Santa Fe, NM –Senator George Munoz (D-4-Cibola, McKinley & San Juan) said he’s met with several representatives from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Human Services Department (HSD) to discuss and effectively address the well-documented alcoholism issue in Gallup. According to Sen. Munoz four main topics have been at the center of conversation: how alcoholics/addicts could best access drug and alcohol abuse treatment/detox centers, how to reduce panhandling in the area, how to improve mental health services in the area, and lastly, how the alcoholism problem contributes and correlates to the high crime rates in Gallup. A public meeting is tentatively planned for December 8.
During a recent legislative committee meeting, the City of Gallup presented Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) statistics from 2013, showing that Gallup had the highest violent crime rate in New Mexico.
“The high crime rates, along with the alcohol-related deaths in the area, are of real concern to me. Alcoholism affects many people from different walks of life and those affected by this terrible disease are reaching for help, and in Gallup, it does not really exist right now,” Sen. Munoz said. “I believe that the alcohol abuse issue is directly related to the crime rates in area and we need to get down to the root of the problem and come up with effective solutions collectively.”
Sen. Munoz said a specific concern he is planning to address, and that has been brought to his attention by his constituents, is the way the community’s local treatment/detox center is handling detox patients. According to Sen. Munoz, the center used to host a 72 hour detox hold to assure intoxicated people, attained from the streets, were evaluated and kept until they sobered up. Now, there is only a 12 hour hold policy, which he says is not a long enough period to guarantee that people are indeed sober when they are released back into the public.
“Re-implementing a 72 hour hold at the detox center is not the solution to the whole problem, but I believe it can relieve some of the negative repercussions we are seeing. I am especially concerned now, during the cold months, because intoxicated people have the potential to freeze to death if they’re out on the streets and are not able to get to a warm place,” Sen. Munoz said. “Although our main concern is treatment and preventative care, in the meantime, we have to provide resources like this to insure the safety of all community members.”
For more details regarding the public meeting, contact Sen. Munoz at munozgeo@gmail.com.