The number of homeless in Albuquerque is rising and needs to be addressed before the situation worsens.
Among the options being discussed are sanctioned encampments; but Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, is opposed to that idea. She favors a better system of homeless shelters throughout the city.
“Our community desperately needs and lacks overnight sheltering for the homeless, especially for single adults,” Cole said while testifying before the Albuquerque City Council.
A November 2019 report published by the City of Albuquerque showed that single adults comprise the largest homeless subpopulation in the city. The same report noted that nearly three-quarters of the 1,524 counted homeless population was made up of single adults.
Additionally, out of the 567 homeless individuals counted in the report who were unsheltered, the report indicated that virtually all of them were single adults. It was also estimated that half of the single adults counted were chronically homeless.
A different 2019 study found that an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people were homeless in Albuquerque, or 12 out of every 10,000 people. The only other area in the United States with comparable homeless numbers to New Mexico is Washington, D.C.
If all 18 homeless encampments were to be constructed in Albuquerque, populations could potentially average up to 500 individuals per camp, a recent Albuquerque Journal report said.
