The LEED for Homes Gold permanent supportive housing facility opened in February 2022 as Albuquerque’s first “single site” community for those with documented chronic homelessness and a mental disorder or alcohol/drug dependency. In 2020, the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ Point-in-Time Count estimated that more than 3,000 people were homeless in New Mexico every night.
A $7.13-million collaboration between two New Mexico-based nonprofits, the 38,000-sq-ft three-story downtown building is a “single site” because it provides homes as well as services to those in need. The first floor includes common spaces, with large storefront windows maximizing natural light, and behavioral health and case management offices. The second and third floors contain 42 one-bedroom apartments for formerly homeless people who now make the community their “forever home.”