Camp Hope, Las Cruces: A Resident-Run Path Home

In Las Cruces, Camp Hope has offered something rare since 2011: a sanctioned, resident-run camp where people without housing can pitch a tent in a safe place, sheltered by three-sided lean-tos, with water, restrooms and showers. It is run by the nonprofit Mesilla Valley Community of Hope on city-owned land, next door to a soup kitchen, food pantry, health clinic and childcare center.

The camp holds up to about 50 people, and residents elect their own camp managers. Mesilla Valley Community of Hope reported serving 194 people at the camp in 2024–25, and works to move people into housing, including Desert Hope, a 40-unit apartment complex for people who have been chronically homeless, built in partnership with the city and the public housing authority. Dignity, self-governance and a way forward, side by side.

Sources: Mesilla Valley Community of Hope presentation to the NM Legislature (2025) · Organizations work to assist unhoused community in Las Cruces (KRWG) · Helter Shelter (Searchlight New Mexico via Yahoo)