As Las Cruces homeless shelters fill, workers concerned about winter

LAS CRUCES - It's getting colder outside and already area homeless shelters are filling up at night.

At the Gospel Rescue Mission on Amador Avenue, aid workers say the women and children's shelter is filled to capacity each night and they've had to convert office space to ensure everyone has a safe place to sleep. 

"It's unusual at this time of the year to be filled to capacity," said Evelyn Chavez, director of women's and children's services at the shelter. 

With the shelter already filling up at night this early in the season, Chavez said she's concerned about what the winter months will look like. 

"The shelter doesn't usually start filling up until the winter months," she said. 

Currently, the shelter is housing an average 35 women and about nine kids, ranging in ages from 4 to 16, she said. They're also housing families from as far away as El Paso.

Chavez said she's seeing more older women staying at the shelter. 

"It's not just mothers coming in with their children. It's the older women who are coming in homeless," she said. 

And some of those women are battling health-related issues, Chavez said. 

"Right now I have one woman staying with us who has cancer. She's enduring her chemo treatments and radiation right now, so we have her set up in one of our family rooms with one of the other girls who is there in case of any types of emergencies," she said. 

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A transition from homelessness 

The Gospel Rescue Mission is a faith-based shelter aiming to transition people out of homelessness. To achieve this, the mission offers educational programs for shelter residents. Residents pay $7.00 night for their bed, or if they can't afford the fee, they can volunteer to work at the shelter. 

Chavez said some of the shelter's residents have been learning trades so they can get back on their feet and some have even been hired to work within the mission. 

Several months ago, Cecilia Garcia was in a bad relationship, so she moved into the shelter with her teen daughter.

She's now the shelter's front desk manager and supervisor. 

"Thanks to the mission, I am now part of the staff here," Garcia said. 

Gloria Melendrez, who has been living at the shelter for about a month, said she was abused when she lived on the streets. The shelter, she said, provides a good transition for those seeking a pathway out of homelessness. 

"I obligated myself to stay here. I work for the clothing area and they said I did a good job and now I work in the front," Melendrez said. 

The work Melendrez does for the shelter each night helps pay for her bed. She said it's a good start for any woman who wants to get off of the streets. 

"People are important and everyone should have the chance to live a good life," Chavez said. 

At Camp Hope 

Nicole Martinez, director of the Community of Hope — a nonprofit providing services for homeless and near homeless residents — has also noted an increase in women using Camp Hope, a tent city across the street from the Gospel Rescue Mission. 

"We have about 100 more women that we've served from one year to the next. That's been our increase," she said. 

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Martinez said they started seeing an increase of women using their services when they started the tent city, which she said has also lessened the number of sexual assaults on the streets. 

"I think giving them their own space — their own tent — has provided safety for women on the streets," she said.

Last year, the organization sheltered 44 women at Camp Hope and Community of Hope served 1,142 women overall. 

To help

The Gospel Rescue Mission and Community of Hope are each in need of donations of time and money.

The mission would use the money to help transform an existing portable building into housing, add more portables to increase bed space, and hire more employees, including residents.

They're also always looking for people to volunteer at the mission, Chavez said. 

"We have different areas, we have the clothing room, we have our boutique there at the mission. Anything like that we can use," Chavez said. 

For information on how to volunteer or donate money to the Gospel Rescue Mission, call 575-523-7727, or visit http://www.lcgrm.org/

Donations to Camp Hope can be made at https://hopevillagelascruces.wordpress.com/, by check or in person at 999 W. Amador Ave., Martinez said. 

They're also looking for donated items people experiencing homelessness can use

"So things like hygiene items, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, jackets. Right now we're most in need of coats and blankets," Martinez said. 

Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter. 

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