ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – The City of Albuquerque spends millions of dollars each year to address issues surrounding homelessness, but now, a city councilor is looking into more details about who’s getting that money and exactly where it’s going.
“What we’re asking for in this resolution is a lot of detail,” Councilor Renee Grout said.
City Councilor Renee Grout is now asking the Keller administration to provide a detailed breakdown of how Albuquerque spends money on its homeless population.
“To clarify what their scope of work is and see where we might overlap, or where there might be gaps in services,” Councilor Grout said.
Grout’s resolution demands a report within 60 days, outlining how much money the city has spent on homelessness in the past five years.
This budget year the city expects to spend more than $8 million on various efforts related to homelessness, including work by at least 14 different service providers.
Councilor Grout said, “We are spending a lot of money on services like this – it’s important that we get what we want.
The request comes just a month after the city launched a website with information on homelessness, but Councilor Grout said more information is needed.
“I drive Central every day. I see the same people, the same situations, the same sadness, and I know I’m not the only person who sees these things,” Grout said.
Councilors want a complete list of all city service providers, detailing how many people they serve and the work they do.
“It’s not getting better, so we need to get people into services, housing, treatment, you know, whatever is missing – we need to help them,” said Councilor Grout.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness issued a statement.
We will review the resolution posted today for recognition. All contracts and appropriations are approved by the City Council through the annual budget process, and as part of that process, we report on the results of our social service contracts. We will continue to communicate with the City Council and residents about how we are serving people in need.
Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness
