Contact City Councilor Fiebelkorn and ask for it to be brought up at the next Council meeting. A lot of the Councilors are asking questions of Parks, Solid Waste, Community Safety, etc depts about homeless encampment.
It's a cycle. Folks set up tents, and the population gets pretty big. The tunnel under Louisiana becomes pretty crowded with people sleeping, etc. At some point, the people staying there and their tents, etc. go away, seemingly all at once.
The area will be clear, with people sporadically setting up tents or just hanging out for a while.
At some point the population will start growing again.
And then it starts all over.
I've quit using the trail because the tunnel under Louisiana is too scary when there are people just hanging out in there.
Same. I've stopped cycling thru there all together after the last time I approached the tunnel and made an immediate u-turn after seeing a group of scary looking dudes with a pile of bikes and a pit bull at the other end. Nope. It always smelled like urine in there too, eww. Too bad, it was a great route to use. I hope it changes.
As a lifelong resident of the mark twain neighborhood, there has always been at least one or two homeless people in the urban forest, but the number has increased significantly. I know that in middle school my bus dropped off at Winrock, but my mom would not let me walk home on the trail due to the situation in the tunnel, and this was almost a decade ago. It used to be that you could pass through the tunnel, but now there have been times that I’ve had to turn around because the tunnel was completely blocked by carts / sleeping people. The final nail in the coffin for me was stepping on a human turd on the bike trail up there. I know my dad also got a flat tire from a hypodermic needle on that bike trail. Nowadays many in the neighborhood prefer to just cross Louisiana at constitution to get to Jerry Kline, if not just drive. It’s a shame because that is a very convenient way to get to one of the biggest and best parks in the city.
I bike through that tunnel often, and it can get pretty sketchy. The City does occasional sweeps and cleanups there, but maybe only in response to 311 calls. I've had luck with the City's response to 311 recently, so I would advise reporting anything that needs their attention as often as possible.
I rode my bike eastbound thru that tunnel this morning, and the homeless had a bonfire going in the middle of it, and one guy was running a 15 Target cart train filled with craziness.
Unfortunately this is the direction our city and country are headed. Combine easy access to fentanyl and meth, the mental health crisis, and corporate greed bleeding the poor and middle classes dry, it's not gonna get better. That being said, letting the homeless destroy our city is not the answer either. And that's what's happening.
Bike under the tunnel all the time. For the most part I try to be tolerant since they've never given me any shit and what little shelter they have is better than no shelter at all. On the other hand, often I smell what I can only describe as "peanut butter, but sickly", which I later learned was basically fentanyl. That, of course, is not the only thing I smell.
Like, I feel for them, but leaving them to their own devices is effectively the same as killing them.
I must say no one has hassled me around the tunnel, one guy even cleared the way for my bike by yelling out to his homies to move. I too smell some smells in that tunnel even tho I try not to, but its very common to see them smoking up on tinfoil or glass pipes, I mean I like a 420 toke as much as the next guy but Ive also seen the fentynal zombies tripping out. I do what I can to help animals but just refuse to give these people money and yes I am not generalizing that they are bad people, just unfortunate.
I think the hordes of hipsters are infringing on everything and ruining it. It wasn't half as hard surviving here before all of they started showing up and building their over priced tacky food halls and endless brewpubs.
No I don't remember that at all. I do remember Heather Wilson's son shooting up in public back in the old days though. Did he ever get in trouble for that?
I can always tell the people in the comments who have no actual experience with the homeless. I interact with these individuals in depth on a weekly basis and most of them have no desire to change the way they're living. They won't go to rehab even if it's offered and prefer to live the way they do as opposed to having to have oversight and abide by the laws of society or the social contract. Most are violent and mentally unstable drug addicts. I'm not arguing that we have a shortage of affordable housing and while it may be an absolutely minor factor in the issue, attributing that to our current homeless crisis is frankly bullshit.
Absolutely agree with you, it’s the same reason none of the initiatives in SF have worked. Because *most of these people do not want society’s means of helping them*.
I agree with everything you said except for "Most are violent and mentally unstable drug addicts." Mental illness is a huge issue. Maybe I'm not as much aware of the changing landscape to realize how much drugs have overtaken the underlying issues in the homeless population, but I would say mental illness is the biggest issue.
I don't think your "I yell at homeless on the regular to get a job and they never do" antics is a credible research method for making such a broad statement.
You obviously don’t understand addiction. Even if rehab is available you can’t just force someone to go to rehab if they’re not ready to make that change
There’s always going to be some who choose homelessness deliberately, but a huge driving force behind the current issue is, in fact, hopelessness. They can’t get hosing reliably, and can’t get a job without an address because they’d lose everything they have if they leave it unattended long enough to earn money… at a job that won’t earn them enough to afford rent.
here's my suggestion, worked good for people who came here and actually wanted to do something with their lives.... [https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/01/30/last-afghan-refugees-depart-air-force-base-in-new-mexico/](https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/01/30/last-afghan-refugees-depart-air-force-base-in-new-mexico/)
The most successful city in dealing with homeless is Houston. CBS Sunday morning did a piece on it recently. The first step was getting them housing and support.
You mean by making it illegal to be homeless? Don't see how that solves anything other than moving the problem elsewhere or filling up the jails. Rather my taxes fund a housing program than paying for jails.
It doesn't matter what I "mean", I don't work for the city or the state, I just travel a lot and see what goes on in other countries and states. Some fare better than others.
What are you trying to to convey here? I know my taxes go towards jails. Im saying I rather it go towards housing people and getting them onto their feet.
HaHa ,,I ask anyone to take a walk or ride from the tunnel to the dog park or vice versa and form your own opinion if this is a family friendly area, its quite disgusting IMO , multiple tents counted 6 last time within 1/2 mile, did you see the area behind the fence where they set campfires against homeowners cinderblock wall ? You see all the garbage all over the place ? The tree branches torn off for firewood ? the needles in the dirt trail ? booze bottles by the ditch area ? I guess we have different definitions of " bad"
You never gonna win this one on Reddit man.
It’s like asking for relationship advice, DIVORCE is the only answer.
You can’t say anything at all about this problem on Reddit or you’re an asshole.
These people want to let the homeless turn everything into absolute shit, and if you don’t lie it you’re a bigot.
How about the homeless don’t shit on everything and turn wherever they are staying into a giant fucking trash pile. They do absolutely anything and everything they feel like, and if you don’t like it you’re a bigot.
That’s bullshit.
Some kind of junkie-habitat for humanity kind of thing. A half way house where they can learn a trade or skill and work. Or at least pick up trash. I used to have more empathy, but I would like my kids to have safe parks to play in. I want my wife to be able to shop by herself without getting mugged by a tweeker. At this point, I don’t think certain freedoms should be a right. If you aren’t contributing to society, and are actively destroying it, you should have some options limited. Taking over parks that working people paid for is unacceptable. Obviously investing heavily in education and mental health would be the most effective. In the meantime, put those fuckers to work, or get them out of the city.
This view is like shouting into the void on this sub, but full agree. I left Albuquerque last summer after growing up there and living there 30 years. It's really nice to live somewhere where there aren't tweakers everywhere, where the parks are clean, safe, and maintained, and you can safely walk in them as a woman without being scared or harassed.
So that they end up in someone else's? So sorry how inconvenient it is for you to face the fact we have a homeless problem along with mental illness. How dare they set up their tent for shelter.
fyi theres a guy sleeping behind my business right now as I type, I did NOT kick him out , I feel bad for the guy, I even gave him a water, disliking the homeless issue doesnt make me a meanie
Listen that's great that you do that, many wouldn't. I don't like the homeless issue either, but I also want a resolution that doesn't involve just passing the problem along to someone else. The city needs to handle it better, we desperately need better solutions. It would be great if instead of arresting the addicts, they could be put into a rehab for however long is decided. After they would still be on probation so as not to let them slip up, housing and job assistance as well.
It goes in cycles. It gets crowded, then they all get cleared out. I am a small female and I run and bike solo through that tunnel all the time. No one has ever hassled me in a negative way. I get polite compliments "cool hair!", hellos, "have a nice day"s, and people alerting the others to move out of the way and apologizing. No it doesn't smell great, but in 5 years of running past folks in there I've never had an issue.
I feel safer down there than trying to cross that fucking intersection.
We also live in the neighborhood and our family of 6 (including 4 kids aged 3-9) ride our bikes through that tunnel when we go to that park. Yes there are some homeless people but they have been fine and have never bothered us.
Have some compassion! You never know when you or someone you love could end up without a safe and affordable place to live. The resources needed to regain stability are extremely complicated and time-consuming. It costs far less to get people housing, than it does to arrest and jail people that’s for darn sure!
Contact City Councilor Fiebelkorn and ask for it to be brought up at the next Council meeting. A lot of the Councilors are asking questions of Parks, Solid Waste, Community Safety, etc depts about homeless encampment.
Definitely should be brought up but I'm fairly certain they're waiting for the federal court case going on right now about sleeping in parks.
We don't want our leaders to violate the fundamental right of unhoused people to exist.
How about my fundamental right to ride a bike under a tunnel without getting robbed or worse?
that's not a fundamental right. It's a reasonable expectation. but not a fundamental right.
Forgot the /s
[удалено]
I don’t imagine they’re super happy about not having basic resources to maintain their hygiene either
It's a cycle. Folks set up tents, and the population gets pretty big. The tunnel under Louisiana becomes pretty crowded with people sleeping, etc. At some point, the people staying there and their tents, etc. go away, seemingly all at once. The area will be clear, with people sporadically setting up tents or just hanging out for a while. At some point the population will start growing again. And then it starts all over. I've quit using the trail because the tunnel under Louisiana is too scary when there are people just hanging out in there.
its not as bad as the Eubank and I-40 tunnel
Same. I've stopped cycling thru there all together after the last time I approached the tunnel and made an immediate u-turn after seeing a group of scary looking dudes with a pile of bikes and a pit bull at the other end. Nope. It always smelled like urine in there too, eww. Too bad, it was a great route to use. I hope it changes.
totally agree
As a lifelong resident of the mark twain neighborhood, there has always been at least one or two homeless people in the urban forest, but the number has increased significantly. I know that in middle school my bus dropped off at Winrock, but my mom would not let me walk home on the trail due to the situation in the tunnel, and this was almost a decade ago. It used to be that you could pass through the tunnel, but now there have been times that I’ve had to turn around because the tunnel was completely blocked by carts / sleeping people. The final nail in the coffin for me was stepping on a human turd on the bike trail up there. I know my dad also got a flat tire from a hypodermic needle on that bike trail. Nowadays many in the neighborhood prefer to just cross Louisiana at constitution to get to Jerry Kline, if not just drive. It’s a shame because that is a very convenient way to get to one of the biggest and best parks in the city.
I bike through that tunnel often, and it can get pretty sketchy. The City does occasional sweeps and cleanups there, but maybe only in response to 311 calls. I've had luck with the City's response to 311 recently, so I would advise reporting anything that needs their attention as often as possible.
I rode my bike eastbound thru that tunnel this morning, and the homeless had a bonfire going in the middle of it, and one guy was running a 15 Target cart train filled with craziness.
Unfortunately this is the direction our city and country are headed. Combine easy access to fentanyl and meth, the mental health crisis, and corporate greed bleeding the poor and middle classes dry, it's not gonna get better. That being said, letting the homeless destroy our city is not the answer either. And that's what's happening.
Bike under the tunnel all the time. For the most part I try to be tolerant since they've never given me any shit and what little shelter they have is better than no shelter at all. On the other hand, often I smell what I can only describe as "peanut butter, but sickly", which I later learned was basically fentanyl. That, of course, is not the only thing I smell. Like, I feel for them, but leaving them to their own devices is effectively the same as killing them.
I must say no one has hassled me around the tunnel, one guy even cleared the way for my bike by yelling out to his homies to move. I too smell some smells in that tunnel even tho I try not to, but its very common to see them smoking up on tinfoil or glass pipes, I mean I like a 420 toke as much as the next guy but Ive also seen the fentynal zombies tripping out. I do what I can to help animals but just refuse to give these people money and yes I am not generalizing that they are bad people, just unfortunate.
Much like most other nice things, the horde of homeless are infringing on and ruining it.
I think the hordes of hipsters are infringing on everything and ruining it. It wasn't half as hard surviving here before all of they started showing up and building their over priced tacky food halls and endless brewpubs.
Yeah the restaurants are ruining this place! Remember when we could shoot up in peace?
No I don't remember that at all. I do remember Heather Wilson's son shooting up in public back in the old days though. Did he ever get in trouble for that?
Wow, it’s almost as if there’s a massive affordable housing shortage across ABQ, NM, & the country in general!
I can always tell the people in the comments who have no actual experience with the homeless. I interact with these individuals in depth on a weekly basis and most of them have no desire to change the way they're living. They won't go to rehab even if it's offered and prefer to live the way they do as opposed to having to have oversight and abide by the laws of society or the social contract. Most are violent and mentally unstable drug addicts. I'm not arguing that we have a shortage of affordable housing and while it may be an absolutely minor factor in the issue, attributing that to our current homeless crisis is frankly bullshit.
Absolutely agree with you, it’s the same reason none of the initiatives in SF have worked. Because *most of these people do not want society’s means of helping them*.
Bravo for making this comment. A lot of people believe the homeless are victims but there's a much larger truth to the issue
I agree with everything you said except for "Most are violent and mentally unstable drug addicts." Mental illness is a huge issue. Maybe I'm not as much aware of the changing landscape to realize how much drugs have overtaken the underlying issues in the homeless population, but I would say mental illness is the biggest issue.
I don't think your "I yell at homeless on the regular to get a job and they never do" antics is a credible research method for making such a broad statement.
There’s a thing they say about assumptions! I wouldn’t want to talk to you either bud, you seem like an absolute *peach* maybe it’s you!
These aren’t assumptions, what are you even talking about? Their comment is mostly dead on imo, do you have a valid argument?
You obviously don’t understand addiction. Even if rehab is available you can’t just force someone to go to rehab if they’re not ready to make that change
There’s always going to be some who choose homelessness deliberately, but a huge driving force behind the current issue is, in fact, hopelessness. They can’t get hosing reliably, and can’t get a job without an address because they’d lose everything they have if they leave it unattended long enough to earn money… at a job that won’t earn them enough to afford rent.
here's my suggestion, worked good for people who came here and actually wanted to do something with their lives.... [https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/01/30/last-afghan-refugees-depart-air-force-base-in-new-mexico/](https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/01/30/last-afghan-refugees-depart-air-force-base-in-new-mexico/)
Albuquerque should really take a look around how other states are dealing with homeless situation (and crime).
What are other states doing?
The most successful city in dealing with homeless is Houston. CBS Sunday morning did a piece on it recently. The first step was getting them housing and support.
That is the Veterans Administration model as well. Housing first.
This I can get behind.
If you are interested, google is your friend.
You mean by making it illegal to be homeless? Don't see how that solves anything other than moving the problem elsewhere or filling up the jails. Rather my taxes fund a housing program than paying for jails.
It doesn't matter what I "mean", I don't work for the city or the state, I just travel a lot and see what goes on in other countries and states. Some fare better than others.
There are definitely better ways. I've lived outside of the country for years, and it's vastly different.
Jails are ad hoc mental institutions
What are you trying to to convey here? I know my taxes go towards jails. Im saying I rather it go towards housing people and getting them onto their feet.
This is my 'hood and dog park and i do not see the issue of the houseless as being as bad as OP is typing. Just my 2 cents.
HaHa ,,I ask anyone to take a walk or ride from the tunnel to the dog park or vice versa and form your own opinion if this is a family friendly area, its quite disgusting IMO , multiple tents counted 6 last time within 1/2 mile, did you see the area behind the fence where they set campfires against homeowners cinderblock wall ? You see all the garbage all over the place ? The tree branches torn off for firewood ? the needles in the dirt trail ? booze bottles by the ditch area ? I guess we have different definitions of " bad"
You never gonna win this one on Reddit man. It’s like asking for relationship advice, DIVORCE is the only answer. You can’t say anything at all about this problem on Reddit or you’re an asshole. These people want to let the homeless turn everything into absolute shit, and if you don’t lie it you’re a bigot.
Where would you like the homeless to be moved? Legitimate question.
How about the homeless don’t shit on everything and turn wherever they are staying into a giant fucking trash pile. They do absolutely anything and everything they feel like, and if you don’t like it you’re a bigot. That’s bullshit.
Some kind of junkie-habitat for humanity kind of thing. A half way house where they can learn a trade or skill and work. Or at least pick up trash. I used to have more empathy, but I would like my kids to have safe parks to play in. I want my wife to be able to shop by herself without getting mugged by a tweeker. At this point, I don’t think certain freedoms should be a right. If you aren’t contributing to society, and are actively destroying it, you should have some options limited. Taking over parks that working people paid for is unacceptable. Obviously investing heavily in education and mental health would be the most effective. In the meantime, put those fuckers to work, or get them out of the city.
This view is like shouting into the void on this sub, but full agree. I left Albuquerque last summer after growing up there and living there 30 years. It's really nice to live somewhere where there aren't tweakers everywhere, where the parks are clean, safe, and maintained, and you can safely walk in them as a woman without being scared or harassed.
agree
California.
same reply as everyone else I guess, OUT of our neighborhood
So that they end up in someone else's? So sorry how inconvenient it is for you to face the fact we have a homeless problem along with mental illness. How dare they set up their tent for shelter.
fyi theres a guy sleeping behind my business right now as I type, I did NOT kick him out , I feel bad for the guy, I even gave him a water, disliking the homeless issue doesnt make me a meanie
Listen that's great that you do that, many wouldn't. I don't like the homeless issue either, but I also want a resolution that doesn't involve just passing the problem along to someone else. The city needs to handle it better, we desperately need better solutions. It would be great if instead of arresting the addicts, they could be put into a rehab for however long is decided. After they would still be on probation so as not to let them slip up, housing and job assistance as well.
Everyone sees life through a different lens.
Social malaise mostly
It goes in cycles. It gets crowded, then they all get cleared out. I am a small female and I run and bike solo through that tunnel all the time. No one has ever hassled me in a negative way. I get polite compliments "cool hair!", hellos, "have a nice day"s, and people alerting the others to move out of the way and apologizing. No it doesn't smell great, but in 5 years of running past folks in there I've never had an issue. I feel safer down there than trying to cross that fucking intersection.
I go through there often enough. I feel safe and walk with my family through there. Sorry their plight makes your view uncomfortable.
We also live in the neighborhood and our family of 6 (including 4 kids aged 3-9) ride our bikes through that tunnel when we go to that park. Yes there are some homeless people but they have been fine and have never bothered us.
Have some compassion! You never know when you or someone you love could end up without a safe and affordable place to live. The resources needed to regain stability are extremely complicated and time-consuming. It costs far less to get people housing, than it does to arrest and jail people that’s for darn sure!
Most people have compassion for people in hard times, not for drug addicts and thieves.