ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The cries to solve Albuquerque’s homeless problem can be heard from the streets of Central Avenue to the halls of the Roundhouse. And the city has plenty of would-be solutions in the works. But one local attorney says, there’s a better way to go about it.
The 62-page plan is set to be heard by the Albuquerque City Council next month. The man behind it, says the city needs to get organized, and start making big changes, now. “They don’t have to agree with me. But at least we’re talking then about a plan so that we can approach the legislature and say, Okay, we are unified in a plan short, medium, long term goals,” said Attorney Daymon Ely.
It’s a plan that has been a year in the making and aims to tackle one of the top concerns from Albuquerque citizens, homelessness. Ely, a local attorney and former state lawmaker, has been working as a volunteer with the city to come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with the homeless crisis. “I called in various locales, it is not unique to Albuquerque not to have a plan,” said Ely.
According to the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, the city has an estimated homeless population of 2,394.
The contributing factors Ely identifies, are all too familiar. They include substance abuse, poor access to services and above all, lack of affordable housing. Ely acknowledges the city’s existing initiatives are on the right track. “So there are a lot of good programs but we’re not connecting them efficiently with the people on our streets,” said Ely.
The first step, Ely says, is to get people off the street in the short term. While the city does have beds, Ely says, people don’t want to sleep in them.
“In the long run, when you’re just as safe out on middle of the desert in the middle of the night with coyotes and stuff like that? I would rather do that than stay in this facility,” said Chilly Cloud, a homeless member in the community.
So the first step of his plan is repairing and revitalizing the Westside Emergency Housing Center. “The west side shelter is a disaster. But with money, we can make that a welcoming environment, doesn’t have to be permanent. But it should be something that people aren’t fearful of going to,” said Ely.
Next, Ely suggests buying up more motels and office space to be converted into more transitional and short-term housing. After that, he says, the city needs to get to know its homeless population and get them the help they need. That’s something the city has learned is easier said than done when the people being offered services, refuse them.
Ely says changing that, is going to take persistence. “What we should be doing for those people is know our homeless population by name and problem and be able to hook them up in real-time.”
Next would be long-term housing. He says if the city can streamline the permitting process, then more developers would stay and build more starter homes. Ely is asking not only for the city and county to give this a chance, but state lawmakers and the public as well.
“People don’t want to be part of failure, but they’re going to want to be part of success. So let’s give them the opportunity to you know, appeal to the better nature, their better nature that we are going to be saying to them, we are succeeding,” Ely said.
Ely is hoping to get the city and Bernalillo County to agree on a plan, so he can take it to the legislature during the July special session and call for funding. The plan will be heard at the city council meeting on May 6.
