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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

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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.