City of Albuquerque breaks ground on pallet village aimed at helping people dealing with addiction

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s another big addition for Albuquerque’s Gateway Center homeless shelter project this time aimed at getting people facing opioid addiction back on their feet with housing and medical services.

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

On the west side of I-25 near Comanche where a vacant MVD building sits today, the parking lot will soon be transformed into Albuquerque’s first pallet home village aimed at helping the unhoused who are dealing with drug addiction. “We truly have a micro-community here helping folks get into recovery, stay in recovery, and stay off the streets,” said Keller.

The $5 million project is partly funded by opioid settlement money and Bernalillo County. 46 pallets like the ones used in Santa Fe will shelter men, women, and couples who are recovering from substance use disorders.

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

The city said the community will have staff on hand 24/7 with a clinical director and case management workers to help residents get back on their feet. Only people who’ve been referred to the program can live in the village which will also have a community garden and pet area.

“Transitional housing gives people a safe and nurturing environment to heal grow and build their lives, its where individuals can find not only shelter but emotional support and tangible resources which will be located here for our unhoused,” said Bernalillo County Commissioner Barbara Baca.

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

The city said its hoping to have the pallet home village up and running sometime this winter between January and March. The city is also still working on a contract with a local service. That will ultimately be in charge of making residential referrals to the village.

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