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Homelessness
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Results of a Survey Conducted of People Experiencing Homelessness in Albuquerque
New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, September 2007
In January 2007, the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness conducted a survey of 210 people who experienced homelessness . The survey was designed to learn about:
- Who experiences homelessness in Albuquerque;
- What previous experience people had with homelessness, how long people had been homeless and where they stayed while homeless;
- What caused people to become homeless and what could have helped people avoid homelessness;
- What services people needed while experiencing homelessness and whether they were able to access those services;
- What challenges people face when trying to exit homelessness and what services and supports could help them do so.
This sample of survey respondents is representative of the Albuquerque homeless population who seeks services. From their responses we are able to draw several conclusions about individuals and families who experience homelessness in Albuquerque. We hope these conclusions will be useful to advocates, policymakers, funders and service providers as we work together to create and implement strategies that will reduce and prevent homelessness in Albuquerque.
Affordable housing is critical in preventing and helping people exit homelessness.
Twenty-three percent of survey participants reported that they had to leave their last permanent residence because they were unable to pay the rent/mortgage. Thirty-nine percent reported that being unable to find an affordable place to live posed a major obstacle to exiting homelessness. Similarly, when asked what would be most helpful in exiting homelessness, 46% of participants said an apartment they could afford. Our findings strongly suggest that in order to have an impact on homelessness in Albuquerque, we must invest in strategies that provide an adequate supply of affordable housing. Most of our survey participants had extremely low incomes – 42% reported incomes below $750 a month, which indicates that we must provide an adequate supply of affordable housing for our lowest-income residents in order to reduce and prevent homelessness.
Many people who experience homelessness in Albuquerque are employed or would like to be employed.
From our survey we learned that many people who are homeless in Albuquerque are employed, yet still experience homelessness. Twenty-six percent of those we surveyed were employed and 27% said a job with better wages could have helped them avoid homelessness. Unemployment was also a challenge for many of the people we surveyed. Nineteen percent of survey participants cited unemployment as a reason for having to leave their last permanent residence and 25% said an inability to find employment posed a major barrier to finding housing. Clearly, many people who experience homelessness are working or would like to work. This suggests that we need to invest in solutions that can help people find work and increase their incomes, so that their incomes are sufficient to afford housing.
People lose their housing when they experience a crisis.
Our survey found that 55% of survey participants lost their housing because of a crisis, including u nemployment, illness, divorce, domestic violence or a natural disaster. This raises questions about how we can do a better job helping Albuquerque residents navigate a crisis without losing their housing. Twenty-two percent of survey participants reported that emergency cash assistance could have helped them keep their housing. However, results regarding housing costs and incomes (as discussed above) also suggest that for many people, limited incomes and high housing costs may make it very difficult to navigate a crisis and maintain housing, especially if a crisis is long-term or if it occurs often. Increasing the supply of affordable housing and increasing people’s incomes may also be necessary to help people navigate a crisis without losing their housing.
People who experience homelessness in Albuquerque cannot access the services they need.
As discussed above, our data suggests that people need affordable housing, a job or another source of income, cash assistance and reliable transportation to exit homelessness. Yet most people reported only being able to access services to meet basic needs, such as food, clothing, temporary shelter and medical care. This suggests that the services people need to exit homelessness – affordable housing, housing search assistance, job training or reliable transportation – are not available in Albuquerque. We need to invest more resources in strategies and solutions that help people exit homelessness.
Families make up a significant portion of the homeless population.
Our demographic data indicates that at least 20% of the people who experience homelessness in Albuquerque are parents with young children. Our findings strongly suggest that we need to design and fund solutions to homelessness that are appropriate for families, such as affordable childcare for low-income, working parents and affordable, multi bedroom rental units.
Many people who are homeless in Albuquerque had never been homeless before.
Forty-eight percent of survey participants had never been homeless. This is very positive news. It indicates that homelessness is a often a one-time event, not a recurring crisis, for many people in Albuquerque who do experience homelessness. If we could prevent homelessness for this group, we could have a significant impact on homelessness in Albuquerque. For those who are experiencing homelessness for the first time, economic factors may be biggest cause of homelessness. A sudden crisis such as a job loss or injury may have led to loss of housing. In this case a simple investment in prevention activities, such as eviction prevention assistance and legal help, may have helped many of these people avoid homelessness altogether. An individual or family experiencing homelessness for the first time may also have additional economic barriers such as limited income from work or rising rents that led to homelessness and may need more intensive help to stay housed.
Many people who are homeless in Albuquerque have been homeless for less than a year.
The majority of survey respondents - 59% - had been homeless for less than a year. This is also very positive news. This indicates that homelessness is not a long-term experience for most people experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque. If we could help this group access affordable housing quickly than we could significantly reduce homelessness in Albuquerque. For those who have only been homeless a short time, economic factors may also be the main barrier to exiting homelessness. If we prioritize helping people access affordable housing and increase their incomes we may be able to help people exit homelessness quickly.
It is important to acknowledge several groups that we believe may be underrepresented in this survey. These include:
People who are homeless but do not seek shelter in an emergency or transitional housing program :
The majority of our survey participants had stayed in an emergency or transitional housing program the night of January 24, 2007. Yet, we know there are many people in Albuquerque who are homeless but who sleep outside, in abandoned buildings, in cars, in motels or doubled up with family or friends. We believe that this group of people was not adequately represented in our sample because this group can be very difficult to reach. It is important to keep this in mind because this group may be different demographically or need different services and supports than those who seek shelter.
Parents with young children:
Twenty percent of our sample included an adult who had children. This may mean that the great majority of homeless people in Albuquerque are single adults without children. However, it is also very likely that our sample under- represents the number of parents with children. As stated above, the majority of our survey participants stayed in a shelter or transitional housing program. However, there are very few emergency shelter beds for families in Albuquerque and, as a result, many families live in motels or doubled up with family and friends and are harder to reach.
Future efforts to survey people experiencing homelessness should be designed to reach these groups so that we can better understand who they are and what could help them avoid and exit homelessness. Future efforts should also be designed to reach people experiencing homelessness who do not access services.
To learn more about homelessness, please visit the links below. To learn how you can help out homeless families in Albuquerque, click here or
contact us via email or call us at (505) 843-6899 in Albuquerque.
Homelessness Links
Here are some links to national and local homeless organizations:
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