On July 31, it was reported that the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness released the 2024 Point-In-Time (PIT) Report for the numbers of unhoused in Albuquerque and in the balance of the state. The PIT survey is performed once a year. This year’s PIT count occurred on the night of January 29. This blog article is an in-depth report on the 2024 survey results.
The link to review the entire 62 page 2024 PIT report is here:
Click to access ad7ad8_4e2a2906787e4ca19853b9c7945a4dc9.pdf
POINT IN TIME COUNT EXPLAINED
The Point-In-Time (PIT) count is the annual process of identifying and counting individuals and families experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness within a community on a single night in January, as defined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD). HUD requires any community receiving funding from Federal homeless assistance grants to conduct the biennial counts.
HUD requires that any community receiving federal funding from homeless assistance grant programs conduct the annual count. In even numbered years, only sheltered homeless are surveyed. In odd numbered years, both sheltered and unsheltered homeless are surveyed. Only those homeless people who can be located and who agree to participate in the survey are counted.
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.
The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness (NMCEH) has conducted the count annually since 2021. There are two Continuum of Cares (CoC) that operate inside New Mexico, each covering a specific service area. The Albuquerque CoC covers the City of Albuquerque. The New Mexico Balance of State CoC (BoS CoC) covers all parts of New Mexico outside of Albuquerque.
With two CoCs covering the entire geographic area of New Mexico and with the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority distributing federal funds statewide, both Continuum of Cares work with participating communities to implement the PIT counts to meet HUD’s requirements. Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally on the community level.
DEFINITION AND CATEGORIES OF HOMELESSNESS
The PIT count requires the use of the HUD definition of “homelessness”. PIT counts only people who are sleeping in a shelter, in 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
HUD defines sheltered homeless as “residing in an emergency shelter, motel paid through a provider or in a transitional housing program.” It does not include people who are doubled up with family or friends. HUD defines “unsheltered homeless” as those sleeping in places not meant for human habitation including streets, parks, alleys, underpasses, abandoned buildings, campgrounds and similar environments.
The PIT count has the following 3 major categories of homelessness it reports on:
SHELTERED COUNT: The sheltered count represents all people residing in Emergency Shelters (ES) and Transitional Housing (TH) projects.
UNSHELTERED COUNT uses surveys and street outreach to account for individuals and families experiencing unsheltered homelessness on the night of the count. The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness coordinated a number of street outreach teams and volunteers across the state, canvassing neighborhoods, alleys, parks, high-traffic areas, known encampments and points of congregation, meal service sites, and general service sites to engage and survey people who identified as being in a homeless situation.
HOUSING INVENTORY COUNT (HIC): The Housing Inventory Count is an inventory of provider programs that provides a total number of beds and units dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness, and, for permanent housing projects, individuals who were homeless at entry. The HIC counts beds in four Program Types: Emergency Shelter; Transitional Housing; Rapid Re-Housing; and Permanent Supportive Housing.
The Sheltered, Unsheltered, and Housing Inventory counts attempt to paint a complete picture of our homelessness response system, with the sheltered and unsheltered counts illustrating the need for services and the HIC demonstrating capacity for providing those services.
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2024 PIT SURVEY
On the night of January 29, 2024, the PIT survey found at least 2,740 people in Albuquerque that didn’t have a permanent home to reside in. Of that number, about half were totally unsheltered, sleeping outside with no roof over their heads. Last year, the number was 2,394. The Point-In-Time (PIT) count identified hundreds more people who were sleeping in an emergency shelter or unsheltered in Albuquerque.
With the exception of 2022, the number of homeless individuals in the city has been increasing since 2013. There was one notable category in which numbers dropped and that was individuals in transitional housing programs where temporary housing is offered along with other resources to ultimately move people into permanent housing. In 2011, the PIT count identified 594 individuals living in transitional housing, or 36% of the individuals counted that year. In 2024, that number was just 220 or about 8% of those counted in the January survey.
The PIT report indicates that in recent years, the number of providers for transitional housing programs has dropped in the city. In 2015, there were 5 transitional housing providers funded through the federal Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care (CoC) program. In 2024, that has dropped to 2.
In the past year, Continuum of Care programs were able to successfully house close to 700 individuals, more than 450 households and almost 200 children.
UNHOUSED ANSWER QUESTIONS
Survey respondents answered a number of questions about their experience with homelessness. More than 50% of the unsheltered respondents said they were homeless for the first time. Of surveyed individuals who were from outside of New Mexico, the majority were from Texas and California. Most said they were not homeless when they moved to New Mexico.
A third of the women surveyed said they were homeless due to domestic violence. About 16% of all respondents said domestic violence contributed to their sleeping situation.
The most common barriers to housing chosen by respondents were access to service, application fees or deposits for housing, no housing vouchers, high rental prices, missing documentation and substance-abuse disorders.
When asked about items lost in encampment clearings, documents like social security cards, birth certificates, and drivers’ licenses were commonly cited.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The 2024 PIT report revealed that certain demographics were overrepresented in the data. Of the more than 1,200 people who were unsheltered on January 29, 3 out of 4 identified themselves as veterans.
Despite making up about 5% of the Albuquerque population, close to 16% of the unsheltered population counted were Indigenous. Blacks represent 3.2% of Albuquerque’s population but more than 8% of people sleeping outside on Jan. 29.
IMPERCISE COUNT
The PIT report cautions that the 2,740 number is imprecise and that it is likely an undercount. If someone happened to be housed for the night of January 29 such as sleeping on a friend’s couch, scraping together enough for a one-night motel stay, in a hospital, or in jail, they would be excluded from the count.
The PIT report states that children are often undercounted as “parents will often do everything in their power to make sure their child has a place to sleep inside, even while the parent is forced to sleep on the street or in a vehicle.”
Sweeping encampments could also affect the count, the report said. Many unhoused people simply just say no to responding to surveys. According to the report “many individuals experiencing homelessness do not have the time of desire to complete a survey, resulting in hundreds of refusals and incomplete surveys”.
MAYOR KELLER REACTS TO SURVEY RESULTS
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller responded to the survey results by issuing the following statement:
“Given the amount of 311 calls, knowing we house 900 people every night in our system, along with what we all see around town, it’s likely a big undercount. That’s why we continue our historic investments in housing and services. We converted a rundown hotel into housing, just bought another for young adult shelter, and are planning a new recovery housing center on top of the critical work at the Gateway — which is on schedule to help 1,000 people a day next year. It’s clear we need even more resources and partners.”
The link to the relied upon and quoted news source is here:
2024 POINT-IN-TIME DATA DOWNLOAD
The total number of the unhoused in the city of Albuquerque dwarfs in sure numbers the total number of the unhoused in the state of New Mexico. For this reason, the 2024 Point In Time Survey released by the New Mexico Coalition End Homelessness first reports on the unsheltered and sheltered people experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque. It then reports on the unsheltered and sheltered people experiencing homelessness in the State referred to as the Balance of the State.
ALBUQUERQUE UNSHELTERED DATA BREAKDOWN
The raw data breakdown of Alburquerque’s homeless is as follows:
HOUSEHOLDS COUNTED IN ALBUQUERQUE
The total count of HOUSEHOLDS experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque on January 29, 2024 was 2,248. (Households include those with or without children or only children.) The breakdown is as follows:
- Emergency Shelters: 1,018
- Transitional Housing: 174
- Unsheltered: 1,056
TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS: 2,248
PERSONS COUNTED IN ALBUQUERQUE
The total count of PERSONS experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque on January 29, 2024 was 2,740 broken down in 3 categories.
- Emergency Shelters: 1,289
- Transitional Housing: 220
- Unsheltered: 1,231
TOTAL PERSONS: 2,740
ALBUQUERQUE’S 2009 TO 2024 STATISTICS
Total number of PEOPLE counted during the Albuquerque Point-in-Time counts from 2009 to 2024 to establish a graphic trend line for the period are as follows:
- 2009: 2,002
- 2011: 1,639
- 2013: 1,171
- 2015: 1,287
- 2017: 1,318
- 2019: 1,524
- 2021: 1,567
- 2022: 1,311
- 2023: 2,394
- 2024: 2,740
The data breakdown for the 2024 Albuquerque UNSHELTERED was reported as follows:
- 960 (78%) were considered chronically homeless.
- 727 (22%) were not considered chronically homeless.
- 106 (8.6%) had served in the military.
- 927 (75.3%) had NOT served in the military.
- 669 (56.6%) were experiencing homelessness for the first time.
- 525 (42.6%) were NOT experiencing homelessness for the first time.
- 5% of all respondents said they were homeless due to domestic violence with 49.2% of those being women.
- 4% said they were adults with a serious mental illness.
- 0% said they were adults with a substance abuse disorder.
- 8% said they were adults with another disabling condition.
- 3% were asdults with HIV/AIDS.
Individuals who stated they moved to New Mexico from somewhere else were asked whether or not they were experiencing homelessness when they moved to the State and they responded as follows:
- 82 (24.8%) said they were homeless before moving to the state.
- 212 (63.8%) said they were not homeless before moving to the state.
- 77 (11.4%) refused to answer.
DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWNS
The following demographic breakdowns are given for Albuquerque 2024 UNSHELTER count:
GENDER OF THOSE COUNTED (ALBUQUERQUE UNSHELTER COUNT)
- MALE: 763
- FEMALE: 446
- QUESTIONING: 2
- TRANSGENDER: 3
- Non-Binary: 5
- More than one identity: 7
AGE OF THOSE COUNTED (ALBUQUERQUE UNSHELTER COUNT)
- Under 18: 30
- 18-24: 94
- 25-34: 286
- 35-44: 381
- 45-54: 256
- 55-64: 145
- 65 and over: 39
RACE OF THOSE COUNTED (ALBUQUERQUE UNSHELTER COUNT)
- HISPANIC: 534 (43.4%)
- WHITE: 288 (23.4%)
- AMERICAN INDIAN, INDIGENOUS: 196 (15.9)
- AFRICAN AMERICAN: 96 (7.8%)
- Multiple races 103 (8.4%)
HISTORY OF ALBUQUERQUE’S EMERGENCY SHELTER COUNT
The 2024 PIT report contains the count of the number of people residing in EMERGENCY SHELTER in Albuquerque during the PIT Counts for the years 2011-2024. Following are those numbers:
- 2011: 658
- 2012: 621
- 2013: 619
- 2014: 614
- 2015: 659
- 2016: 674
- 2017: 706
- 2018: 711
- 2019: 735
- 2020: 808
- 2021: 940
- 2022: 940
- 2023: 1,125
- 2024: 1,289
BARRIERS TO HOUSING LISTED
Unhoused respondents were asked to list the barriers they are currently experiencing that are preventing them from obtaining housing. Following are the responses:
- Access to services: 439 responses (42%)
- Access to communication: 263 responses 25%
- Available housing is in unsafe neighborhoods: 119 responses 11%
- Credit issues: 150 responses 14%
- Criminal record: 220 responses 21%
- Deposit/Application fees: 316 responses 30%
- Lack of vouchers (rental subsidies: 333 responses 32%
- Missing documentation: 374 responses 35%
- No housing for large households: 33 responses 3%
- Pet deposits/Pet Rent: 57 responses 5%
- Pets not allowed/Breed Restrictions: 48 responses 5%
- Rental history: 144 responses 14%
- Rental prices: 340 responses 32%
- Safety/Security: 77 responses 7%
- Substance Use Disorder: 283 responses 27%
- Lack of employment: 45 responses 4%
- Disabled: 34 responses 3%
- No mailing address: 31 3%
- Lack of income: 30 3%
- Homeless by choice: 30 responses 3%
- Ineffective service landscape: 25 responses 2%
- Lack of transportation: 14 responses 1%
- Discrimination: 8 responses 1%
CITY ENCAMPMENT CLEANUPS AND REMOVAL
Albuquerque’s Unhoused were asked how many times their encampment has been removed by the city over the last year. Following are the statistics:
- 69 reported once
- 98 report twice
- 67 reported three times
- 55 reported 4 times
- 497 report 5 time or more
EDITOR’S NOTE: During the July 29 Town Hall meeting held by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on “Public Safety”, Mayor Tim Keller proclaimed the city of Albuquerque is cleaning up and removing upwards of 1,000 encampments a month. Keller gave no further information, and his claim appears to be an embellishment when compared to the PIT survey results.
TYPES OF ITEMS LOST FROM ENCAMPMENT REMOVALS
The unhouse survey were asked what types of items they lost during encampment removals. Losing these items can hinder progress toward housing and cause emotional distress, especially when sentimental items are involved. Note that the response categories are not mutually exclusive, and respondents could select all that applied.
- 81% said they lost their birth certificate.
- 5% said they lost a phone or tablet.
- 4% said they lost personal or sentimental items.
- 5% said they lost prescription medications.
- 9% said they lost social security cards.
- 6 said they lost a state ID or driver’s license.
BALANCE OF STATE UNSHELTERED DATA BREAKDOWN
The 2024 PIT survey provides the estimated number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the Balance of State. (Households include those with or without children or only children.)
HOUSEHOLDS COUNTED IN BALANCE OF THE STATE
The total count of HOUSEHOLDS experiencing homelessness in the Balance of State on January 29, 2024 was 1,547 broken down as follows:
- Emergency Shelters: 587
- Transitional Housing: 76
- Unsheltered: 884
TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS: 1,547
INDIVIDUALS COUNTED IN BALANCE OF STATE
The total count of PERSONS experiencing homelessness in the Balance of the State on January 29, 2024, was 1,909 broken down as follows:
- Emergency Shelters: 746
- Transitional Housing: 156
- Unsheltered: 1,011
TOTAL PERSONS: 1,909
BALANCD OF THE STATE 2009 TO 2023 STATISTICS
Following are the number of unsheltered people counted in the BALANCE OF THE STATE for the odd number years 2009-2023 and 2024 to establish a graphic trend line:
- 2009: 1,473
- 2011: 1,962
- 2013: 1,648
- 2015: 1,342
- 2017: 1,164
- 2019: 1,717
- 2021: 1,180
- 2022: 1,283
- 2023: 1,448
- 2024: 1,907
BALANCE OF STATE UNSHELTERED DATA BREAKDOWN
- 564 (55.8%) were considered chronically homeless
- 85 (8.4%) served in the military
- 756 (75.4) did not serve in military
- 390 (38.6%) were experiencing homelessness for the first time
- 591 (58.4%) have experienced homelessness before
- 79% of all respondents said they were homeless due to domestic violence while 62% were woman only
- 9% were adults with a serious mental illness
- 2% were adults with a substance use disorder
- 9% were adults with another disabling condition
GENDER OF THOSE COUNTED (UNSHELTER COUNT, BALANCE OF THE STATE)
- MALE: 678
- FEMALE: 320
- Questioning: 1
- Transgender: 3
- Non-Binary: 4
AGE OF THOSE COUNTED (UNSHELTER COUNT, BALANCE OF THE STATE)
- Under 18: 34
- 18-24: 73
- 25-34: 238
- 35-44: 274
- 45-54: 198
- 55-64: 136
- 65 and over: 58
RACE OF THOSE COUNTED (UNSHELTER COUNT, BALANCE OF THE STATE)
- HISPANIC: 385 (38.1%)
- WHITE: 349 (34.55)
- AMERICAN INDIAN, INDIGENOUS: 179 (17.7%)
- AFRICAN AMERICAN: 38 (3.8%)
- MULTIPLE RACES: 54 (5.3%)
BALANCE OF STATE SHELTERED COUNT TOTALS from 2011 TO 2023
- 2011: 1,035
- 2012: 759
- 2013: 876
- 2014: 795
- 2015: 728
- 2016: 567
- 2017: 548
- 2018: 657
- 2019: 881
- 2020: 895
- 2021: 702
- 2022: 785
- 2023: 665
BALANCE OF STATE TRANSITIONAL HOUSING COUNT FROM 2011 TO 2023
- 2011: 466
- 2012: 594
- 2013: 488
- 2014: 413
- 2015: 343
- 2016: 203
- 2017: 204
- 2018: 142
- 2019: 144
- 2020: 160
- 2021: 116
- 2022: 107
- 2023: 292
- 2024: 152
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Every year that the Point In Time survey is released, the city and service providers always proclaim it is a massive undercount of the city and state’s homeless population. The accuracy of the numbers are repeatedly called into question with some arguing that the city’s homeless numbers are as high as10,000 or more as demands are made for more and more spending.
Government and charitable providers who rely on federal government funding to assist the homeless to an extent are motivated to make claims that the numbers they serve are much greater than they really are because government funding or even donations are dependent on the numbers they actually serve. This is especially so when federal funding is at stake.
One problem is that the city and the charitable providers do not all have one singular definition of homeless. They tend to count all that walk through their front doors who they assist, be it for food, clothing, shelter or a combination thereof. Many of the charitable providers serve 300 to 500 people a day.
CONSISTENCY IN THE NUMBERS
The Point in Time survey is criticized because everyone at risk of or experiencing homelessness through the course of the entire year is not included. The point-in-time count is typically done over the course of one to two nights, with volunteers canvassing neighborhoods, alleys, parks, places like the Bosque in Albuquerque, meal service sites, and general service sites.
The PIT report does not include those who are referred to as the “hidden homeless” which is defined as people who may be sleeping in their cars, overcrowded homes, vacant buildings or staying “on and off” with friends or relatives for short periods of time or in other unsafe housing conditions or in undetected campsites and those who have no permanent address.
Notwithstanding questioning the accuracy, the overall numbers found each year by the PIT over the last 12 years has been very consistent.
Albuquerque’s total number of chronic homeless is between 2,002, counted in 2009 and 2,740 counted in 2023 in Emergency Shelters, Transitional Housing and Unsheltered.
The Balance of the State total number of chronic homeless are between 1,473 counted in 2009 and 1,907 counted in 2024 in Emergency Shelters, Transitional Housing and Unsheltered.
It’s Albuquerque’s numbers that have spiked dramatically. The numbers should not be confused at all with the cities and state’s affordable housing needs.
CONCLUSION
Until government and all homeless providers come up with an ongoing method of calculating the homeless throughout the year, the annual Point In Time is the only count that is reliable and should not be dismissed as inaccurate. The blunt reality is that homelessness will never be solved until the underlying causes are resolved including poverty and the mental health and drug addiction crisis.
During the past 5 years, the city has established two 24/7 homeless shelters, including purchasing the Loveless Gibson Medical Center for $15 million to convert it into a homeless shelter. The city is funding and operating 2 major shelters for the homeless, one fully operational with 450 beds and one when fully operational will assist upwards 1,000 homeless and accommodate at least 330 a night. Ultimately, both shelters are big enough to be remodeled and provide far more sheltered housing for the unhoused.
Given the numbers in the 2024 PIT report and the millions being spent on the homeless crisis it should be manageable. Yet the crisis is only getting worse and is a continuing major drain on city resources. During the past few years, the unhoused have become far more dispersed throughout the city and have become far more aggressive in camping where they want and for how long as they want.
The problem the city has failed to solve is how to deal with the 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 who want to camp at city parks, on city streets in alleys and trespass in open space. In those cases of refusal of assistance, the city should not hesitate to enforce its vagrancy laws with citations and even arrests after repeated warnings given to the unhoused.
The link to related blog articles are here: