Coco Culhane questions GPD contract and safety at Borden
Culhane says the city should have known the grant terms, suggests trans veterans are being used as cover, asks about performance and a sexual assault report, and says veterans choose the street due to addiction and safety concerns.
Hi, I'm Coco Colhane from the Veteran Advocacy Project, and we provide free legal services to veterans, focusing on those with mental health conditions.
I want to just start where this all kind of seems to have started with the contract.
You know, the city should have known anyway, if they didn't, that...
These conditions were a part of it.
They were published in January 2026 as the terms and conditions on page two.
So it seems that trans vets are being used as cover.
And so, you know, would just hope that the city would answer to that, why they applied if they, you know, if those conditions are already there.
And they're involved in litigation, I believe, in other areas with federal policy.
So it would be hard to believe that they weren't aware of it.
And the other thing is I'm just wondering why we're not asking more about the performance side and why, you know, what happened.
And I understand there are limitations.
It's a federal agency, it's a contract, but I hope that these questions remain.
So part of my organization started out wandering the halls of the VA and Borden Avenue.
And over the years, we've had 518 veterans who have called Borden home for a short while.
But I can't tell you the number of other veterans who have said, I'm choosing the street instead.
And for two main reasons.
One, addiction issues.
that the reports are that it's very hard to stay sober.
There's availability of drugs is difficult.
And then safety.
And this is another thing I'm wondering why we're not talking about.
There were, you know, in several of the news reports, this
report about a sexual assault.
I've heard that it was, you know, an ICL employee.
Like, why is that not being pursued today?
And I'm not saying it happened or not.
I have no idea, but it seems concerning enough that it should be a focus.
You know, the conditions are really important.
The roof, you know, we've known about a leaking roof for years.
And so that's really shameful.
But equally as important, if not more, should be safety.
And it's just strange that it hasn't been asked about.
And so we would just hope that these things are followed up on because we can have these hearings, we can have the press conferences, but if there's no follow-up, it doesn't matter, and we're back here in a couple of years.
Thank you.