ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The latest service at Albuquerque’s Gateway Center is one step closer to serving more people who are homeless.

“It has taken a lot of time. It has taken a lot of investment. But now finally, we are filling these gaps,” Mayor Tim Keller said.

The latest gap filled? Long term recovery for sick and injured New Mexicans facing homelessness: The Gateway Medical Respite Center.

In a press conference Tuesday, city leaders pointed out this is just a drop in the ocean, as an estimated 5,000 people face homelessness each night in Albuquerque. But city leaders believe facilities like the medical respite center are a step in the right direction because it doesn’t just offer a room to recover from an illness.

“It’s meeting that gap to say ‘No, a better appropriate placement for an individual is in a place, in a bed where they have the services tied to them, not 20 miles outside of town,'” said Gilbert Ramírez the City of Albuquerque’s Health, Housing and Homelessness Department.

Albuquerque city leaders are describing the new medical respite center that sits inside the Gateway Center as filling a gap needed in our community.

“Roughly 500 people are getting help here every day. That is today, and of course, we want to continue to expand that more,” Keller said.

The medical respite center will be available to anyone needing a bit more time to recover but who are well enough to not need a full hospital stay.

“Hospitals are not set up to be respite centers. For most of us, after a hospital stay, we go home to rest and recover, but for unhoused people, they often have no safe place to go until now,” said Kate Becker, the CEO of UNM Hospital.

There are 50 beds with a mix of rooms for individuals, couples and two patients to a room. Ramirez explained whatever a patient is facing, they’ll be able to get the help they need.

“Understanding this population comes with a variety of needs. You might have behavioral health issues on top of health issues,” Ramírez continued. “We’ve created spaces for occupational therapy, therapy, physical therapy, and for our providers to be able to provide that in house and on site.”

The center is also designed in a circle, specifically for those needing physical therapy. Each patient will stay 45 to 60 days and will be provided with 3 warm meals a day.

“Around 400 annually, we think will be the impact. It could be more, a little bit less, but that’s our goal,” Ramírez said.

Ramírez says now that the center’s operator, Heading Home, signed the contract, they have to staff the 24/7 facility.

“I see within probably this month, we’re going to start seeing the staffing up, and once that’s done, we can start taking patients,” Ramírez said.

The center will provide wraparound services, with the goal of getting each person on the path to stable housing.

“We will be able to provide our full suite of services that we offer at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, and that includes integrated primary care, behavioral health, psychiatric, dental, our social services, including housing navigation and case management,” said Rachel Biggs, the chief strategy officer for Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless.

Like Gateway, the center will be on a referral basis which a person can get from UNMH, Albuquerque Health Care for Homeless or First Nations Healthsource.

The Gateway is a massive facility but Ramírez says that will come in handy, especially if, for example, they fill all 50 beds at the respite center. In a case like that, a patient could stay at the Gateway shelter while they wait.