Snap-Shot Survey Results
Each October, for the past 20 years, member missions of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions have surveyed overnight guests to have a better picture of who is homeless and their needs. This past October, 20,000 people were surveyed at 137 missions. In Las Cruces, 63% of our guests were male, 37% female. Of the families who stayed that night at the mission, 12% were couples, 71% were women with children, and 18% were men with children. Fifty-three percent of the people who slept at the mission that night had been homeless only once before. Only 13 % had been homeless three times or more. 27% of the people who slept here had lost government benefits in the past 12 months. 64% had lived in Las Cruces for more than 6 months. 52% of the guests were Caucasian, 41% Hispanic, 6% African American, and 2% Native American. Most people who stayed here, 54% were between the ages of 26-45; seven percent were under age 18 and eight percent were over age 65. 72% of the guests preferred receiving services with a spiritual emphasis. Sixteen percent of the guests had been victims of physical violence in the last 12 months. 41 percent of the male guests were veterans: 4% served in Korea, 72% served in Vietnam, and 14% served in the Persian Gulf War. The snap-shot survey gives us an idea of the needs of the people we are serving and how nationally the needs are growing. The largest trend seen nationally is the increase of intact families facing homelessness. Hardest hit are single women with children who made up 66% of the homeless families nationally surveyed. This was up 11% from 2007. There was also an increase in women who were homeless.
