City officials announced their commitment to building a youth homeless center in Albuquerque on Wednesday, serving those ages 18-25. It is estimated 1,200-2,300 young people ages 15-25 are without stable housing in Albuquerque.
This initiative comes from City Councilors Brook Bassan, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Renee Grout, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury and Mayor Tim Keller.
This will be the first of its kind funded and run by the city, and the expected cost is $10 million. Stansbury said she has secured $1.5 million through the House of Representatives, and another $7 million was committed with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds, as well as $250,000 from the city’s general fund.
A press release said, “City Councilors Bassan, Fiebelkorn and Grout initiated this stakeholder engagement and inspirational process to establish values, priorities and vision for developing a non-traditional center for homeless youths using a Trauma-Informed Design framework. The visioning process included coordination and planning meetings to identify key stakeholders, research into Trauma Informed Design principles, case study examples in other locations, a virtual design programming charrette, and in-person engagement with youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.”
Stansbury said, “This facility will provide a safe space for young people facing housing insecurity and connect them with the care and resources they need to plan for their future and maximize their potential. I am grateful to our city councilors and our mayor for their vision to address homelessness with a multidimensional approach to center the needs of our youth.”
Keller explained this is strong progress moving toward a shelter for unhoused youths, who for too long have been undercounted and overlooked.
“I am grateful for the work of our Homeless Coordinating Council Youth Committee for identifying this need, and to our partners in city council and the federal delegation for working so hard with my administration to rapidly secure the initial funding,” Keller conveyed.
The project is estimated to take two years, Grout said, and Fiebelkorn explained she doesn’t know exactly where the city is going to put the new center, but that she would welcome this program in her district.
