Mayor: City’s program to house most vulnerable homeless is “working”

After two years, the city of Albuquerque’s “Heading Home” program to find housing for chronic and medically vulnerable homeless people is “working,” said Mayor Richard Berry.

Berry and others on Wednesday unveiled the results of a survey conducted two weeks ago of homeless people on the streets, in shelters and at drop-in centers.

Compared to the same survey conducted in 2011, there were 454 fewer homeless counted. The percent deemed “vulnerable” dropped by 5 percent and those who were hospitalized three times or more in the last year dropped by 15 percent.

In 2011, those “most vulnerable” had spent 20 years on average on the streets. In 2013, that number dropped to 6 1/2 years.

Since it began, the program has housed 171 of the most vulnerable homeless, with an 87 percent retention rate.