ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Kelley Elliot and her 2-year-old son were playing Tuesday at a park in northeast Albuquerque, always careful to monitor their surroundings. 

“We try to pay attention to where we’re going, because usually there’s a large homeless population present, and you’ll have a 2-year-old. And so, we just try to be really careful,” she said.

Elliot said she keeps her son away from some parks because of drug paraphernalia on the ground.

Some solutions to those problems came in the form of a vote Monday night when the Albuquerque City Council made some updates to ordinances to keep city parks cleaner.

“The intent of these provisions was to create safe spaces for children to play, free from adults that shouldn’t be around,” said City Councilor Renee Grout.

Grout introduced two updates in November that were just passed Monday night.

One of them clarified what public camping is and where it can be done, and it’s not in city parks, streets, and sidewalks.

Several people, who advocate for people who don’t have a home, spoke during the public comment section.

“Measures proposed today will punish unhoused people for the crime of not wanting to freeze and will fine them for what meager possessions they managed to hold on to,” one person said.

The other update tackles what city council calls a “misuse of parks.”

It includes sleeping, camping, and storing personal items such as shopping carts at parks and around playground equipment, and those carts are now banned.

One homeless woman we spoke to said she’s been trying to get back into affordable housing for four years. A shopping cart of her belongings is all she has.

“It just seems like no-win situation,” she said about camping around town. “We can’t win for nothing. It’s like, and then they come, the cops come, and they chase us off, and they want us to go three blocks down. And it’s like, it’s hard when we have, you know, this, this, this is all I’m left with, and it’s just clothes and bedding for me to sleep comfortable with.”

As for Elliot, she said she is looking forward to hopefully enjoying more parks across the city.

“I know you know that population needs somewhere to stay, but we though, we don’t have a lot,” Elliot said. “We do have resources, resources in Albuquerque, where they can stay. So, I think it’s a positive thing.”