place to eat or where’s this gallery located, and we direct them. We call security for a disturbance or shoplifting, or 911 for medical or police, depending on the circumstances.”

Sometimes just saying “hi” to people brightens everyone’s day, and sometimes, tourists thank the ambassadors and mention how they’d like to see such a program where they live.

“That makes us feel good,” Kavanaugh said.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that police issue tickets to anyone violating municipal laws, such as urban camping and lying or sitting in public spaces for extended periods.