On the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 15, Tawi Kaan celebrated its grand opening.
Crowds of people flowed in and out of the newly built permanent supportive housing apartments at 560 E. Empire St. in Cortez, settling in its enclosed courtyard about 1 p.m. to listen to some of the people who made it possible.
There are 42 units – 14 one-bed, 14 two-bed and 14 three-bed – in the three-story building for people making 30% or less than the median income for the area, which is $58,355 in Montezuma County, according to the city of Cortez’s website.
In other words, people making $17,500 a year or less can move in.
People who are exiting homelessness can also move in, making no income at all, said Kerri Beattie, a supervisor at the Piñon Project, a family resource center in Cortez that spearheaded the project.
Oriana Sanchez from Blue Line Development Inc., an affordable-housing developer who partnered with the Piñon Project and the Ute Mountain Ute tribe in this project, spoke first, welcoming everyone who came.
Next, Ute Mountain Ute Councilmember Darwin Whiteman Jr. made his way to the podium to lead a prayer. He remembered leading a prayer last year, at the project’s groundbreaking in May.
There were only 20 people there, and they were all trying to imagine what it was going to be, he said. On Tuesday, there were more people than there were chairs, and they all crowded in to listen.
Whiteman said the Creator planted a seed in someone’s mind to begin this project, and it grew into their heart, and grew bigger still.
“Sometimes we don’t look at things like that. We forget to thank the Creator for this life,” said Whiteman. “Bless all the people, all their relatives, all their homes. Wherever they are under the sun, the sun can reach.”
Two drummers from the tribe played a song together, and one of them sang. Some tribal members in the audience chimed in, singing and harmonizing as they played. After they finished, Whiteman requested another song to honor veterans.
Paul Beckler, the vice president of the Piñon Project’s board of directors, said he remembered something Whiteman once said about how love carries many keys to the doors of boundaries.
Beckler said he hopes this is a place of love that breaks down boundaries.
One thing most all the speakers highlighted is how Tawi Kaan, which is a Ute word for “our home,” is for everyone in the community.
“It’s important we support one another,” said Ute Mountain Ute Treasurer Alston Turtle in his speech to the audience.
Turtle said we are all one community – Cortez, Mancos, Dolores and Towaoc – and with this development, we all move forward together.
He underscored how all humans face the same kinds of struggles, and how we ought to give extra care and support to those who need more help than others.
With the help of Rita King, Ute Mountain Ute elder Alfred Wall Jr. said they chose the name Tawi Kaan together. He said they changed its name three times before landing on "our home.“
“It’s a home for everyone, so they’ve always got somewhere to go,” Wall said.
He sang an appreciation song to the audience, which his son wrote. He emphasized the importance of togetherness, and the strength in it.
“We need housing options for all community members, including those working hard to exit homelessness,” Lisa Pool, the Southwest regional director for U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, read in a statement from the senator.
Pool called housing a crisis impacting Southwest Colorado, and, zooming out, the rest of the state and country as well.
Kathryn Grosscup, a representative from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority – which helped finance the project with a $1.2 million tax credit award – spoke and said she remembers having conversations with Kellie Willis, the executive director of the Piñon Project, in 2013 about this project.
Grosscup said this area inspired the entire state of Colorado’s thought process on advancing solutions around housing challenges.
“Everyone in Colorado deserves stable, affordable housing,” she said.
With that in mind, these “deeply affordable” units will stay “deeply affordable” for 40 years to come, Grosscup said.
Sanchez from Blue Line said the company has helped make 18 permanent supportive housing projects possible, 13 of which are in Colorado.
She said Tawi Kaan is unique because of its partnership with the tribe, and the opportunity to honor Indigenous culture and Cortez culture simultaneously was especially appealing.
Treasurer Turtle said that on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, they’re looking to build a permanent supportive housing development like Tawi Kaan. He said that before the pandemic, 200 people were on on a waiting list for housing.
“Those numbers could have doubled,” Turtle said.
He said it’s between $70,000 and $80,000 to build or renovate just one home.
What’s more, there’s a lot of expanding soils on the reservation – which, because of clay minerals in it, expands when wet and shrinks when dry – and that makes it hard to find suitable, stable places to build housing.
Sometimes we forget humans live in buildings, said Laura Rossbert, the chief operating officer and housing specialist at Shopworks Architects, which designed the building.
They worked mindfully to tailor the building for those who have experienced trauma. Such a design can help mediate stress and trauma because the environment inside buildings impact people.
Rossbert said there’s no hidden corners throughout Tawi Kaan, and it’s well-lit with natural light.
There’s not a lot of sharp edges, either, which is indicative of English design; most things in the building are round, which is indicative of Indigenous style.
Rossbert and Turtle both said the fireplace was installed tactically, to encourage storytelling and community gathering.
And the “beautiful bear playground” is for play, a key element in healing, for kids and adults alike, Rossbert said.
To the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, bears symbolize resilience, strength and a maternal instinct, Turtle said.
The courtyard area is gated, so kids can safely play while parents relax. Plus, residents will have a list of approved visitors allowed inside to keep the space safe.
Inside, there’s a community gathering area, with a large, round kitchen counter, tables, chairs and couches. Cozy cavities are carved in the wall for introverts to unwind in when they don’t want to be in their apartments but don’t want to be in the middle of activity, either, Rossbert said.
“It’s all about remembering humans live in buildings,” Rossbert said.
Any services that are available at Piñon Project’s Main Street location are available at this one, too, said Executive Director Kellie Willis.
Things like the Fatherhood Program, Successful Families program and recovery services, to name a few, are available there, Willis said.
There’s full-time staff in the building as well, who are “advocates” for residents living there, acting as a support system in a myriad of ways. Whether it be taking people to appointments or listening to their troubles, staff will be there 24/7.
Axis Healthcare, which is across the street, will also offer services at Tawi Kaan.
“Housing is health care,” said Stephanie Allred, Axis’ clinical manager.
They cannot support anyone in recovery if they don’t have a safe place to live, Allred said. And so Axis is excited and honored to be in a supportive role, offering healthcare to those at Tawi Kaan.
Allred said nationwide, homelessness is a problem. And small organizations like the Piñon Project are solving that problem quietly, with determination.
