To: Albuquerque City Council

From: Nate Wemple

Date: 11/4/15
Subject: Homelessness in Albuquerque

The state of New Mexico has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States,
specifically 21.3% of New Mexicans fall below the national poverty line, as of 2015 ("Spotlight
on Poverty and Opportunity"). This leads directly to a high number of homeless individuals
statewide. Albuquerque being the largest city, accounts for the most homeless people in New
Mexico. The topic for this briefing will be homelessness in Albuquerque, with a focus on the
available preventative and assistance programs within the city, and the impact that the homeless
have on its residents.

Current Situation
Demographics
A point-in-time count, which is an attempt to determine a certain population at a specific
time, conducted on January 26, 2015 by the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness
(NMCEH) found that the number of homeless individuals in Albuquerque is 1,287. While the
actual number of homeless individuals on any given day may fluctuate, this count is a good way
to gather data and demographics about the issue of homelessness within the city. Of the 1,287
individuals, 65.1% are male, 34.6% are female, and 0.3% are transgender. A pie chart with age
demographics is shown below (New Mexico
AGE DISTRIBUTION AMONG
Coalition to End Homelessness, n. d.).
HOMELESS, 2015

Additionally, the point-in-time count provided

details about the race of those surveyed.
Approximately 40% are Hispanic/Latino, and
60% are Non-Hispanic/Latino (New Mexico
Coalition to End Homelessness, n. d.).
Of those surveyed, 23% reported that they were
victims of domestic abuse or violence, 24%
had a serious mental illness, and 21% struggled
with substance abuse (New Mexico Coalition
to End Homelessness, n. d.).
From 2009 to 2013, the number of homeless people in Albuquerque was trending downward,
dropping from nearly 2,200 in 2009 to just 1,171 in 2013. However, since then that number has

risen. It is worth noting that these point-in-time counts do not necessarily provide exact numbers,
and there are many people who are not accounted for because it would be nearly impossible to
interact with and survey every homeless person in the city in one night. With that said, the data
that the NMCEH was able to gather is a good way to model Albuquerques entire homeless
population. (New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, n. d.)
Programs in Place
At this time, the city has various programs in place to assist the homeless or those in
need. There are two programs in specific that I believe have a very high potential for success.
The first program is called Albuquerque Heading Home. This program focuses on providing long
term and permanent housing for families and individuals who struggle to provide this for
themselves. The main goal of the program is to make homelessness rare, short-lived and
nonrecurring. (ABQ Heading Home, n. d.) In short, this program uses money from donations
and funding to provide a place to stay for a homeless individual or family. By doing this, these
individuals have a chance to get back on their feet and become more self-sustaining. After six
months, Heading Home conducts an interview with the individual to evaluate their personal
situation. Since 2011, of the 440 individuals that have been moved into permanent housing, 80%
have stayed in the same house for longer than 12 months (ABQ Heading Home, n. d.) Heading
Home also conducts studies and attempts to raise community awareness to the fact that in the
long run it costs the taxpayer less to keep these people housed, than it does to keep them
homeless (ABQ Heading Home, n. d.).
The second program I want to address is called Theres A Better Way, which is a brand
new initiative by Mayor Richard Berry to eliminate panhandling. The way the program works is
that the city sends out a van who finds panhandlers and offers them to go work for $9/hour doing
things such as picking up litter, landscaping, or pulling weeds. After they have worked their shift,
they are paid in cash and offered assistance with food or shelter. This program works closely
with Roadrunner Food Bank and St. Martins Hospitality Center. The end goal is to get these
individuals connected with the right people that can help them with substance abuse issues,
mental health issues, or even help them find a full time job. This program is funded by the city
but also accepts donations. It is an alternative to giving panhandlers money directly, in hopes that
there will be a greater benefit for all. (Nathanson, 2015)

Importance
The issue of homelessness in Albuquerque impacts more than just the individuals who are
homeless, it affects businesses, law enforcement, hospitals, and taxpayers as well. New Mexico
has one of the highest poverty rates in the country which directly correlates to a large homeless
population. A high concentration of homeless people and panhandlers surrounding a business can
have a negative impact on business. Therefore, homelessness affects business owners, especially

those who operate in areas with a high concentration of homeless people (i.e. the University
area). As stated in the demographics section, a portion of the homeless population struggles with
substance abuse. Since these people dont have a home to use said substances in, they must often
use them in public. This leads to a large number of interactions between law enforcement and
homeless individuals regarding public intoxication. Another crime that is sometimes committed
out of desperation is theft. Again, this can, and often does, lead to interactions with law
enforcement.
Another public service sector that is affected by the issue of homelessness is hospitals.
Albuquerque hospitals often receive many homeless patients during New Mexicos harsh winters
because these people do not have the resources that they need to stay warm and survive the
elements. In addition to weather, substance abuse can often result in a trip to the hospital (or
worse) for those homeless people who use. The taxpayer is also affected in a couple different
ways. First and foremost, food and housing assistance is funded by tax dollars. The more people
that need this assistance, the more tax money that will be used. In addition to that, if a homeless
person does visit the hospital for an emergency, the likelihood of them being unable to pay for
their treatment is high. The treatment is then (indirectly) paid for by the taxpayer. The amount
that comes out of the taxpayers pocket is insignificant if this is happening to one person, but
clearly the more homeless there are, the more the taxpayer is affected ("Future In Humanity").

Future Recommendations and Their Feasibility

If citywide changes arent made, the number of homeless will continue to increase, as it
has from 2013 to 2015. However, the programs that were discussed in the Programs in Place
section show a lot of potential and are likely to reduce the number of homeless if they continue
to get the necessary funding. There is no way to guarantee the success of these programs, but
there are ways that can improve their chances of success. The first way, is to raise community
awareness about these programs. If more people know about these programs, they will
undoubtedly have a greater impact on the community. These programs are driven by the number
of donations they receive and the number of volunteers that are involved. If more people in the
city know that these programs exist, the number of volunteers and donations received will
increase. Therefore, I recommend that the city begin advertising these programs more
aggressively via signage, billboards, or commercials. At this time, the level of community
awareness is lower than it could be. An increase in awareness will certainly benefit the homeless.
I believe that this is a very feasible option.
Another way to improve the effectiveness of these programs is to increase the amount of
government funding that is allocated for said programs. Though the programs receive a portion
of their funding from donations, if the current government funding was increased, these
programs would be able to reach more people. Either by housing more homeless, or by creating
their own advertising. I believe that this is another feasible option. If Mayor Berrys efforts with

the Theres a Better Way program continue to be successful and make an impact, I believe that
there is a high possibility of increased funding in the years to come.
A final recommendation to reduce the number of homeless people in Albuquerque is to
increase the incentive for a homeless individual to participate in these programs. Specifically,
regarding Theres a Better Way, participation needs to be more attractive to a homeless
individual than panhandling. This can happen in two ways: 1) the community needs to stop
giving money directly to panhandlers, and donate to the programs instead, and 2) there needs to
be more work for these individuals to participate in. At the time, there is only one van that
collects participants, and this means that there is a small number of individuals that get to
participate on a daily basis. If the city can identify more tasks and jobs for these individuals to
do, then there will be a higher participation rate. This recommendation is feasible but, as stated,
requires both community cooperation and more funding.
In conclusion, Albuquerque is certainly headed in the right direction in the ongoing fight
against homelessness, but there are still improvements to be made. Please take the above
recommendations into consideration.

Works Cited:
"Call 2-1-1." Call 2-1-1. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"City Launches Effort to Curb Panhandling: "There's a Better Way"" - City of Albuquerque. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Future In Humanity." Future In Humanity RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Homeless Services." - City of Albuquerque. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
Nathanson, Rick. "Updated: New Outreach Set for Panhandlers in Albuquerque." ABQJournal
Online. N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.
"New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness." New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness.
N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity." Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. N.p., n.d. Web.
06 Nov. 2015.
"Welcome to Albuquerque Heading Home." Albuquerque Heading Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 02
Nov. 2015.