Street Outreach Initiatives
Meeting People Where They Are
ACS is dedicated to addressing the unique challenges faced by unsheltered individuals in Albuquerque. Our Street Outreach Initiatives connect those in need to essential services, resources, and long-term care through tailored programs. By working directly in the community, ACS bridges the gap between public safety and public health, providing innovative solutions that meet people where they are.
Our Initiatives
ACS has six specialized initiatives designed to address the diverse needs of Albuquerque’s unsheltered population.
Street Outreach Responders (SORs)
Our primary resource for unsheltered outreach, SORs, respond to 3-1-1 and 9-1-1 calls regarding encampments and unsheltered individuals. They also proactively engage in outreach operations and collaborate with Behavioral Health and Community Responders to ensure continuity of care during the day.
Hear From Our Team
Celina, one of our Street Outreach Responders, shares how she helped a homeless veteran finally accept support and secure housing through the NM Veterans Integration Center. Her story demonstrates the power of persistence, compassion, and ACS’s commitment to meeting people where they are.
Strategic Outreach Team
Focuses on areas with high concentrations of encampments and unsheltered calls, particularly in the Valley and the Southeast Area Commands. This team connects individuals to long-term services and specializes in working with “familiar faces,” including high utilizers of 9-1-1 and emergency departments who may often refuse traditional services. Members of this team bring lived experience in homelessness or addiction, fostering trust and understanding.
Street Medicine
In partnership with UNM, this initiative delivers medical and social services directly to unsheltered individuals in their environments, including encampments and streets. While UNM’s Street Medicine Team provides medical care, ACS responders assist with immediate needs and social service navigation, ensuring a holistic approach to care.
Connect-to-Care Pop-Ups
These events—organized by our Street Outreach team—bring essential service providers to high-need areas, creating a one-stop shop for unsheltered individuals. Partners include:
- ACS Community-Oriented Response & Assistance Team (CORA)
- ACS Opioid Prevention and Education Team (OEP)
- UNM Street Medicine Team
- New Mexico Veterans Integration Center
- New Mexico Vets for Pets
- Roadrunner Food Bank
- NM Department of Health
- First Nations Community HealthSource
- New Mexico State Police Victim Advocate Representatives
This initiative ensures unsheltered individuals have access to vital resources like medical care, food, and housing support in a convenient and supportive setting.
Care Navigators
Care Navigators provide intensive case management for individuals with severe medical and mental health challenges. This program fills a critical gap in services, offering up to 90 days of support (with plans to extend to six months) to help stabilize individuals and connect them to long-term care.
Emergency Overnight Shelter Transportation
When temperatures drop to dangerously cold levels, ACS activates its Emergency Overnight Shelter Transportation Service to ensure the safety of Albuquerque’s unsheltered population. This seasonal initiative provides transportation to emergency shelters for individuals who might otherwise remain exposed to life-threatening conditions. Over the past two winters, ACS has safely transported hundreds of individuals out of the cold and into shelter, demonstrating our commitment to meeting urgent needs with compassion and care.