The Homeless Coordinating Council — consisting of members from the city, Bernalillo County and the University of New Mexico — met Tuesday. The council was created to generate ideas that might bolster programs and services for the homeless population in the Albuquerque metro area and to back a variety of housing initiatives.
Here are three takeaways from its November meeting.
Data-sharing pitfalls cause gaps in service
Homelessness data sharing among government and nonprofit agencies can mean ineffective coordination with programs and services. While the city and county use one data-sharing platform, the state is interested in a separate system. The executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness said the problem that presents, however, is that another system would require more agency resources and staff that aren’t available.
Bernalillo County Commissioner and coordinating council member Adrian Barboa noted that issues with data sharing have been a problem for years. She’s hopeful the council’s focus on it — which includes the formation of a new subcommittee to come up with solutions — will ensure people don’t slip through the cracks.
Subcommittee to zero in on African Americans
Albuquerque City Councilor Nichole Rogers, the council’s vice chair, spoke about the need for a subcommittee to focus on the city’s unhoused African Americans. She said Black people, as with Native Americans, represent a disproportionate number of people experiencing homelessness compared to their total population. Rogers wants the subcommittee to embark on a needs assessment to find ways to offer culturally competent housing and support services. She said it was important that the city’s Black community be consulted on ways to eliminate housing access disparities and “hurtful racism in the homeless system.”
Support for a behavioral health waiver on the table
City and county representatives on the council have said they support a Medicaid behavioral health waiver, similar to a current version that serves thousands of New Mexicans with developmental disabilities. Such a waiver would have implications for the care of thousands of New Mexicans with behavioral health issues, substance use disorders and/or brain injuries who are at risk of institutionalization or incarceration.
The council now wants to hear from UNM representatives on the issue. Gina Urias-Sandoval, chief of staff for Dr. Mike Richards, the interim executive vice president of UNM Health Sciences and CEO of the UNM Health System, said she would give the council a sense of where UNM stands on the idea at its next meeting.
The next Homeless Coordinating Council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10.
In a phrase, “lack of coordination”, another needs assessment, another committee meeting next month. Blah, blah, blah. Millions of dollars spent by government agencies and nonprofits–who employ how many hundreds of people–being thrown at the crisis of the unhoused in Albuquerque, and what do we continue to see. To my eyes, no change. In my own small way, I make in-kind donations monthly to Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. I try not to think about how little impact my gift has. I donate because it seems like the next right thing to do.