Sir , as an attendee at the gathering of religious leaders convened by Ms Gandara and Bencomo, I wanted to share some observations. The problem of homelessness in Las Cruces is something I knew nothing of and I came to learn. I saw several things that seem significant to me. First, there is absolutely no coordination of efforts to address this issue in the city. City of Hope, the Salvation Army, the Gospel Rescue Mission and all the churches that offer help have no idea whatsoever what any of the other players are doing. And, a retired minister from New Hampshire that recently moved here offered to set up a spread sheet or some appropriate online site that would help foster communication between these groups and was dismissed in passing by the city council reps. We cannot address a problem that is not defined with a response that is not coordinated. Secondly, the problem is not defined . What subpopulations exist in the homeless? How many are families in overwhelming circumstances,how many are mentally ill and how many are drug addicts that don’t want help? How do these communities overlap? Throwing money at a poorly analyzed situation is wasting taxpayer money. Lastly( in an effort not to ramble or rant) the entire show seemed to be an ego trip for the two councilors. They wanted to direct conversation, worry about feelings and values instead of facts ( of which they had none- they didn’t even know whether the busses were still free to ride or not). They were, in my opinion, grandstanding when your Task Force should be doing this work. I hope that this helps you. By the way I agree with the opinions shared by Robert Wood in his letter. If I can help in this area I would be glad to contribute what I can. Sincerely, Jody Kincaid DVM ND Coalition of Conservatives in Action
