The city of Albuquerque begins building a village of pallets with the aim of helping people suffering from addiction

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – This time it’s another big addition to Albuquerque’s Gateway Center’s homeless shelter project, with the goal of getting people dealing with drug addiction opioid addicts to recover with housing and medical services.

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The city broke ground Wednesday on the Recovery Gateway project at Pan American near Comanche. The project will include a small hometown for dozens of people. “This is essentially a version of temporary housing,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said.

On the west side of I-25 near Comanche, where an empty MVD building stands today, the parking lot will soon be transformed into Albuquerque’s first pallet village aimed at helping displaced people suffering from drug addiction. drugs “We really have a micro-community here that helps people recover, stay in recovery and stay off the streets,” Keller said.

The $5 million project is funded in part by opioid settlement money and Bernalillo County.

46 pallets like those used in Santa Fe will house men, women and couples who are recovering from substance use disorders.

They will call this place a temporary home for a period of 18 to 24 months. “If you can provide a recovery space for 18 to 24 months, people are less likely to go back into a pattern of substance use. That’s vital,” said Gilbert Ramirez, Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness at the City of Albuquerque.

The city said the community will be staffed 24/7 with a clinical director and case management workers to help residents recover. Only people who have been referred to the program can live in the village which will also have a community garden and a pet area.

“Transitional housing offers people a safe and nurturing environment to heal, grow and build their lives, it’s where people can find not only shelter, but also emotional support and tangible resources that will be found here for our homes,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Barbara Baca said.

The city believes the location is ideal for now saying it will have minimal impact on surrounding communities. “We’re now covering a huge gap area that we haven’t covered before,” Ramiriez said.

The city said it hopes to have the pallet hometown up and running sometime this winter between January and March. The city is also working on a contract with a local utility. That will finally be responsible for making residential referrals in the town.

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