Policy and people

Is there a humane way to resolve the problem of indigents and panhandlers in NM? The readers speak.

Put funds toward needy people, not pretty parks

IT IS unconscionable that the mayor and the City Council want to spend $30 million on the parks (from selling of lodgers tax bonds) and do nothing (with those dollars) about our out-ofcontrol homeless population.

I would much prefer our tax money be spent on at least trying to remediate this awful public nuisance of homelessness.

The ACLU won its lawsuit that stated this was public property and the homeless had the right to beg on every public street corner. (They also) set tents up and camp in our parks. That in itself is just accelerating a terrible problem and telling these people they are worthless. That is wrong and just not human. These people need our help, and to stand by and do nothing other than hand them some money is just wrong. Anyone who gives them money is really just making themselves feel good and contributing to the problem vs. solving (it).

We the taxpayers have a right to drive home from work or to take our children to a city park without being approached or bothered by a homeless person.

Please, mayor and council, put these funds or at least a portion of them to work for our homeless.…

KEVIN GOODREAU Albuquerque

Holistic view of the problem is needed

THERE IS a rising population of homeless that needs to be addressed by our community. The National Coalition for the Homeless states that 16% of the homeless population have mental illness, and there is a correlation among addiction, poverty and homelessness. I believe that the residents of Albuquerque should be more aware of the rising numbers of homeless people within our state because it is affecting our everyday lives. Driving down the street, I have seen people standing on the street corners asking for money or sleeping on the sidewalks, making tents in the parks or on certain streets. We as citizens should also ask our officials about the plans they have to support the homeless, whether that be mental health counseling, methadone treatment, substance abuse counseling or other interventions.

… A tiny home community … only addresses one aspect of the homeless situation when we should have a program in place that addresses all the aspects of homelessness and the factors that contribute to homelessness.

JAZMINE BOOTH Albuquerque Jazmine Booth is a graduate student in social work at NMSU

Intolerance for the poor the same in ABQ, SF

THE CITY Different has become the City Indifferent. Santa Feans have taken to complain(ing) on social media about a panhandling mafia coming to Santa Fe on the train from Albuquerque, conspiratorially gathering at a Walgreens parking lot, then dispersing to different corners to make a killing by exploiting the kindness of their city. Their exhortation is that people (should) stop giving them money and pass laws prohibiting panhandling. They fall short of saying we should build a wall across I-25 by La Bajada and have Albuquerque pay for it.

In 2017, Albuquerque’s ordinance to prohibit panhandlers from standing on sidewalks and medians in the city’s streets to solicit motorists was deemed by the court to be an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. “Laws that criminalize people simply for being poor,” wrote Peter Simonson executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico, “don’t belong on the books anywhere in our state.”

In his inaugural State of the City address in the spring of 2018, Mayor Alan Webber, citing the uniqueness of Santa Fe, its tourist allure and beauty, likened it to a mythical beast. “We are the unicorn,” Webber said.

Maybe behind the mask of being a sanctuary city, of LBGT pride, of the International Folk (Art) Market, is something not so unique: economic and cultural elitism.

JAMES KELLY Santa Fe

Fiesta visitors push out area’s motel dwellers

WHILE THE Balloon Fiesta is a much-celebrated time of year for Albuquerque, it is not a joyful time for all children. Some families with children who rely on extended-stay hotels as their primary residence are displaced during this time. When the Balloon Fiesta comes to town, these accommodations are vacated for tourists who are willing and able to pay premium rates. All extended-stay hotels were completely sold out during Balloon Fiesta this year.

I’d ask citizens of Albuquerque to support the One ABQ Housing Fund, your local shelters and food banks, and contact your lawmakers to create policies that ensure local families don’t get pushed out into the cold during the Balloon Fiesta or the holidays when they need this temporary shelter the most.

KATERI WEST Albuquerque

Proposed ABQ law is really about safety

I HAVE read with interest articles pertaining to the panhandling situation. On Aug. 29, the question was raised as to why roadside solicitation can’t be curbed. The ACLU maintains that panhandlers are exercising a First Amendment right.

In that article, the question was asked: How about the right of citizens who can be lured into contributing to these people? The final outcome was that a district judge ruled that the proposed (streetside soliciting) ordinance was unconstitutional.

(An) article dated Oct. 11, “City to appeal ruling on panhandling law,” states the city is continuing its pursuit of an ordinance that would severely restrict (streetside soliciting). It would prohibit anyone from standing inside travel lanes, along interstate ramps and on certain medians. It also prohibits “any physical altercation or exchange” between “pedestrians and occupants of vehicles in traffic lanes.”

I would like to add another reason why I support this proposed ordinance: A young man’s safety was jeopardized yesterday as I was waiting to turn left at an intersection. He was sitting cross-legged on the median next to the left-hand turn land near the intersection. He was holding a sign I could not read, nodding and weaving back and forth as though he might fall into the road at any moment. Seemingly, he was half asleep or suffering from a drug overdose. When the arrow turned green, I was relieved that he did not fall when I passed him.

SHIRLEY COPPAGE Albuquerque