This bog article is an in-depth analysis of the city’s homeless crisis and the city’s financial commitment to deal with it. It includes identifying those who benefit from city contracts and discusses why Mayor Keller’s “all the above approach” to deal with the homeless is failing.
KELLER’S “ALL THE ABOVE APPROACH”
Since being sworn into office as Mayor on December 1, 2017, Tim Keller has made dealing with the city’s homeless a major priority. To that end, Keller has proclaimed an “all the above approach” to deal with the homeless. It’s an approach that is failing despite the millions spent with the homeless becoming more aggressive, more visible and more problematic for the community. Keller says he is willing to consider “any ideas” to reduce the number of homeless, but his words and actions say otherwise.
Mayor Keller has implemented the following policies:
- Increased funding to the Family Community Services Department for assistance to the homeless with $35,145,851 million spent in fiscal year 2021 and $59,498,915 million being spent in fiscal 2022 with the city adopting a “housing first” policy.
- Establishing two 24/7 homeless shelters including converting the old Westside Jail into a 24/7 homeless shelter that has at least 450 beds and purchasing the Gibson Medical Center for $15 million to convert it into a 24/7 homeless shelter which will serve upwards of 1,000 homeless per day and has beds for upwards of 330 once it’s up and running.
- Advocating and supporting Safe Outdoor Spaces (SOS) which are city sanctioned homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents that will allow upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6-foot fencing and social services offered. Keller set aside $750,000 for the encampments in his 2022 fiscal year budget with another $250,000 for further work. Under the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO), 18 SOS encampments are allowed, 2 in each council district. Keller vetoed a one-year moratorium on SOS encampments which was upheld by the city council. The Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) held a hearing on pending repeal legislation and recommended the repeal and removal of Safe Outdoor Spaces in the Integrated Development Ordinance which is pending before the city council.
- Adopted a “no arrest” policy of the homeless for violations of the city’s camping, trespassing and vagrancy laws with an emphasis on citations and giving the homeless 72 hours to vacate illegal campsite locations.
- Allowed Coronado Park for 5 years to become a “de facto” city sanctioned homeless encampment and a public nuisance. Keller was forced to close down the Park in August because of violent crimes and environmental ground contamination concerns without any plan for dealing with the 75 to 125 homeless that were displaced.
Throughout all of his efforts and press conferences, Keller has never fully disclosed the actual number or homeless the city has been dealing with over the past 5 years nor the cities financial commitment he has made. Private homeless care providers, many who have contracts with the city to provide services to the homeless, consistently claim the city has upwards of 4,500 to 5,000 homeless at any given time.
The problem is that the 4,500 to 5,000 figure is likely inflated with differing definitions for the homeless and near homeless given by the charitable organizations and government agencies. For example, the Albuquerque Public School system defines a child who does not give an actual home address as “homeless” with the APS school system saying there are upwards of 5,000 homeless children in the schools. Those children are not necessarily living on the streets but do live in poverty. The 4,500 to 5,000 figures for the homeless is not supported by the yearly federal government sponsored survey known as the “Point in Time Survey” which is used to qualify for millions in federal funding a year by the city.
2022 “POINT IN TIME” SURVEY
Each year the “Point in Time” survey is conducted to determine how many people experience homelessness on a given night in Albuquerque, and to learn more about their specific needs. The PIT count is the official number of homeless reported by communities to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help understand the extent of homelessness at the city, state, regional and national levels and for governments to qualify for federal funding.
The PIT count requires the use of the HUD definition of “homelessness”. PIT counts only people who are sleeping in a shelter, in a transitional housing program, or outside in places not meant for human habitation. Those people who are not counted are those who do not want to participate in the survey, who are sleeping in motels that they pay for themselves, or who are doubled up with family or friends.
The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness (NMCEH) was contracted by the city to do the 2022 survey and it released the 2022 PIT report in August. This year, the PIT count and survey was taken on January 31, 2022. The PIT report is 40 pages long and includes graphs and pie charts outlining the statistics reported. You can review the entire PIT report at this link:
https://www.nmceh.org/_files/ugd/6737c5_4ecb9ab7114a45dcb25f648c6e0b0a30.pdf
The breakdown of Albuquerque’s homelessness on January 31, 2022 is reported as follows:
Emergency sheltered: 940
Unsheltered: 197
Transitional housing: 174
COMBINED TOTAL OF HOMELESS: 1,311
2009 – 2022 PIT NUMBER OF HOMELESS
In even numbered years, only sheltered homeless are surveyed for the PIT survey. In odd numbered years, both sheltered and unsheltered homeless are surveyed. The 2022 PIT report provides the odd number years of shelter and unsheltered homeless in Albuquerque for 12 years from 2009 to 2019 and including 2022:
2009: 2,002
2011: 1,639
2013: 1,171
2015: 1,287
2017: 1,318
2019: 1,524
2021: 1,567
2022: 1,311
The 2022 PIT data breakdown for the unsheltered for the years 2009 to 2022 is as follows:
Chronic homeless: 67% (homeless 6 months to a year or more)
Veterans: 9%
First-time homeless: 38%
Homeless due to domestic violence: 16%
Adults with a serious mental illness: 46%
Adults with substance use disorder: 44%
(2022 PIT Report, page 7)
The 2022 point in time survey when compared to the surveys taken 2021, 2019 and 2017 is by far the better of the surveys given the depth of information provided when comes to individual and households of homeless, gender, age and ethnicity who are sheltered, in transitional housing, or who are unsheltered. The surveys taken together provide an in-depth analysis of the city’s homeless crisis.
A major and surprising takeaway of the past 4 surveys is the actual number of the city’s homeless has hovered between 1,311 to 1,567 over the last 5 years. The 1,311 figures in the 2022 PIT report is the lowest number of unsheltered reported for the last 5 years. According to the 2022 PIT report there were 256 fewer homeless in January 2022 than in January 2021, yet the public perception is that the city is overrun by the homeless and they have become far more agressive.
https://www.petedinelli.com/2022/09/22/2022-pit-city-homeless-count-256-fewer-homeless-1311-total-homeless-940-emergency-sheltered-174-transitional-housing-citys-homeless-crisis-and-visibility-aggravated-by-mayor/
CITY’S FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO HOMELESS
During the 2021 fiscal year that ended June 10, 2021, the Family and Community Services Department and the Keller Administration spent $35,145,942 to assist the homeless or near homeless. Following is a breakdown of the line item contracts:
Emergency Shelter Contracts: $6,421,989,
Mental Health contracts: $4,378,104,
Substance Abuse Counseling contracts: $2, 529,676
Homeless Support Services contracts: $3,624,213,
Sub-Total contracts: $16,953,982.
Affordable housing contracts for near homeless: $18,191,960
TOTAL SERVICES AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $35,145,942
The link to the adopted 2021-2022
https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy22-approved-budget-numbered-w-hyperlinks-final.pdf
Mayor Keller’s 2022-2023 approved budget that began on July 1, 2023, significantly increased the Family and Community Services budget by $24,353,064 to assist the homeless or near homeless by going from $35,145,851 to $59,498,915. Following is a breakdown of line-item contracts awarded:
Emergency Shelter contracts $6,025,544
Mental Health contracts: $3,773,860
Substance Abuse counseling contracts: $2,818,356
Homeless Support Services Contracts: 4,282,794
Sub-Total contracts: $16,900,554
Affordable Housing Contracts for near homeless: $42,598,361
TOTAL SERVICES AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $59,498,915
The link to the 2022-23 approved budget is here:
https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy23-proposed-final-web-version.pdf
EDITOR’S NOTE: The postscript to this blog article contains a detailed listing of the various contracts and what charitable organizations are benefiting from those city contracts. The listing is provided to gain an understanding of the financial commitment the city has made to assist the homeless and near homeless.
TWO CITY SHELTERS FOR THE HOMELESS
The city is funding and operating 2 major shelters for the homeless, one fully operational with 450 beds and one that will be fully operational by Winter that will assist upwards 1,000 homeless and accommodate 330 a night. Ultimately, both shelters are big enough to be remodeled and provide far more sheltered housing.
WESTSIDE EMERGENCY HOUSING CENTER
It was on October 22, 2019 that Mayor Tim Keller announce that the Westside Emergency Housing Center (WEHC) would become a 24/7 homeless shelter. It is a “one-stop-shop” with service providers providing medical services, case management and job placement services. It costs about $4.5 million a year to operate the shelter with about $1 million of that $4.5 million invested in transporting people to and from the facility.
https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/city-plans-on-expanding-services-at-westside-emergency-housing-center/
The Westside Emergency Housing Center has upwards of 450 beds to accommodate the homeless on any given night. The shelter offers shelter to men, women, and families experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque. While staying at the WEHC, the homeless have access to a computer lab, showers, medical examination rooms, and receive three meals a day. The WEHC is a 24/7 operation and has a staff of 80 to assist those who stay at the shelter. The shelter does connect men and women to permeant housing and other resources.
GATEWAY HOMELESS SHELTER
Since being sworn in as Mayor on December 1, 2017, Mayor Tim Keller made it known that building a new city operated homeless shelter was his top priority. Keller deemed that a 24-hour, 7 day a week temporarily shelter for the homeless critical towards reducing the number of homeless in the city.
Keller’s plan has always been to assist an estimated 300 more homeless residents and connect them to other services intended to help secure permanent housing. The new facility is intended to serve all populations of men, women, and families. Further, the city wants to provide a place anyone could go regardless of gender, religious affiliation, sobriety, addictions, psychotic condition or other factors.
The city facility is to have on-site case managers that would guide residents toward counseling, addiction treatment, housing vouchers and other available resources. The goal is for the new homeless shelter to provide first responders an alternative destination for the people they encounter known as the “down-and-out” calls.
On April 6, 2021, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference in front of the Gibson Medical Center, formerly the Lovelace Hospital, to officially announce the city had bought the massive 572,000 square-foot building that has a 201-bed capacity, for $15 million. Keller announced that the massive facility would be transformed into a Gateway Center Homeless Shelter.
Fast forward to August 16, 2022. After a full 15 months of delay since the purchase of the sprawling Gibson Medical Center, it was announced the Keller Administration had finally secured the necessary zoning change to operate the facility as a 24-7 “homeless shelter.” The city went full speed ahead with the remodeling of the complex.
The city’s website on the center reveals that, for Phase 1, “the Shelter and Engagement Center portion of Gateway will serve 50 single adult women-identifying individuals , on a yearly basis, up to 200 individual women. The First Responder Drop-Off will make up to 1,500 transports a year to needed services.”
On September 3, it was reported that the ABQ Gateway Center will likely to open some time this winter. The city estimates 1,500 people could go through the drop-off each year. The “dropoff for the down and outs” will initially have 4 beds. It is primarily imagined as a funnel into other services. While that likely will include other on-site services, city officials say it will also help move people to a range of other destinations, including different local shelters, or even the Bernalillo County-run CARE Campus, which offers detoxification and other programs.
Interior demolition and remodeling of the 572,000 square foot building has been going on for a number of months to prepare the facility for a homeless shelter. The beds for 50 women as planned and for the first responder drop-off is to come online this winter. The city plans to launch other elements of the 24/7 shelter by next summer.
According to Keller, the city’s plan is to continue adding capacity, with ultimate plan to have a total of 250 emergency shelter beds, and 40 beds for medical sobering and 40 beds for medical respite beds for a total of 330 bed capacity.
Counting the other outside providers who lease space inside the building, city officials believe the property’s impact will be significant. In responding to questioning, Mayor Tim Keller said this:
“How many people did Lovelace help every day [when it was a hospital]? The answer is about a thousand … We’re on track to do roughly the same thing.”
According to the 2022-2023 approved city budget $1,691,859 has been allocated for various vendors to operate Westside Emergency Shelter Center.
The link to quoted news source material is here:
https://www.abqjournal.com/2529657/abq-gateway-center-likely-to-open-some-time-this-winter-ex-mayor-say.html
REVISTING McCLENDON V. CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE
The federal case of McClendon v. City of Albuquerque is a class-action lawsuit filed on January 10, 1995, in the United States Federal District Court by detainees at the Bernalillo County Detention Center (BCDC) in Albuquerque. The 1995 class-action lawsuit alleged that gross overcrowding and racial discrimination at the jail violated the constitutional rights of inmates.
The federal class action lawsuit sought injunctive and declaratory relief enjoining the operation of the jail exceeding its capacity and operating it with deplorable living conditions. At the time the lawsuit was filed, the downtown 8 story Bernalillo County detention center, torn down late last year, had a maximum capacity of 800, but the jail was repeatedly overcrowded with as many as 1,200 inmates who were often doubled up and living conditions were abhorrent. The overcrowding became so bad that the federal court would hold weekly and monthly status conferences and order the release of nonviolent defendants to reduce the overcrowding at the jail.
On Thursday June 23, KOB-4 ran a story where Mayor Tim Keller claimed that when it comes to the homeless, his hands were tied. Keller said the homeless at Coronado Park turned down services offered by the city. Keller claimed the homelessness crisis that plagues Albuquerque is not unique to New Mexico and said “federal protections” have made some criminal enforcement difficult. With footage of the illegal homeless encampment at Coronado Park as an introduction backdrop to the KOB 4 report, Keller said this:
“But those people are there [at Corando Park] by choice, a 100% by choice and they are protected federally. Otherwise, this problem would have been gone in all American cities. … The law is the law and you know you want to see someone a lot more powerful than a Mayor to talk to a federal judge.”
During the June 22 meeting of the Albuquerque City Council, a city attorney explained the federal pressures the city is operating under. The city attorney cited federal cases arguing that they place limitations on the city. The main case cited by the city attorney when it came to enforcing the law and the homeless was McClendon v. City of Albuquerque. The city attorney said this
“[When it comes to] “quote, unquote” homeless crimes, those offenders are not allowed to be arrested as a primary intervention”.
The city attorney explained that when it comes to “homeless crimes”, ostensibly meaning illegal camping, criminal trespassing and loitering, those offenders are not to be arrested as the primary intervention. Under the settlement terms, police still have the option to issue citations and still have the discretionary authority to make felony and misdemeanor arrests as they deem appropriate and where the circumstances warrant.
The city attorney said this:
“We are trying to advise the best we can [of] the least expensive means to be the most productive and respect people’s civil rights. ”
The link to the full 3 minute, 34 second unedited KOB story is here:
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/unm-law-professor-weighs-in-on-mayors-claims-about-homelessness/
APD AND ACS DEPARTMENTS PLAY A CRITCAL ROLE
APD ostensibly is doing the best it can with resources it has when it comes to the homeless. Since the beginning of 2022 there have been issued 2,308 citations to the homeless and it has issued 614 trespassing notices with 3 trespassing stops revealing outstanding warrants.
The Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS) was created in part to deal with the homeless and the mentally ill by using social workers and mental health experts to reach out and to deal with the homeless as a substitute for dispatching APD. It is ACS that is actually dispatched to deal with homeless encampments.
Much more can be done with the coordination of resources and placing an emphasis on dealing with the mentally ill and the drug addicted in the form of civil commitments through the courts. APD and the ACS departments need should assume the responsibility to investigate and identify those homeless and drug addicted who are criminal offense repeat offenders and who pose an immediate danger to themselves and others. Under such circumstances, constitutional policing practices would have to be adhered to avoid violations of civil rights. The goal would be to get the homeless identified into the civil judicial system for mental health commitment and drug counseling.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
The city has a moral obligation to help the homeless, especially the mentally ill and the drug addicted. The city is meeting that moral obligation with the millions in financial commitment that is being made with services and shelter offered to the homeless and provided through the Family and Community Services Department.
POINT IN TIME MOST ACCURATE COUNT OF CITY’S HOMELESS
Whenever the Point In Time report is released, the City’s Family and Community Services Department and the charitable service providers go out of their way to disparage the results of the PIT report by simply dismissing it as an “undercount, yet they rely upon it for federal funding and do not dispute the accuracy.
The postscript to this blog article contains a listing service contracts. After review of the millions being spent, the likely reason for downplaying the survey results is the millions being spent and that are at stake for the department and the charitable service providers. Their dismissive attitude is a reluctance to be questioned or challenged and be held accountable for how much money is actually being spent and the results they are achieving.
What cannot be refuted are the PIT survey statistics over the last 12 years are very consistent and do not support the contention that the City’s homeless count is anywhere near what they are claiming. The 2022 point in time survey when compared to the surveys taken 2021, 2019 and 2017 is by far the better of the surveys given the depth of information provided when comes to individual and households of homeless, gender, age and ethnicity who are sheltered, in transitional housing, or who are unsheltered. The surveys taken together provide an in-depth analysis of the city’s homeless crisis.
A major and surprising takeaway of past surveys is the actual number of the city’s homeless has hovered between 1,311 to 2,000 over the last 12 years. The 1,311 figures in the 2022 PIT report is the lowest number of unsheltered reported for the last 12 years. According to the 2022 PIT report there were 256 fewer homeless in January 2022 than in January 22. This is very surprising given the public perception that the homeless crisis has only gotten worse in the city under Mayor Tim Keller.
AMOUNT SPENT PER HOMELESS PER YEAR $15,171.05 FOR PROVIDER
The amount the city is spending for services per year per homeless person who are receiving some sort of city services can be calculated for 2022-2023 budget year. The 2022 PIT Report reflects that the number of emergency sheltered homeless is 940 with 174 in “transitional housing” for a total of 1,114. Therefore, the city is spending a minimum of $15,171.05 per homeless person, per year through the charitable service providers alone calculated as follows: $16,900,554 (total of service contracts for 2022-2023) DIVIDED BY 1,114 (940 Emergency Sheltered and 174 Transitional housing) = $15,171.05.
The $15,171.05 per person, per year is for services only by contracted providers and does not include the $4.5 million operation costs for the Westside 24/7 shelter nor the the budgeted operating costs for the new Gateway Homeless Shelter when it is fully operational. Further, the amount does not include the $42,598,361 allocated for affordable housing and permanent housing for the near homeless or chronically homeless with the actual number of those receiving city funding being unavailable.
UNSHELTERED MOST VISIBLE AND MOST PROBLEMATIC
The 2022 PIT data breakdown for the unsheltered for the years 2009 to 2022 reports that 46% of the unsheltered suffer from serious mental illness and that 44% of the unsheltered suffer from substance abuse for a staggering 89% combined total. It is the 197 “Unsheltered” reported in the 2022 PIT who are the most visible and the most problematic for the city. It is these homeless who are refusing city services, who do not want to be housed in shelters and who essentially want to be left alone, to do what they want, when they want and how they want, including illegal activities and illegal camping.
KELLER BEARS THE RESPONSIBILITY
The homeless have become far more visible and far more aggressive with the public where they illegally camp in parks, on streets, in alleyways and in city open space areas. Mayor Tim Keller bears the responsibility for the homeless crisis becoming far more visible for the reason that over the last 5 years the city and the Albuquerque Police Department under Keller’s orders have not enforced the city’s trespassing, vagrancy and nuisance abatement laws when it comes to the homeless. Keller essentially took a hands-off approach to deal with the homeless when it came to enforcing the city’s ordinances and laws as they relate to the homeless.
When the city does take action against homeless encampments, it affords upwards of 72 hours for the homeless to vacate the area they are illegally camping on and trespassing. Even though as a community there is a moral obligation to help the homeless, it does not give the homeless the right to trespass, camp and break vagrancy laws whenever they want and wherever they want. It’s an absurdity for the City and APD to give 72 hours for the homeless to violate the law. The city should be making offers for services and shelter available and should be making demands for immediate removal of an encampment under the threat of arrest. Another option is to seek help from the courts.
Placing the homeless in city sanctions tent encampment as Keller advocates is inhumane. Safe Outdoor Spaces are not the answer to the homeless crisis and will be a disaster for the city as a whole. The homeless crisis will not be solved by the city, but it can and must be managed. Safe Outdoor Spaces represent a very temporary place to pitch a tent, relieve oneself, bathe and sleep at night with rules that will not likely be followed. They will destroy neighborhoods and make the city a magnet for the homeless. They will destroy the city’s efforts to manage the homeless through permanent housing and support services to the homeless.
CIVIL COMMITMENT HEARINGS
There are laws on that books that deal with when and under what circumstances formal civil commitment hearings can be initiated for 3-day, 7-day and even 30-day observation and diagnostic evaluations for the mentally ill and the drug addicted. Such processes and procedures can be utilized to deal with the homeless and to ensure that they get the medical treatment and counselling services they need.
Both the City Attorney and the Bernalillo County District Attorney can and should dedicate resources in the form of attorneys that will assume the filing of civil mental health commitment pleadings for such hearings as prescribed by law. The New Mexico Public Defender should also be called upon by the Courts to provide a defense where and when it is needed.
The link to review the applicable New Mexico state statutes NM Statute §43-1-1 (2019), NM Stat § 43-1-1 (2019), NM Stat § 43-1-11 (2020) on civil mental health commitments is here:
https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2020/chapter-43/article-1/section-43-1-11/#:~:text=An%20interested%20person%20who%20reasonably,grounds%20exist%20to%20commit%2
CREATE “HOMELESS COURT” WITH CIVIL COMMITMENTS
A greater emphasis must be made to get those homeless who are not in the criminal justice system the medical care and assistance they need without criminal prosecution and warehousing in the county jail. A civil mental health commitment court for the homeless to deal with the mentally ill and the drug addicted who pose a threat to themselves, their family and the general public must be established.
One single specialty court designated as the “Outreach, Veterans and Homeless Court” or “OVH Court” should be created. A program of cross deputization of City Attorney’s by the Bernalillo County District Attorney to allow them to file civil mental health commitment petitions in State District Court in misdemeanor and felony cases can be created. The Criminal Division of the State District Court should assign a District Court Judge to deal exclusively with mental health commitment hearings with the help of Metro Judges and the consolidation and the assistance of “Metro Court Outreach Court” and the “Metro Community Veterans” court under one court that is established in both Metro Court and State District Court using both court’s resources including courtrooms.
APD is ostensibly doing its job with resources it has when it comes to the homeless. Since the beginning of 2022 there have been issued 2,308 citations to the homeless and it has issued 614 trespassing notices with 3 trespassing stops revealing outstanding warrants. However, much more can be done with the coordination of resources and placing an emphasis on dealing with the mentally ill and the drug addicted. The Metro Court should establish an identical court procedure that it has with the Metro Traffic Arraignment Program that when the officer issues a citation to the homeless person, a Notice and date and time of hearing is also provided in the citation itself.
Both the City Attorney and the Bernalillo County District Attorney could dedicate resources in the form of attorneys that will assume the filing of civil mental health commitment hearings as allowed by law. A program of cross deputization of City Attorney’s by the Bernalillo County District Attorney to allow them to file civil mental health commitment petitions in State District Court in misdemeanor and felony cases needs to be created. The New Mexico Public Defender must be called upon by the Courts to provide a defense where and when needed.
RESET OPPORTUNITY
Mayor Tim Keller should consider the 2022 PIT report as a reset opportunity. The report found that the total individual unsheltered is 197 homeless which should be manageable by law enforcement. It is likely these are the homeless who refuse to accept any kind of assistance and want to be left alone. Given the upwards of $100 million being spent over two years and the opening of the Gibson Homeless Shelter, Keller really has few excuses in his failure to dealing with the unsheltered and their public infiltration throughout the city.
Unlawful encampment homeless squatters who have no interest in any offers of shelter, beds, motel vouchers from the city or alternatives to living on the street and want to camp at city parks, on city streets in alleys and trespass in open space give the city no choice but to make it totally inconvenient for them to “squat” and force them to move on, be arrested by APD or be subject to civil commitment hearings for evaluation to get them the medical care, attention and services they need.
______________
POSTSCRIPT
It is the Family and Community Services Department (FCSD) that deals with funding of programs that deal with the homeless. The enacted approved 2022-2023 contains at least 33 Affordable Housing and Community Development Contracts administered by FCSD with a total of $59,498,915 allocated for fiscal year 20220- 2023. The listing of the contracts can be found on page 101 of the 2022-2023 approved budget.
https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy23-proposed-final-web-version.pdf
An analysis of the various contracts and what charitable organizations are benefiting from city contracts are in order to gain an understanding of the financial commitment the city has made to assist the homeless and near homeless.
I. EMERGENCY SHELTER CONTRACTS
Following are the budget line-item listings for emergency shelter contracts:
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH) is the only health care organization in Central New Mexico dedicated exclusively to providing services to people experiencing homelessness. https://www.abqhch.org/
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Motel vouchers for homeless persons: $6,180.
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Motel vouchers for homeless persons: $95,391
SUB TOTAL FOR ALBUQUERQUE HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS: $101,571
Barrett House Shelter is an emergency shelter for women and children experiencing homelessness. https://www.barrettfoundation.org/
Barrett Foundation Shelter for women/children : $30,256
Barrett Foundation Shelter for women/children: $54,672
Barrett Foundation Motel vouchers for homeless persons: $17,011
SUB TOTAL FOR BARRETT FOUNDATION: $101,939
First Nations Community Health Source Motel vouchers for homeless persons: $56,684
Good Shepherd Center Emergency Shelter Services: $63,000
Heading Home is a Housing First collaboration of public, private and non-profit organizations who united in 2011 to end homelessness for individuals who have been chronically homeless and are medically vulnerable. More than 800 individuals and their family members have been placed in permanent supportive housing since the Albuquerque Heading Home initiative started in 2011.
https://headinghome.org/programs-overview/albuquerque-heading-home/
Heading Home Emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness: $214,992
Heading Home Emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness: $2,512,458
Heading Home – AOC Emergency shelter for men experiencing Homelessness: $39,000
Heading Home – AOC Emergency shelter for men experiencing Homelessness: $239,972
Heading Home – WEHC Emergency shelter for people experiencing Homelessness: $271,870
SUB TOTAL FOR HEADING HOME: $3,278,292
HopeWorks Motel Vouchers for Homeless: $50,000
Interfaith Bible Center-Compassion Center Day shelter services for people experiencing homelessness: $142,000
S.A.F.E. House Domestic violence shelter: $234,000
S.A.F.E. House Domestic violence shelter: $201,000
SUB TOTAL FOR S.A.F.E. HOUSE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER: $435,000
TBD- WEHC Various vendors to operate WEHC: $1,691,859
TBD Displaced tenant services: $40,000
TBD Emergency Shelter Contracts: $65,200
Sub-Total Emergency for Shelter Contracts: $6,025,544
II. HOMELESS SUPPORT SERVICES
Following are the budget line item listings for homeless support services:
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH) is the only health care organization in Central New Mexico dedicated exclusively to providing services to people experiencing homelessness. https://www.abqhch.org/
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Dental Services for people experiencing homelessness: $229,760
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Dental Services for people experiencing homelessness: $67,400
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Support services for persons experiencing homelessness or are precariously housed, behavioral health issues and history of incarceration (City/County Joint Jail Re-entry project): $135,000
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Improve Health Care Services to people experiencing homelessness: $65,000
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Outreach and Health Services to People Experiencing Homelessness: $220,000
SUBTOTAL FOR ALBUQUERQUE HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS: $717160
Albuquerque Public Schools APS Title I Services for Children Experiencing Homelessness: $80,000
Barrett Foundation Supportive Services: $25,000
Bernalillo County Transition coordinator and operations of City/County jail reentry program: $79,310
Crossroads for Women Workforce Development and Behavioral Health Services for Homeless and/or Precariously Housed Persons: $50,025
Cuidando Los Ninos Supportive Housing and Case Management: $80,500
Cuidando Los Ninos Workforce Development and Behavioral Health Services for Homeless and/or Precariously Housed Persons: $79,975
SUBTOTAL FOR CUIDANDO LOS NINOS: $160,475
First Nations Community Health Source Street Outreach Coordinator: $65,000
Heading Home Support Services: $230,000
Heading Home Supportive Services: $360,000
Heading Home Supportive Services for ABQ Heading Home: $195,000
Heading Home ABQ Heading Home Coordination: $55,000
SUBTOTAL FOR HEADING HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES: $840,000
Hope Works Meals for people experiencing or near homelessness: $58,440
Interfaith Bible Center Warming/Compassion Center for people experiencing homelessness: $136,456.49
New Beginnings/God’s Warehouse Pickup and Drop Off Center for WEHC residents: $12,000
God’s Warehouse Vehicle and Kitchen Equipment: $290,000
SUBTOTAL FOR NEW BEGINNINGS: $302,000
The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness works with over 80 agencies and partner providers around the State to offer comprehensive services, housing options, resources, funding and advocacy to support homeless individuals and families. https://www.nmceh.org/
NM Coalition to End Homelessness COC Planning: $108,079
NM Coalition to End Homelessness COC Coordination: $15,000
NM Coalition to End Homelessness COC Coordination: $31,100
NM Coalition to End Homelessness HMIS Coordination: $25,000
NM Coalition to End Homelessness Coordinated Entry System: $155,000
NM Coalition to End Homelessness HMIS Coordination: $112,249
NM Coalition to End Homelessness Helpline: $180,000
SUBTOTAL NM Coalition to End Homelessness: $626,428
Supportive Housing Coalition Support services is for persons experiencing homelessness or who are precariously housed, behavioral health issues and history of incarceration (City/County Joint Jail Re-entry project): $308,000
TBD Provide Housing, Case Management, and Counseling to Chronically Homeless and precariously housed persons with BH Diagnosis: $235,250
TBD Transitional housing and supportive social services: $154,500
TBD Provide Housing, Case Management, and Counseling to Chronically Homeless and precariously housed persons with BH Diagnosis: $244,750
New Mexico Veterans Integration Center Community Support Shuttle: $140,000
Wells Park and Barelas cleanup: $60,000
SUB TOTAL FOR HOMELESS SUPPORT SERVICES $4,282,794
III. MENTAL HEALTH CONTRACTS
Following is the budgeted line item listings for mental health contracts:
2nd Judicial Court Assisted Outpatient Treatment Court Proceedings and Program Oversight: $224,988
Crossroads for Women Clinical Services for Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program $385,417 SAMHSA SS UNM Institute for Social Research Program Evaluation for Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program: $136,055
Legal Representation – Andrea Gunderson, Reynaldo Montano, Law Office of D. Renae Richards Charney, and TBD Legal representation for petitioner/respondents for Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program multiple contracts not to exceed total: $120,000
Legal Representation – Andrea Gunderson, Reynaldo Montano, Law Office of D. Renae Richards Charney, and TBD Legal representation for petitioner/respondents for Assisted Outpatient Treatment Programmultiple contracts not to exceed total: $60,000
Casa Fortaleza Mental health services for survivors of sexual assault: $21,550
Heading Home Outreach services for homeless mentally ill: $360,000
First Nations Community Health Source Outreach services for people experiencing homelessness & mental illness: $70,000
Bernalillo County Community Health Council Public Health Initiative: $270,000
Casa Fortaleza Mental health services for survivors of sexual assault: $78,450
Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico Mental health services for survivors of sexual assault: $217,000
NM Solutions Assertive Community Treatment: $607,700
TBD Forensic Assertive Community Treatment: $607,700
UNM- Health Sciences Center Assertive Community Treatment: $615,000
SUB TOTAL MENTAL HEALTH CONTRACTS: $3,773,860
IV. SUBSTANCE ABUSE CONTRACTS
Cathy Imburgia Program Coordinator for DOJ Opioid Grant: $145,000
Peer Engagement Specialist(s) to work with AFR HEART team in engaging individuals into treatment services: $26,000
Cathy Imburgia Project Coordinator for Gateway to Recovery: $70,000
Heading Home Administration of Recovery Housing Vouchers and Vouchers: $128,750
Albuquerque Center for Hope and Recovery Peer Recovery Staff for Gateway to Recovery: $179,300
TBD Interpretation services: $15,000
Unite Us Treatment provider network and services database: $145,000
TBD Treatment provider network database: $70,000
UNM – Institute for Social Research Determine effectiveness of Peer to Peer Project (DOJ Opioid Grant): $15,000
Sheryl Philips and TBD Treatment provider: Clinical review of behavioral health services: $24,990
Treatment Provider Network Voucher based substance use treatment services including meth: $63,127
Healing Addiction in Our Community Transitional living and treatment for opioid and other addictions: $102,000
School based substance use treatment services: $187,500
UNM-HSC- Office for Community Health Intensive Case Management for persons experiencing substance use disorder: $607,500
First Nations Community Health Source Youth Substance Abuse initiative: $2,200
First Nations Community Health Source Youth Substance Abuse initiative: $98,800
Treatment Provider Network Voucher based substance use treatment services including meth: $745,689
Healing Addiction in Our Community Transitional living and treatment for opioid and other addictions: $50,000
UNM Health Sciences Center- Office for Community Health Intensive Case Management for persons experiencing substance use disorder: $142,500
TOTAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE CONTRACTS: $2,818,356
SUMMARY OF FUNDING
Emergency Shelter contracts $6,025,544
Mental Health contracts: $3,773,860
Substance Abuse counseling contracts: $2,818,356
Homeless Support Services Contracts: 4,282,794
Total of service contracts for 2022-2023: $16,900,554
Affordable Housing Contracts for near homeless: $42,598,361
TOTAL CONTRACTS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING: $59,498,915
The Gibson Medical Center that is currently being remodeled into the new Gateway Center is home to 7 tenants, including three accredited hospitals, and various City of Albuquerque departments. Those tenants are:
AMG Specialty Hospital which is a long-term acute care hospital.
Haven Behavioral Hospital which is an in-patient and out-patient treatments for individuals struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues.
Turquoise Lodge Hospital which is operated by the NM Department of Health hospital and provides substance abuse treatment services to New Mexico residents.
Fresenius Kidney Care which provides education, support, and care for kidney health.
Zia Health Management which is an in-home medical care provider.
VIP Trauma Recovery Center, which is a central hub to connect victims of violent crime to trauma recovery services.
The Encampment Outreach Team which secures ¼ mi radius around the facility and connects individuals in encampments to service.
The city’s Violence Intervention Program offices have also moved into the facility.
