City hopes new estimate of homeless population will aid in solutions

Jan. 8—The city of Santa Fe and nonprofits that serve members of the local homeless community have compiled a new tally of the hundreds of people here who lack housing.

The estimate of 374 people living on the city's streets, in shelters and in other precarious situations is what they call the first step toward finding solutions.

It comes amid brutal winter weather that has prompted the city to activate its Code Blue protocols, aimed at moving unsheltered people to warmth and safety. Along with recent snowstorms and another in the forecast this week, the city is expected to see several days with subfreezing high temperatures and low temperatures in the teens and single digits.

With 300 to 400 homeless people in the city, "there is not enough shelter space" for everyone, said Joe Dudziak, who operates Chaplain Joe's Street Outreach, as he passed out zero-degree sleeping bags Monday to people on the streets.

Developing a more accurate picture of Santa Fe's homeless population is a key step in meeting the specific needs of each person who lacks housing, city officials have said.

"We are really excited for this milestone," said Kyra Ochoa, the former community health and safety director, during a recent interview.

Ochoa has since left the city to take on a position as one of three deputy secretaries at the New Mexico Human Services Department. She played a key role in many of the city's initiatives to address homelessness.

The city in 2019 adopted Built for Zero, a national framework for combating homelessness. Mayor Alan Webber has championed the model, which has an end goal of achieving "functional zero," the point at which there are fewer homeless people in a city than people leaving homelessness at any given time.

Ochoa said last year the city was in the process of trying to get better information about its homeless population as part of Built for Zero.

"Part of what will help us end homelessness is being very accurate with our data," she said in August.

To achieve that, officials contacted street outreach workers and other providers, as well as those in city departments that work with the homeless community, to determine an accurate estimate of the population. Former program manager Brittany Rodriguez, who left the city in December to work for the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, was "instrumental" at bringing together providers to share information, Ochoa said.

She added 374 is a rough estimate that could be "plus or minus" 50 people.

However, she said, the number is far more accurate than previous estimates determined through annual "point-in-time" counts of homeless people.

These common counts for cities are often carried out on a given night in January. Officials and volunteers will fan out through shelters, streets and encampments to document how many homeless people they see that night.

Point-in-time counts, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, have long been criticized by advocates for undercounting the population because they are likely to miss people who are couch-surfing or in temporary living arrangements but do not have permanent housing.

HUD defines homelessness as individuals and families who do not have a "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence."

Santa Feans who work with members of the homeless community said they believe 374 is close but likely lower than the true number.

"You've got to remember, there's a lot of people who are hidden away and we don't know they're there," Dudziak said.

Korina Lopez, executive director of the Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete's Place, said she was not surprised by the estimate.

"I think we're seeing a more clear picture of how many people are unhoused in Santa Fe," she said.

Having a good grasp of how many homeless individuals are in Santa Fe is important for the city and providers when applying for funding, she added.

Ochoa emphasized the new list doesn't include full names or Social Security numbers for privacy reasons.

The next steps will involve using the more accurate data to determine how much money should go toward solutions such as emergency rental assistance, behavioral health supports, emergency shelter and different types of housing, Ochoa said.

It's not something the city budget alone can solve, she noted, but will require the help of many community partners.

Webber praised Ochoa and the rest of the department for its work on homelessness during a breakfast with state lawmakers from Santa Fe in December.

"We have to stop talking about 'the homeless' and start talking about each individual homeless person and what it would take to get them housed," Webber said.

The city's priorities for the upcoming legislative session include a request for $15 million to build permanent and transitional housing to address "veteran, youth, and chronic homelessness," according to city documents.

While Ochoa cautioned the city has a long way to go before it can achieve its goal of "functional zero," she said the number made her feel hopeful.

"That isn't 10,000 people, that isn't 5,000 people," she said. "Doesn't that feel like a number that's manageable? Doesn't that sound like that's something that's possible to solve?"