Jan. 26—The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness and its supporters gathered Friday at the Roundhouse to lobby state lawmakers, encouraging them to back policies that would help decrease the numbers of homeless people without criminalizing them.

In a session dominated by discussions on guns, crime and money, housing issues have also risen to the top for some legislators, who fear the potential effects of a lack of affordable housing on public safety and economic development.

“Housing is the greatest social program we have in this state,” said Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, who is sponsoring a bill in the House of Representatives to prevent housing discrimination on the basis of income.

Romero was the face of a campaign in support of the city of Santa Fe’s ballot measure seeking a 3% excise tax on home sales over $1 million, which passed with nearly three-quarters of the vote in November.

Among the participants at a coalition news conference in the rotunda Friday were several members of Santa Fe’s Lived Experience Advisory Board, an advisory group whose members are or have been homeless.

The board has advocated in support of the city’s safe outdoor space pilot program, the home sales excise tax to support affordable housing and the ongoing conversion of the Lamplighter Inn into an affordable housing complex.

Members of the board wanted to participate in the lobby day to show “housing is a human right,” said board treasurer Lila Casey.

“We have a saying at the Lived Experience Advisory Board and that is ‘nothing about us without us,’ ” Casey said to applause at the news conference.

The sentiment was echoed by Sen. Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces. A former president of the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope board, Hamblen said it’s important legislators listen to people doing the groundwork to end homelessness to ensure policies support that work.

Everyone is “one catastrophic event away from being homeless,” she said.

Coalition Executive Director Monet Silva said New Mexico needs a comprehensive strategy to end homelessness, including major funding for prevention efforts and affordable housing initiatives.

“Some of the bills being introduced don’t work,” she said. She was referring largely to a proposal by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to crack down on panhandling, which several speakers Friday derided as an attempt to criminalize the homeless.

Silva said legislation the coalition is supporting in this session includes Senate Bill 7, which would appropriate $500 million to a statewide housing trust fund; Senate Bill 31, which would appropriate $500,000 for the Affordable Housing Act; and House Bill 25, which would prohibit housing discrimination based on a renter or buyer’s source of income.

The group also is lobbying for an influx of state money for eviction prevention.

“Homelessness is all of us and we must take bold action to address these issues,” Silva said.