Governor hopes to go big on housing, homelessness | Legislation | New Mexico Legislative Session

“We must act, and act now; lives depend on it. We need to bring those experiencing homelessness into the conversation,” said Karen Cain, founder of the Street Homeless Animal Project. “Affordable housing is a must, mental health services are a must, and there are many more musts to meet the needs of our homeless brothers and sisters.”

W Advocates working with the homeless praised the governor’s decision to address the problem but said more needs to be done.

In her address to the state on Tuesday, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham said she will ask lawmakers to fund a variety of programs designed to help renters, homeowners and the homeless — mobile homelessness response units, eviction protection measures, Down payments support programs and investments in the state’s mortgage finance agency, which may be supplemented or supplemented by federal funds.

“We need thousands more houses – so let’s build them,” said Lujan Grisham in her speech.

And just like that, in a 60-day legislative session expected to be dominated by talks on budget surpluses, crime, gun control, public education and water, housing moved into the top 10 — maybe even the top 5 — of priorities.

Amy Whitfield, who recently appointed Lujan Grisham to advise her on housing and homelessness issues, said in an interview the state is working to help contractors build more affordable housing — and building those homes faster to meet needs to cater to those who can’t find a place to live.

Sometimes, she said, municipal zoning laws get in the way. That’s why, Whitfield said, the state is proposing $13 million in incentives for municipalities to “update zoning policies so developers can build faster and build more affordable housing.”

On the rental front, an additional $6 million would go to landlord assistance programs aimed at getting landlords to accept coupons to encourage them to rent to people facing behavioral health issues, she said.

Some lawmakers say the state’s housing shortage is making it harder to attract people to work here.

“The shortages that we have of teachers, health care providers, law enforcement and other professionals? Housing costs have a big impact,” Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, said in an interview. “We don’t have enough — not nearly enough — homes to move people to New Mexico. They can’t afford to live in New Mexico and they can’t find a place to live. And it’s worse for people on low- and middle-income.”

Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, raised the same issue at a recent Legislative Committee hearing, saying teachers still can’t find apartments or rental units in Santa Fe. Many, she said, live a short distance from Santa Fe and commute into the city for work. Why, she asked, would these professionals work in Santa Fe when the school districts they live in offer more affordable housing, or at least the opportunity to work there and save the money and time commuting to Santa Fe?

“That [idea] to other professions,” she said in an interview after the hearing.

Over the past decade, the number of homeless people in New Mexico had fallen by a third to about 2,600 in a single night in 2022, according to a report by the Legislative Finance Committee released Monday — the day before the session began .

Whitfield questioned the drop in numbers, saying it’s difficult to get an accurate count of homeless people because so many go unreported. She said homelessness includes “people living in one house with three families, the problem of being evicted and going from motel to motel to keep their jobs and keep their kids in school.”

And COVID-19 has made things worse, some say.

“We just can’t find accommodation for our clients,” said Edward Archuleta, managing director of St Elizabeth Shelters, in an interview. Shelters were accommodated, which was quite phenomenal. …Now we’re lucky to house a quarter of our people. In fact, we have to send them to other cities or even abroad; they cannot afford to live here.”

Archuleta said diverting funds into public housing programs like the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority could be part of the solution, though there’s often a stigma.

“A lot of people don’t like it because they think they’re the projects; they think, ‘Not in my backyard,'” Archuleta said. “Public housing is scattered throughout Santa Fe, and we really don’t have a lot of problems with residents. you have security; They have staff on site and are run very professionally. So I think they should give the housing authorities more money.”

Rachel Biggs, chief strategy officer for Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, said investing in the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund and the Linkages Program, which provides rental assistance for people with serious mental illness, could also help.

“Linkages is a very successful and popular statewide program that provides supportive housing with full-service voluntary services to help people emerge from homelessness and find shelter,” said Biggs.

Although creating new affordable housing opportunities is seen as a top priority for supporters this term, Biggs said it was only important to keep people in their current homes through rental subsidies and other resources. About 72,000 New Mexico households live on extremely low incomes, below $30,000 a year, he said. Around 84% of these households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.

“These are households that are at risk of homelessness because they spend too much of their income on rent,” Biggs said.

Archuleta said funding for mental health services and substance abuse treatment will also be essential to helping people who are homeless or facing housing insecurity. He said many St. Elizabeth clients looking for these services have to wait months before they can see a provider or get into a treatment facility.

“This is simply unacceptable,” said Archuleta. “If someone is going through a crisis, they need help now.”

Some advocates said policymakers need to get creative to address homelessness.

Cain, whose nonprofit helps homeless people look after their pets, said there is no one-size-fits-all solution to homelessness, especially for people currently on the streets. She said affordable housing and mental health services are vital, but it’s also important to find a safe place for these people to stay while they try to improve their situation.

Many of the people Cain works with don’t go to animal shelters because they have pets; do not want to be separated from their partner; fear of being attacked; or are not allowed to go to emergency shelters because of drug abuse. She said a safe, outdoor space similar to Camp Hope, a transitional housing community in Las Cruces that provides tents, showers and cooking facilities for homeless residents, may be what these people need to transform their lives. Many of these outdoor spaces connect residents with resources they need to transition into permanent housing, including drug and alcohol abuse treatment, mental health services, and identification documents.

Rodriguez, who has introduced several bills to improve New Mexico’s housing and homelessness situation over the years, said behavioral, emotional, mental, and substance abuse problems are all associated with housing. How, she asked, can you feel safe when you don’t have a place to go home at night where you feel grounded?

For Rodriguez, everything the state does to improve the lives of its residents is linked to the question of home.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that we have a comprehensive system of support systems if we don’t have housing,” she said.