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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's most populous county is considering providing shelter for inmates with mental illness who are released from jail with nowhere to go.
The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1iXA8Ml) that the Bernalillo County Commission will consider a $1.1 million proposal at a meeting Tuesday offer beds for some newly released inmates.
Officials say the program would give homeless people, just out of jail and struggling with mental illness, a safe place to stay.
Social services agencies would be charged with running the program, which would offer 75 beds at places throughout the community.
Albuquerque city councilors are also considering the program.
Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins says many mentally ill inmates released from Metropolitan Detention Center end up back in jail.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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