City of Albuquerque leaders have been discussing Bernalillo County’s Homeless Coordinating Council has been discussing the creation of "safe outdoor spaces" for the homeless, in front of the Bernalillo County’s Homeless Coordinating Council headquarters, KOB reported.
The spaces would be tent communities where the homeless would be provided a storage bin, sleeping area, and a chair while having the area enclosed by a fence for protection. The area would also have other resources such as showers, electricity and sometimes internet and food, the story said.
No weapons would be allowed but drugs and alcohol would be since the tent is considered the person's home, the station reported.
"Not anyone can just walk up,” Elizabeth Holguin, the city's deputy director of homeless solutions, told the station. “People will be accepted based on outreach worker referral."
Drug dealing would be allowed, she added. The city would help homeless living in the spaces find jobs, obtain benefits and other services, Holquin said.
"Resources like bathrooms, showers, electricity, shade structures, sometimes even internet,” Holguin said. “Definitely handwashing stations. There’s often connections to food and meals and all of the different outreach services that can be provided."
The strategy has been successful in Denver, city officials told the station. They said that while the program would not be a solution to homelessness, it could reduce crime by providing a safer alternative to living on the street.
