State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Information Sharing, Commitment Transform Albuquerque’s Homeless Outlook

Government Technology: Using collective commitment, statistical data, a screening tool and a database created by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Albuquerque Heading Home project is having an unprecedented effect on homelessness in the New Mexico city.

When the program started in February 2011, 900 eligible individuals — chronically homeless and medically vulnerable — were identified on the streets of Albuquerque. By 2016 there had been an 80 percent reduction in this homeless population.

Not only that, the project has had an extraordinary effect on chronic homelessness among veterans. In 2013 HUD estimated there were more than 300 homeless vets on the streets of Albuquerque. Now, by the HUD definition, the city has ended homelessness for that vulnerable group.

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