In New Mexico Tent City, a Glimmer of Hope
Source: New York Times
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — On a dusty lot in a rough stretch of this city, homeless people have pitched dozens of tents, some nearly empty and others so packed with possessions that their residents are practically entombed inside. There is no electricity, and the unrelenting winds batter the tents so badly that duct tape, used for repairs, is coveted like gold.
In other places, makeshift shelters like this one have been discouraged, if not destroyed. In December, a large encampment in San Jose, Calif., known as the Jungle was cleared because of health and safety concerns. In Detroit, officials were keeping cautious watch on a camp that had recently sprung up near downtown.
But the nearly 50 homeless people living in the tent city here are welcome to stay. Local officials allowed the camp to be set up on city-owned property, making an exception to zoning rules that ban sleeping overnight. With a $45,000 earmark from the State Legislature, the camp is adding landscaping and a new fence.
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The camp started as a temporary shelter in 2011, meant to last through the winter. It now has elevated plots for 50 tents and a guard house, surrounded by a wire fence. Called Camp Hope, the tent city has a few portable toilets — not nearly enough, residents say — but restrooms and showers are just a stroll away, to where several charities have set up a strip mall of social services, including a medical clinic and soup kitchen. There, social workers try to connect camp residents with government aid and low-income housing programs.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/02/us/in-new-mexico-tent-city-a-glimmer-of-hope.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
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