Gateway Construction Underway
ALBUQUERQUE — Today, City leaders and Heading Home announced a key step towards opening new services at the Gateway. Heading Home was awarded the contract to operate the emergency overnight housing services and has hired an Executive Director, Chassity Garcia, to oversee the program. With demolition completed and construction underway, the selection of an operator and executive director keeps the City of Albuquerque on track to launch this program in early 2023.
“This announcement is a huge milestone in the advancement of the Gateway project,” said Carol Pierce, Director of Family and Community Services. “Heading Home is a proven partner in this work and we look forward to the expertise they will bring to Gateway.”
The Gateway at Gibson Health Hub will enhance Albuquerque’s continuum of care for the unhoused by filling longstanding service gaps and providing onsite connections to resources, including emergency overnight beds, medical sobering, and medical respite. Existing tenants at the Gibson Health Hub already provide the community at large with acute medical, mental, and behavioral health care.
The Gateway emergency housing program will add needed low-barrier, trauma-informed overnight beds that are centrally located in Albuquerque and aims to transition residents into housing in 90 days. The first phase will initially serve more than 200 women per year, expanding to families, couples, and all genders in the near future. The emergency housing program will come online along with the Engagement Center, which will offer easy access to supportive services, and the First Responder Drop Off, which will divert thousands of unnecessary transports to emergency departments. The emergency housing program at Gateway is designed to break down barriers to service for vulnerable populations and cultural care will be embedded in Heading Home’s contract.
“I am excited to be a part of this new Gateway program that is focusing on women first. As a community we need to uplift our mothers, sisters, daughter, and aunts from the barriers they face on a day to day basis,” said Chassity Garcia, Gateway Executive Director.
Heading Home has a strong history of partnership with the City of Albuquerque, currently working with the City to manage the West Side Emergency Housing Center and the Wellness II hotel for families. Heading Home uses the best practices of trauma-informed care in their shelter management and their work towards the ultimate goal of housing access for everyone. Heading Home will provide case management, food services, and dormitory maintenance for residents of the Gateway program.
Learn more about the Gibson Health Hub and City of Albuquerque’s plans for the Gateway at cabq.gov/gateway.