ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Starting next week, the city of Albuquerque said dozens more people experiencing homelessness will be allowed to stay inside the long-promised Gateway Center as another chapter of construction is wrapping up.
Officials with Albuquerque’s Family and Community Services department say by next week it expects to open an additional 50 beds at the Gateway Center, but for the time being, officials say the facility will only house women. “This has been a long time in the making but this has been the first major area that we are going to put into use,” said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller.
Both Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, and the city’s Family and Community Services Director, Carol Pierce said the $7 million portion of the multi-phase Gateway Center will be open next week. “It will be up to a hundred. This is an additional 50 beds, this is single-gendered and with the other spaces we have it’s about 100,” said Albuquerque’s Family and Community Services Director, Carol Pierce.
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Currently, the health hub is serving around 35 women who are part of a 90-day transitional housing program that offers a handful of services. “True to the name Gateway, we will sort of sort you out with different service providers who are then going to help you sort of integrate into the community. We can fit them with the right kind of housing. Whether it’s a voucher or supportive housing or job training, all of these things, the idea is you can stay here for a while, it might be a few days, it might be a few weeks,” said Mayor Keller.
While the city gears up to help more women, it didn’t come without a few hurdles. In addition to supply chain delays. In March, the city found asbestos in the second-floor work area, halting operations and delaying some services, but Mayor Keller says that’s all in the past now. “This is a concrete demonstration of our commitment to this project and it shows that there is hope with our city dealing with it,” Keller said.
The city is still aiming for the center to eventually provide services for around 1,000 people a day once the entire project is done. While construction continues, the city remains under an active OSHA investigation over the mishandling of asbestos during construction.
