HOUSE MEMORIAL 18

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Miguel P. Garcia

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING A STUDY OF HOMELESSNESS IN NEW MEXICO THAT FOCUSES ON THE PROBLEMS IN THE BARELAS NEIGHBORHOOD OF ALBUQUERQUE.

     WHEREAS, more than three thousand of the state's homeless population of eight thousand persons live on Albuquerque's streets; and

     WHEREAS, more than double the number of organizations serving the homeless population exists in Albuquerque as in the next city with a large population of homeless persons; and

     WHEREAS, most of Albuquerque's service providers for the homeless population are clustered in the center of town in the Barelas neighborhood; and

     WHEREAS, the homeless population is drawn to live in Barelas as transportation connections, social services, medical supplies, groceries and a hospital are close by; and

     WHEREAS, the density of the homeless population in Barelas is becoming a source of tension among neighborhood residents; and 

     WHEREAS, the traditional comraderie, safety, quietude and happiness of the Barelas neighborhood are disappearing as city services and homeless persons who need those services become increasingly centralized in the area;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the human services department be requested to establish a new working group focused entirely on homelessness, with a high priority given to focus on the problems of the Barelas community as an example of a pattern occurring throughout New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group compile data on the needs of homeless persons in New Mexico, documenting at a minimum where the homeless persons in the Barelas neighborhood originated; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group compile data and present it in the form of a report to the legislative health and human services committee before December 1, 2007, with special emphasis on the needs of the homeless population of the area and recommendations for ways to keep homeless people in their home towns by providing better services in smaller cities and providing better housing and employment options in urban areas where homeless persons are drawn by services; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the heads of all Albuquerque area homelessness agencies, to the secretary of health and to the secretary of human services.

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