Examining barriers to stable and healthy housing for renters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and supporting community organizing to improve access to quality affordable housing.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, has a long history of property owner–friendly laws and regulations that have led to housing instability, poor living conditions, and unaffordability, particularly for renters with low incomes and households of color. These communities are concentrated in neighborhoods with high eviction rates and low-quality housing, contributing to adverse physical and mental community health outcomes. Despite this long history of instability and structural racism, the city has almost no history of renter organizing to help residents maintain healthy and stable housing. Amparo will gather and analyze data to understand the barriers tenants face to staying housed. It will aim to address these challenges through coalition-building and organizing focused on improving access to quality affordable housing and dismantling structural inequities related to housing and health. Amparo will be supported in this work by Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLE), a well-known community-based organization with a strong history of local organizing.  

Amparo and OLE will collect data from local renters through surveys, interviews, focus groups, participatory data gathering, and community events. Project staff will also gather and analyze data on evictions and housing access from secondary sources, potentially to include the Eviction Lab, New Mexico Eviction Data, Searchlight New Mexico, Albuquerque Public Schools Strategic Analysis and Program Research, Albuquerque Housing Authority, and other local and state-level agencies and organizations. With these data, staff may create reports to share at community organizing events, on the Amparo website, or with state and local housing advocates.  

Amparo will share project findings with emerging local renter associations, service providers, local housing authorities, local media, local elected officials, state agencies, and state congressional delegates. By identifying the most important and immediate issues for Albuquerque renters, this project will create a foundation for coordinated movement and advocacy around renters’ rights.