Board Members Present: Rich Braziel, Alana Apodaca, Elizabeth Doak, Craig Wallace, Robert Stembridge, & Katy Braziel. Attachment 1
Guests: Jeremy Sment, Terry Apodaca, Jim Duncan, Priscilla Duncan, Maureen Kohn, Dave Kohn, and Ike Benton (Albuquerque City Counselor). Attachment 1
Meeting called to order: 7:02pm
Approval of Minutes: The March 9, 2015 Annual Board Meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
Commissioner Benton Discussion: Jim initiated the discussion by talking about seeing more street people, drug deals and prostitution lately and seeing no patrol cars or bike officers. Commissioner Benton explained that he has been concerned about homeless for many years. The “Coming Home” program has proven to be quite successful but is targeted at a small segment of the homeless population. The City has set aside $1.2 Million plus another $750K for Albuquerque Supportive Housing projects. It also attracts 4 to 1 private funding and supports the local construction industry. Most of the homeless are suffering from mental/behavior health issues and Supportive Housing not only finds people a home but also provides case managers to follow and proactively check to see if people are taking their medications and getting the city services they need. Many of these people now qualify for Medicaid thanks to Obama-Care (The Affordable Care Act) so local residents are not funding the entire cost of the program. We need a centralized triage center to take in people with problems and then get them the help they need. These low-income housing units are located around the facilities that serve them and where there is public transit available. SHNA expressed support for these programs but also pointed that our neighborhood has way more than its share of this housing. We recommended that other neighborhoods also be used for these facilities.
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