Homelessness in New Mexico
New Mexico had the highest increase of homelessness in the country between 2018 and 2019 – an increase of 27%. Chronic homelessness also increased during the same period by 57.6%.
Evictions in New Mexico
The most recent data show that, in average years (prior to the pandemic), approximately 16 New Mexico families are evicted from their home on any given day.
New Mexico has some of the shortest eviction time frames in the country. Once a renter receives a notice of late rent, they have just three days to move out or get current on rent before the landlord can file for eviction. Once the eviction process has been initiated by a landlord, it is very difficult for New Mexico’s renter families to remedy the process and remain in their home. In New Mexico, 75% of eviction filings result in a family being ordered to leave their home.
Only 8 other states have timeframes for filing for eviction as short as, or shorter, than New Mexico. Of those 8 states, NM has the third highest rate of evictions.
COVID-19 has caused unprecedented economic hardship for our state. The most recent data shows that as many as 42% of New Mexicans are under threat of eviction.
Three out of five New Mexico renter residents report some difficulty in paying for their typical household expenses since the pandemic started. And as many as a third of renters in New Mexico are behind on rent.
Reduce the Need for State Homeless Services Resources
A recent report showed that Albuquerque shelters are experiencing a 644% increase in the number of homeless children needing shelter since before the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Several outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred in homeless shelters across the U.S. Even with intensive infection control strategies employed, i.e. mask wearing and symptom screening, shelters have been unable to prevent outbreaks. The rapid spread in these high-congregate settings has spurred the need for alternative sheltering options, such as motel rentals and additional shelter spaces, which has and will continue to deplete already scarce public resources dedicated to sheltering families and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Impact of Evictions
For families and individuals under threat of eviction and homelessness, they present with negative health outcomes, both mental (depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and suicides) and physical (poor self-reported health, high blood pressure and child maltreatment).
Mothers who are subject to eviction and housing instability experience more material hardship, are more likely to suffer from depression, report worse health for themselves and their children, and report more parenting stress.
Ongoing, chronic stress from housing instability and homelessness for children can have profound and lasting effects. Students with high rates of residential mobility and housing instability perform worse on standardized tests, have lower school achievement and delayed literacy skills, are more likely to be truant, and are more likely to drop out.
But the harms of eviction go beyond the family and individual. High levels of residential mobility and eviction rates can unravel the fabric of a community, thwarting efforts to establish and maintain social capital, local cohesion and community investment.