LOCAL COLUMN
OPINION: CABQ homeless programs must pivot to retain HUD funding
On June 1, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a major overhaul of how the agency administers its Continuum of Care homelessness assistance program.
The new CoC will invest in programs that emphasize recovery and self-sufficiency. The funding will support organizations that offer treatment and other wraparound services that help people recover and become self-sufficient.
I, for one, am all for this approach. I introduced R-25-179 last fall to establish a sobriety housing voucher program because I believe the city needs to actively support people who are recovering from addiction. I also believe that compassion must be combined with accountability. And I believe that the bulk of our vouchers should be transitional, not permanent. We should be helping people get back on their feet, then turning that voucher over to the next person who needs help.
HUD鈥檚 new approach to funding pairs housing assistance with wraparound services to support recovery and a path to self-sufficiency. Putting people into housing without the services they need to be successful doesn鈥檛 help them or neighborhoods. By the same token, services without housing won鈥檛 help either. People need both.
HUD has added $1.3 billion in new funding, with a priority on transitional housing and supportive services. This is an opportunity for the city of Albuquerque to grow the level of services it can offer people.
For a city that relies on federal funding for $3 million of its assistance to unhoused people, this represents a shift in how we鈥檝e approached the issue so far. My fear is that the new direction for funding will be rejected because of the source. This isn鈥檛 the time for partisan bickering. People need help, and they need it now.
Walking away from this money is not an option. The city of Albuquerque and our care partners need to work on building our service capacity to capture this federal funding. This will mean shifting our programs to focus on housing vouchers that are transitional, focused on recovery and get clients back on their feet.
City Councilor Ren茅e Grout represents District 9, the far Southeast Heights and Foothills. She currently serves as Committee of the Whole chair.
