Data compiled by the city finds housing some of Albuquerque’s homeless is cheaper than leaving them on the streets.
Mayor Richard Berry’s Heading Home initiative aims to house 75 of the city’s “most vulnerable” homeless, but the initiative’s primary concern is to save money, said Chris Ramirez, a spokesman for Berry.
Ramirez said vulnerability was determined with both need and cost in mind.
“This model surveys the entire homeless community, and through a vulnerability index, determines who are the most needy and costly to the public sector,” he said.
Berry launched the initiative in early January. It surveyed hundreds of homeless and selected the 75 “most vulnerable” to be placed in city-funded housing.
Ramirez said the initiative aims to defray the economic impact of homelessness by reducing public dollars spent on hospitalizations, ER visits, jail time and calls for public safety service.
“We believe these types of public expenditures go down when people have a safe home to live in,” he said.
The most expensive person surveyed, who was also considered one of the 75 “most vulnerable,” cost the city more than $100,000 last year. The individual reported 30 inpatient hospitalizations and 120 emergency room visits.
Albuquerque Fire Department firefighter Jose Gomez said the economic impact of homelessness is “huge.”
“The economic impact is significant, just in fuel wasted going to pick them up,” he said.
Last year, the Albuquerque Fire Department responded to more than 3,000 “down-and-out” calls from homeless people suffering from drug or alcohol addiction, and Gomez said those calls account for nearly 80 percent of his station’s calls.
Another fireman, Derrick Ross, said responding to a high volume of “down-and-out” calls limits the number of other calls AFD can respond to.
“You take units out of service that could be responding to other calls,” he said. “You take out an ambulance, which frequently is what we call level zero, meaning they have no other units available to respond because they’re taking a drunk guy to the hospital.”
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Ambulance rides aren’t free. Ross said a ride costs the city about $500. He also said once they’re dropped off at the hospital, homeless people take up space in the emergency room.
Mike Chicarelli, spokesman for UNM Hospital, said homeless people account for about 10 percent of the hospital’s 95,000 emergency room visits each year.
“We see at least one a day,” he said.
Chicarelli said the emergency room visit can cost between $100-$5,000 depending on the case. He said nurses and doctors often don’t know a person is homeless until after the visit is complete.
“In many cases, we have to eat the bill,” he said.
