Homeless advocacy group says city heading in ‘right direction’

By Mike Cook

Las Cruces Bulletin

“There’s a human element to everything that we do and you need to make sure that every decision you make is based on that,” Casa de Peregrinos (CdP) emergency food program Executive Director Lorenzo Alba told the Las Cruces City Council during its Jan. 24 work session about homelessness in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.

“These people right here, they’re there all the time,” Alba said, referring to Mesilla Valley Community of Hope (MVCH) Executive Director Nicole Martinez and members of her staff who also attended the work session.

“Without them, there would probably be a lot more graves being made today. There would be a lot more overdoses going on today,” Alba said.

CdP is part of the MVCH campus, 999 W. Amador Ave., which provides services to people struggling with homelessness and also includes a soup kitchen, health clinic, childcare and Camp Hope tent city, which currently has 44 residents, Martinez said.

“I believe we are moving in the right direction,” Martinez said. “We embrace Housing First in our programming and offer several Rapid ReHousing and Permanent Supportive Housing programs. We’ve made a considerable reduction in veteran homelessness, house and shelter hundreds of folks annually, and continue to push the envelope in wrap-around services with our partner agencies.”

MVCH, founded in 1991, served 3,263 clients in FY 2020-21, including 228 veterans, and provided shelter to 254 people in Camp Hope. It provided housing to 809 people during the year, including 258 children.

The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness estimates that statewide “approximately 6,548 people per year experience homelessness but do not receive adequate assistance to help them exit homelessness,” the city said. “The estimated total number of people experiencing homelessness in New Mexico each year is between 15,000 and 20,000,” the city said.

At the same time, there is “a huge need for helping folks on the street that aren’t accessing services at Community of Hope,” Martinez said.

Mayor Ken Miyagishima said the city also has a serious problem with a small number of homeless people who are “causing criminal damage to property, breaking windows, trying to steal things. It’s one thing to help someone who’s down on their luck and help them try to get back up,” he said. But, at the same time, the city must “move forward on this small percentage” and “do something with those that are being disrespectful – they vandalize and nothing happens to them and that’s not right.”

“I couldn’t disagree with you more,” Councilor Johana Bencomo told the mayor.

Increased and chronic homelessness have resulted from “systemic failures in our community,” said Bencomo, who is chair of the city’s Housing Policy Review Committee. The city, she said, should “maintain a level of dignity and respect for people who are experiencing homeless.” And, while “petty-level crime should be addressed,” Bencomo said, “don’t criminalize homelessness.”

“I’m glad this is something we’re all talking about it,” said Max Bower, CEO of Amador Hospitality in Downtown Las Cruces. The city needs to “strike a little bit of a balance here,” Bower said. “Don’t minimize a lot of the good work being done here,” he said, but, at the same time, deal with “a smaller group of people that are continuing to become aggressive.”

“We’re not going to police or arrest our way out of homelessness,” Las Cruces Police Department

Community Partnership Officer Brian Klimeck said. LCPD, he said, receives “numerous calls for service every day associated with problems of homelessness.”

Klimeck said LCPD “takes an integrative approach” in dealing with homeless people, because it is “not solely a police or enforcement issue. Community of Hope is one of the “unsung heroes that we partner with,” he said.

One woman who spoke at work session said she is “experiencing homelessness right now. I’m not completely homeless, I just need a helping hand,” she said. “I would like to get housing.” 

Miyagishima gave the woman his business card and asked her to meet with him so he can try to help her.

Another woman said she has a son who is homeless because of a drug problem. The city, she said, needs to open an abandoned building, clean it up and make it available to homeless people.

“Put people in there to work,” she said. “Give these people an opportunity. It’s up to us … to help these individuals.”

“It’s not that I want to be homeless,” a man said at the meeting. “I enjoy sleeping out with my lord and my god. I would rather live in a tent. I would be happy if I could make sure it was secure and I could keep it warm and I could keep myself clean.”

City Housing development Coordinator Natalie Green said the city has a shortage of about 4,500 affordable housing units and needs about $25 million over the next four to five years to leverage $100 million from other funding sources to address the issue.

“You’ll be hearing from me a lot,” Green told the council. “I’ll be asking for a lot.”