homelessness

After several confusing interactions with the City of Albuquerque, KUNM has finally learned from officials that the speakers playing loud Chinese opera music are among 20 speakers installed around the city through a security initiative headed by the Department of Technology and Innovation called “Smart Cities.”

Albuquerque residents have complained of a loud song being played in the downtown area. They say the music has been playing 24/7 since last Thursday evening.

The Albuquerque City Council struck down a proposed change to the ordinance regulating Safe Outdoor Spaces, which are designated managed areas with access to basic amenities for people experiencing homelessness. The changes were aimed at making it easier to set up new spaces, because advocates say the current laws are too burdensome, and restrict private property owners from setting up more. One local business owner is suing for what his lawyers say is his constitutional right to allow people to camp on his property.

The City of Albuquerque is looking to make it easier to establish Safe Outdoor Spaces for people living on the streets by changing a few key ordinances. Only one space has been opened so far, which is located at New Creations Church in the International District.

A ribbon cutting ceremony at New Creation Church attracted community members and local leaders, like Myor Tim Keller and County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, who celebrated the city's first outdoor space specifically set aside for unhoused people to call home.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is trying once again to create an Office of Housing within the executive branch of state government after failing in last year’s legislative session. The legislation is designed to ease restrictions and get projects done quicker, in order to reduce New Mexico’s housing shortage.

The Albuquerque community came together yesterday/Wednesday [WED] to honor the lives of unhoused people who died in the city this year. KUNM’s Daniel Montano reports they read out the names of 130 people who were known to have passed.

As the Biden administration comes to a close, Interior Sec. Deb Haaland is considering running for New Mexico governor. But, she’s not the only New Mexican in Washington D.C. eyeing the state’s executive branch. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is too.

Community members and homeless service organizations will honor the memory of unhoused people who died in Albuquerque this year with a vigil in the International District on Wednesday, December 18.

Ending homelessness and poverty is no small feat, but one nonprofit in New Mexico has been taking on the task using a family-centered approach. KUNM's Daniel Montano recently toured the new campus of Saranam and sat down with an alumna of the program.