SENATE MEMORIAL 44

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Sander Rue

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THE NEW MEXICO MORTGAGE FINANCE AUTHORITY AND OTHERS TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIES TO COORDINATE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND OTHER RESOURCES FOR THE HOMELESS AND TO IDENTIFY AND REPORT ON GAPS IN HOUSING AND SERVICES.

     WHEREAS, people who experience homelessness in New Mexico include families with children, people who are working at low-wage jobs, people suffering from mental illness, those with substance abuse problems, migrant workers, runaway teens, victims of domestic violence and veterans; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico coalition to end homelessness estimates that there are at least seventeen thousand people in New Mexico who experience homelessness over the course of a year; and

     WHEREAS, providing housing resources to people who are homeless is a vital and important goal; and

     WHEREAS, a 2013 university of New Mexico study showed that providing supportive housing and services to medically vulnerable people experiencing homelessness resulted in a savings of over twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) per year per person when compared to the costs to government and health care services used by the same people living outside or in shelters; and

     WHEREAS, supportive housing programs throughout New Mexico have proven to be very effective at helping homeless individuals and families obtain and maintain permanent housing; and

     WHEREAS, initiatives such as the New Mexico coordinated assessment work to ensure that people experiencing homelessness are directed to the most appropriate housing resource as quickly as possible using a common assessment tool, a community prioritization system and a centralized database; and

     WHEREAS, initiatives such as Albuquerque heading home have shown that providing permanent supportive housing to medically vulnerable, chronically homeless people using the housing first model is cost-effective and has proven to help people exit homelessness permanently; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico mortgage finance authority supports housing programs for the homeless throughout New Mexico and the development of new supportive housing through the federal low-income housing tax credit program; and

     WHEREAS, the human services department's linkages program provides state-funded permanent, supportive housing based on the housing first model; and

     WHEREAS, coordination of these various efforts would lead to a more strategic and effective response to homelessness in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, medicaid expansion has the potential to ensure that people experiencing homelessness have access to needed behavioral health and medical services;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the human services department, the New Mexico mortgage finance authority, the New Mexico coalition to end homelessness and Albuquerque heading home be requested to identify strategies to coordinate resources to more efficiently house people who are homeless; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these entities identify a strategy for using medicaid, linkages, the statewide coordinated assessment system, the Albuquerque heading home model, the low-income housing tax credit program and other successful supportive housing programs to most effectively address homelessness in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these entities identify gaps in the availability of housing and services for people experiencing homelessness; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these entities provide a report of the strategies identified and other findings to the legislative health and human services committee by November 1, 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of human services, the executive director of the New Mexico mortgage finance authority, the executive director of the New Mexico coalition to end homelessness and the chief executive officer of Albuquerque heading home.

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