City sees increase in homeless families

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Homeless children are the youngest causalities of the sluggish economy after studies show homeless families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.

Jamie Tamez is the Director of Cuidando los Ninos, a center for homeless children.

He said the numbers of homeless families are drastically increasing in Albuquerque.

“For us a homeless person, as I said, is from 6 weeks old to 5-years-old,” Tamez said.

Tamez adds that 937 homeless families are living in Albuquerque right now.

The children of some of those families go to his center.

However there are only 54 slots available daily, so the waiting list continues to grow.

In the past year, the number of children needing their services has more than doubled.

“The children are very aware,” Tamez said about them being homeless. “It's difficult at times to have them take a nap when they first come here to us because they're so used to falling asleep somewhere and waking up somewhere else.”

Cuidando los Ninos provides care for children up to 5 years of age; most of them have older siblings in school.

In March of 2008, there were more than 2,000 homeless children enrolled with Albuquerque Public Schools. One year later, the number is nearly 4,300.

Children like Alicia Gribaso, Joseph Gribaso and Taya Pearce who will start school in less than two weeks.

“We really need notebooks, crayons and pencils” Pearce said.

Most siblings are used to sharing a room with each other, but these three share a room with over 15 other families at Joy Junction on any given night.

“We don't get a room we sleep in the maltie,” Peace said.

The maltie is similar to a gym, except the only playing taking place inside is from the dozens of homeless children needing a place to call home.

During the day, it's filled with tables so the families can eat. By night, blue mats cover the floor. The Gribaso family of five shares three mats.

“At least we get sheets and blankets,” Joseph Gribaso said.

It's an arrangement the kids are actually happy about. They've moved four times in the past two years while their dad searched for work. They said they've seen where they could be sleeping if they weren't here.

“We would have been living on the streets, sleeping on grass and stuff,” Pearce said.