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Arctic Blast Spurs Early Shelter Opening In Albuquerque

Ed Williams-KUNM

A cold snap hit New Mexico Wednesday and prompted an Albuquerque homeless shelter to open its doors early.

Albuquerque Rescue Mission was scheduled to start taking in homeless residents this weekend, but freezing temperatures have moved the clock forward.

Pastor John Hill is the Rescue Mission’s executive director. He said his staff has been preparing for a possible early opening, and that overnight accommodations in the old Westside jail are set up and ready to go.

“To be out of the cold and into the warm, and to have a full stomach, that’s really what the focus becomes,” Hill said. 

Hill said he expects around 300 people to come in for shelter overnight. Anyone who needs a warm place to sleep and shower can catch the Rescue Mission van along Central Avenue in Albuquerque from 8 pm to midnight.

Ed Williams came to KUNM in 2014 by way of Carbondale, Colorado, where he worked as a public radio reporter covering environmental issues. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ed has reported on environmental, social justice, immigration and Native American issues in the U.S. and Latin America for the Austin American-Statesman, Z Magazine, NPR’s Latino USA and others. In his spare time, look for Ed riding his mountain bike in the Sandias or sparring on the jiu-jitsu mat.
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