Tent cities will bring more crime, drugs to already beleaguered cities
Albuquerque, NM — In the wake of the Albuquerque city council’s failure to override Mayor Tim Keller’s veto to place a moratorium on the establishment of homeless encampments in the city, Mark Ronchetti has announced that he will seek to ban the encampments for good across the state.
“Allowing tent cities to exist in our communities is putting our citizens, families, and businesses at risk,” commented Ronchetti. “These encampments are notorious for enabling illegal drug use and human smuggling to flourish in other cities across the U.S. and we cannot allow that to happen in our cities when we are already the second most violent state in the country.”
Furthermore, these encampments fail to address the root causes of homelessness and will only serve to proliferate and expand these camps in our communities. There is a serious need for expanded mental health treatment and temporary housing options for people experiencing homelessness. We can find ways to assist these members of our community without causing further detriment to our cities with these encampments.
It is imperative that the state government step in to pre-empt this and protect the citizens of Albuquerque from this disastrous policy. Mayor Tim Keller has often been cited as a “great partner” by Michelle Lujan Grisham, and she has shown little interest in stepping up to the plate to protect our communities from these homeless encampments. Mark will pursue the ban on homeless encampments as a top priority in his administration.
Original source can be found here.
