MONTHS. BUT THAT’S ALL CHANGED. IT’S A QUICK DRIVE THROUGH AFTER SEVERAL COMPLAINTS AND REPORTS OF VIOLENT CRIME. THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE CLEARED THE I-40 UNDERPASS ON FIRST STREETS AND INDIAN SCHOOL. IT BECAME THEIR NEW SPOT TO CAMP OUT. SINCE THE CLOSURE OF CORONADO PARK, HUNDREDS DISPLACED CAMP NEAR THE UNDERPASS. FOR MONTHS, YOU JUST, YOU KNOW, PITCH BLINDERS ON AND JUST DRIVE THROUGH. IT’S PRETTY BAD. NOW, IN EFFORTS TO PUT AN END TO THE STATE’S HOMELESS CRISIS, THE CITY SAYS 167 OF THOSE DISPLACED WERE PUT IN HOTELS, IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS. THOSE HOTEL ROOMS ARE BOOKED FOR 8 TO 12 WEEKS UNTIL THOSE FOLKS GET SOME REST AND RESPITE IN A HOTEL ROOM FOR 8 TO 12 WEEKS WHILE THEY WORK WITH CASE MANAGEMENT ON OBTAINING VOUCHERS AND BEING PLACED INTO PERMANENT HOUSING. AN END GOAL THE CITY BELIEVES WILL SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS. WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS AREA, WHICH MIGHT INCLUDE BEHAVIORAL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, MIGHT INCLUDE SOME RESOURCES FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE, RECOVERY, ANYTHING THAT YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS CASE BY CAS
I-40 homeless camp shutdown: What's next?
Since the closure of Coronado Park, hundreds of displaced people camped near the I-40 underpass for months.
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Updated: 6:43 PM MDT Mar 30, 2023
Since the closure of Coronado Park, hundreds of displaced people camped beneath the I-40 underpass on 1st Street and Indian School for months. However, the underpass was shut down by the city of Albuquerque on Wednesday."It's a quick drive-through. You know? Just put your blinders on and drive through. It's pretty bad. It became their new campout spot," Michelle Weitz, who works near the I-40 underpass, said."This was on the city's radar for a little while as a large area we wanted to make sure we addressed properly," Katie Simon, with the city of Albuquerque, said. "Notice of the closure went out Friday, the 24th. No camping will be allowed to resume in this area. Our friends at APD and Metro Security Annex will be monitoring this area. The Department of Transportation put up some temporary fencing yesterday. Their permanent fencing will go up in a couple of weeks," she added. ABQ StreetConnect (Heading Home), an outreach collaborative focused on people experiencing homelessness conducted a 'population assessment' to access the needs of those wanting help. "They expanded their scope of work to work with all members of the encampment. So, they did about 10 days' worth of outreach, surveys and assessments — understanding what people's needs were and what their situation was," Simon said.In efforts to put an end to the state's homeless crisis, Simon said 167 of those displaced were put in hotels and temporary shelters as a result. "This is not just a one day, two days stay. These hotel rooms are booked for eight to 12 weeks to let these folks get some rest and respite in a hotel room, while they work with case management on obtaining vouchers and being placed into permanent housing and be set up for success. We've put $23 million in total into permanent supportive housing," she said. The Goal: "This is part of a new strategy, and we hope it's going to work to actually reduce the number of people living on the street. Obviously, that's what we want in the long term. We want to help these folks get into housing, get their lives back on track," Simon said. "We wanted to be able to address this area, which might include behavioral mental health services, might include some resources for substance abuse recovery. It depends on case by case, person by person, what exactly their story is and what their needs are."
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Since the closure of Coronado Park, hundreds of displaced people camped beneath the I-40 underpass on 1st Street and Indian School for months. However, the underpass was shut down by the city of Albuquerque on Wednesday.
"It's a quick drive-through. You know? Just put your blinders on and drive through. It's pretty bad. It became their new campout spot," Michelle Weitz, who works near the I-40 underpass, said.
"This was on the city's radar for a little while as a large area we wanted to make sure we addressed properly," Katie Simon, with the city of Albuquerque, said.
"Notice of the closure went out Friday, the 24th. No camping will be allowed to resume in this area. Our friends at APD and Metro Security Annex will be monitoring this area. The Department of Transportation put up some temporary fencing yesterday. Their permanent fencing will go up in a couple of weeks," she added.
ABQ StreetConnect (Heading Home), an outreach collaborative focused on people experiencing homelessness conducted a 'population assessment' to access the needs of those wanting help.
"They expanded their scope of work to work with all members of the encampment. So, they did about 10 days' worth of outreach, surveys and assessments — understanding what people's needs were and what their situation was," Simon said.
In efforts to put an end to the state's homeless crisis, Simon said 167 of those displaced were put in hotels and temporary shelters as a result.
"This is not just a one day, two days stay. These hotel rooms are booked for eight to 12 weeks to let these folks get some rest and respite in a hotel room, while they work with case management on obtaining vouchers and being placed into permanent housing and be set up for success. We've put $23 million in total into permanent supportive housing," she said.
The Goal:
"This is part of a new strategy, and we hope it's going to work to actually reduce the number of people living on the street. Obviously, that's what we want in the long term. We want to help these folks get into housing, get their lives back on track," Simon said. "We wanted to be able to address this area, which might include behavioral mental health services, might include some resources for substance abuse recovery. It depends on case by case, person by person, what exactly their story is and what their needs are."
