City-UNM agreement step toward homeless solutions

It’s a Band-Aid that could keep some people healthy, safe, even alive. Kudos to Mayor Tim Keller and the Albuquerque City Council for providing year-round funding for the West Side emergency shelter, where — until now — more than 300 homeless individuals have been housed overnight just during winter months. But everyone involved concurs this is a temporary solution. An even more important step is the letter of intent Keller and University of New Mexico officials signed signaling collaboration on long-term solutions to the growing homeless problem. (An estimated 5,000 to 8,000 individuals are homeless here.)

“I view our partnership as an opportunity – one that offers the possibility of affecting real change in our community,” Dr. Paul Roth, chancellor of UNM’s Health Sciences Center, said during a news conference announcing the new agreement.

Part of that deal says the city, UNM and UNM HSC will explore the potential development of a 24/7 emergency shelter with supportive services and a gateway to health care and social services via nonprofits and charities represented there.

Keller points to that centralized shelter as a top priority, and credits the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce with having the vision early on for an around-the-clock shelter with local entities working together. The chamber led several trips of local leaders to other cities to study their programs.

Albuquerque needs a place “people could go 24/7 with no questions asked, regardless of your state of mind or your condition,” Keller says. “That is what almost every major city in America has; that is what Albuquerque has never had.” A first step is determining a site, and both city and UNM land will be considered.

Bernalillo County also has been working on solutions, including a tiny homes village to provide transitional housing. The county also is implementing multiple mental health programs for members of the homeless population — a key aspect of any solution.

Keller says the likely price tag for an emergency shelter is in the $28 million range, and the city will be asking the Legislature for the funding. City voters could be asked to approve a bond issue for the amount the Legislature doesn’t fund.

Homelessness is a complex issue that can only be solved with cooperation on all fronts. There are signs that’s finally happening.