A rift formed this summer between the city and its Human Rights Board over an analysis of the state of those experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque.The result is that a final report to be issued to the city won’t be submitted. Even though the all-volunteer board has no legal jurisdiction, it is empowered by city ordinance to investigate issues and propose findings.
“I took the city’s reaction to the previous draft of the report as a warning that further consideration could result in issues for the board,” Anami Dass, board chair, said.
Throughout the year, the board — and Dass especially — has assessed and investigated an array of challenges faced by thousands of people in Albuquerque who live on the streets and in city shelters. The board found those experiencing homelessness encounter widespread discrimination, stigma and exclusion by the public and city employees and contractors. It also found issues with the city’s housing voucher program and with conditions at its Westside shelter — Gateway West, formerly the Westside Emergency Housing Center.
Its preliminary findings published in July also said the city had been too aggressive in its handling of illegal encampments — including the disposal of personal belongings that sometimes contained legal documents and personal identification. Those experiencing homelessness regularly report that a main barrier to secure housing is a lack of proper identification.
“The City Attorney has identified multiple concerns about the [preliminary] report and the process in which it was created, including that the forum was improperly conducted, the board was not impartial in the forum, and the report contained claims without any evidence or support,” city spokesperson Staci Drangmeister, said in a statement last week. “Given the significant deficiencies, it is appropriate the board withdrew the [final] report.”
The forum was a board-sponsored public hearing in June at the International District Library, where many attendees criticized the city’s treatment of those experiencing homelessness. City Attorney Lauren Keefe said in July that assertions made at the hearing were little more than “generalities and hearsay.” She also said that city officials had been caught off guard by the board’s preliminary report and hadn’t been given a sufficient opportunity to respond to “some very, very severe allegations.” In addition, she said the board’s fact-finding and report-writing process was “very questionable.”
Dass disputes Keefe’s criticism and said city representatives have been invited to board meetings and events multiple times this year.
“But I chose to withdraw [the final report] because I didn’t want to attract too much negativity toward the board from the city,” Dass said.
She said maintaining a positive relationship with the city, or at least a neutral one, was more important in the end.
“The only power we have is a relationship with the city where we can advocate for things a bit louder than an individual person could,” Dass said.
Dass said she hopes, however, that the misunderstandings can be cleared up at the board’s next meeting scheduled for Sept. 19.
“This whole thing has been very confusing with misinformation and misinterpretation of the entire effort,” Dass said. “In no way was I trying to embarrass the city or was I trying to do any kind of ‘gotcha’ moment.”
Dass said going forward, she’s hopeful that the board will move on to other topics it’s passionate about.
“I would like to do good for all human rights and not just things that affect me personally,” she said. “The board is made up of a lot of amazing people and I want their voices to be heard for the rest of this year and beyond.”
In addition to being an outspoken advocate for those experiencing homelessness, Dass is a harm reduction specialist in the International District.
More information about the board’s Sept. 19 meeting is here. Dass has self-published what would have been the board’s final report on homelessness to the city here.