The city of Albuquerque has opened one of its emergency shelters early.
Temperatures will go down to the teens in Albuquerque tonight, according to the National Weather Service, and remain in the 20s overnight for the rest of the week.
The city will pick people up at a west side park every evening going forward.
The Westside Emergency Housing Center is opening three days early. It's run by a local housing assistance group called Heading Home. Spokesman Benito Aragon said it has room for 400 people, including families with kids.
“Even at this short time, we’d rather scramble and get everybody in place than risk somebody suffering out in the cold,” he said.
Coronado Park is on the corner of Indian School and 2nd Street on the northwest side. A city bus will make three stops there every evening at 5:00 p.m, 6:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. Aragon says that schedule will continue for the foreseeable future.
Correction: This story has been edited to say that the facility is called the Westside Emergency Housing Center, not the Westside Emergency Housing Shelter.
***
Support for KUNM’s Public Health New Mexico project comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the McCune Charitable Foundation, the Con Alma Health Foundation, and from KUNM listeners like you.
