March, ceremony recognizes city’s homeless who died this year

It was a solemn occasion Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque when about 100 people gathered in the International District to recognize the deaths of those experiencing homelessness in the city this year. The event coincides with Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day — a national day to mark homeless deaths. This year, more than 180 U.S. cities were expected to participate.

A silent march started at the Compassion Services Center, located at 541 Mesilla St. SE, where walkers headed east on Zuni Road to the American Indian Center for a ceremony, located a little less than a mile away at 105 Texas St. SE.

While the day was largely about remembering friends and family members who died, the volatile issues of city encampment sweeps and shelter conditions were also on the minds of many who attended.

“You know, I think sometimes we’re going backwards,” Joanne Landry, director of the Compassion Services Center, said. “They are not going to go to any of the shelters — they are just not going to do it, unfortunately. We need to find a place for them that is adequate, that’s going to work for them. Let’s get them off our streets.”

People walked with signs featuring the names of people who died — hand-painted by artists from ArtStreet, a program located on the campus of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless. Some in the crowd softly played drums on the walk. 

Those in attendance included Mayor Tim Keller and City Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn and Nichole Rogers, as well as many representatives of homelessness service providers such as the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, which helped organize the event.

In all, 127 names of those who died were read aloud while people held lit candles. The number is considered an undercount, as accurate mortality data for the city’s homeless population is hard to come by.  

Anna Martinez, a former Albuquerque poet laureate, shared a personal story about her daughter.

“Amanda Alison Archuleta passed away one street up from here on the corner of Tennessee and Central on September 26,” she said. “Amanda was the light of our lives, the star of our family.”

Martinez said her daughter was living on the streets and had struggled with substance abuse issues.

“She found a home in the community here. She chose to be with people she knew were ignored, unseen, unheard … she chose to shine her light here,” Martinez, who said she was a civil rights attorney, said.

Martinez said she was angry about the stigmatization of those experiencing homelessness, including “targeting by police, constant relocation and the constant destruction of the only small personal things that they have.” 

But she was hopeful, she said, that things would change for the better in the New Year. She read one of her poems — Labor of Love.

“[It’s] about my favorite time of year, and I’m hoping that it will remind us that every single one of them that is out there struggling is a … precious life and soul that needs nurturing,” Martinez said. 

Others shared personal struggles or memories of those they knew who had died.

“This is my ‘hood. I still live here, but I’m a year and three months sober,” Esther, a case manager at Crossroads for Women, said. “I can’t imagine what these mothers are going through.”

Amy said she was at the memorial to stand-in for brothers Eric and Kendall Salina, whose father died a few weeks ago. 

“They can’t be here … and I just wanted to be able to tell them that we remembered Ernest Salina, an absolutely fabulous artist,” she said. “And that you all remember him here today, so that they’ll know that he wasn’t forgotten.”