Nov. 10, 2023 Community Hall Newsletter

Greetings,

This weekend, we are taking time to honor our veterans, who embody bravery and service, making major and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. It is hard to put into words just how important our veterans are, and that’s why we are putting it into action.

All of us, whether we served in the military or not, have a responsibility to our community. At the City of Albuquerque, part of our wide reaching service includes supporting our veterans and active duty military members with the resources they need to support their families, transition back to civilian life, and to access benefits. We’ve done this in a few different ways:

Supporting the Veteran's Integration Center

This spring, we broke ground on the Veterans Integration Center (VIC) Campus. This campus provides transitional housing and resources for veterans who are struggling with homelessness and/or substance abuse so that they can reintegrate into civilian life.The VIC includes 42 beds and on-site mental health and substance abuse treatment and is on track to open in March 2024.

Hiring Veterans

In 2019, we made hiring priority for vets official City policy. Today, 438 City employees are veterans or actively servicing in the National Guard or Reserves. The majority of these employees are working in APD and AFR, taking their service a step higher and continuing to protect our community in their day to day work.

Offering City Perks

The City also provides a variety of benefits to our veterans and active duty military members. This includes discounts on admission to sites like the BioPark and Balloon Museum and 10% preference on bids for procurement through City contracts.

Showing Our Appreciation

We also take initiative to show our veterans and active duty members appreciation for their work for and beyond the City. For instance, our Parks and Recreation Department is hosting this year's Veterans Day Parade at the U.S.S. Bullhead Memorial Park. All City senior and multigenerational centers display a Wall of Honor, with a video slideshow honoring service members. We also have a Coin Challenge, in which we identify folks across departments who have served and present them with a token of appreciation for their service and bravery.

Our Office of Military and Veterans Affairs has been cornerstone in these efforts, and we are grateful to their dedication to helping our veterans and their families.

We are committed to supporting our veterans in any way possible. They continue to remind us of the power that we have to change lives and that we must continue to build our community based on the ideals they fought for - justice, freedom, and equality. Thank you, to all of our veterans, active duty military members, and their families, for your sacrifice. May God bless you.