Category: Homelessness

Homelessness in Albuquerque – video update

We have been following Albuquerque’s homeless story for quite a while.

This video update was recently featured at the City of Albuquerque’s state of the city speech.

Robert Nelson at Metropolitan Homelessness Projected shared this update with us:

“Greetings!

I just wanted to write and share a new video that the city produced for the Mayor’s State of the City Address this past Wednesday. We’ll be reaching some milestones very soon and I wanted you to know about them. To date, 43 people have been housed in permanent housing and we’ll probably reach 50 in the next week. We’ll keep pressing onward to house 75 people by February 2012. With this rapid increase of housing, I want to also thank you for your help volunteering for us over the past few months. Because of you, we have been able to get this initiative going from the ground up – from Survey Week back in February to delivering furniture and housewares to those who were newly housed to the ongoing conversation on how we sustain housing for our clients. Thank you.

The link below is a video not only of the initiative and where we’re headed, but it also includes some of the stories of the people that have lived on the streets for years and finally moved into housing. Please share this video with your family, friends and colleagues and help us spread the word about our mission to end homelessness. Hope this message finds you well and thank you again for your support.

Robert Nelson | Metropolitan Homelessness Project”

Homelessness in ABQ update

The Albuquerque Journal has an update on the homeless survey that was performed earlier this year.

As you may remember, I participated in the survey earlier this year, and was dumbstruck by the stories the individuals I met shared.

Although the focus on the article is about one individual who has made it into housing, then fallen out, and is working to get back in, the part of the story that left me the saddest was the number of people who have died since we surveyed them.

Those of us who own housing, who work in the housing industry must to more to help initiatives like the City of Albuquerque’s Albuquerque Heading Home as well as non-profits like Metropolitan Homelessness Project and Joy Junction to eliminate homelessness.

(BTW, I should mention that Mayor Berry received the Humanitarian award for his dedication on this issue. Having been on his team, I can tell you his desire to eliminate homelessness involved a lot more than the camera time many people might have seen and the survey of the homeless quickly turned into an emergency plan that the Mayor and City Councilors funded to get people out of the sub freezing temperatures and in shelter).

First responses from 2011 Census of homeless – in ABQ they are finding housing.

An update from our from the Albuquerque Heading Home homeless survey we helped with earlier this year.

This article at 100k homes indicates that the first 15 homeless people from that survey have found housing – kudos to the Mayor and the folks at Albuquerque Heading Home for making this happen!