ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A pitch, made back in October, for a community of pallet homes is progressing to get 50 people a roof over their heads. 

There’s been some progress on this effort since, but there’s a slight delay. The project is behind by a few weeks, so it’s not expected to be ready until February, compared to the original January date.

“This is very much a sign of hope for everyone who’s facing addiction, for everyone who’s on the streets,” said Mayor Tim Keller.

46 pallet homes in Albuquerque are ready to be part of “Gateway Recovery,” but they’re not going to be assembled yet. 

“We had some issues with back orders, so breaking through that trying to get side craft is a little bit longer than what we expected, but we’re still pretty much on track. We’re a couple of weeks behind,” said Jennifer McDonald, a Gateway Health Hub operations officer. 

McDonald and Keller gave an update on the project Tuesday. Keller explained another delay has been finding an operator.

“We’re going out to bid for an operator, and because, like most city facilities, a nonprofit or something like that, usually runs it. And so that is being rebid out, and will eventually go to council,” said Keller. 

In the meantime, some construction is underway. Once it’s ready to go, there will be 44 single unit pallet homes, two units for couples, bathroom units and a resource hub.

The goal is to create a micro community to bridge the gap between homelessness and sobriety.

“Bringing them to this community where they can build community with others, and they get the support and peer support that they need, we’ll put them on a much stronger path to recovery,” said McDonald. 

Each resident will be able to stay up to two years in a unit.

“Research really tells us that if we can keep people on the track to sobriety for 18 to 24 months, they’ll be much more likely to be successful,” McDonald said. 

As for who will be filling the homes, it’s considered to be a low-barrier program, meaning the only requirements are people facing both homelessness and addiction.

“The idea is, you may, you might show up at one of the Gateway shelters, but then you are sort of graduated into the Gateway Recovery. And so this is again filling a gap we’ve needed for decades,” said Keller. 

This update on Gateway Recovery comes as city council just passed two ordinances, putting some restrictions on our homeless population. 

KOB 4 asked Keller about these contrasts Tuesday. 

“As a whole, we want to balance and make sure we’re keeping our public spaces safe and available to all of the public with the fact that people need help and need services, and homelessness is not a crime. So we’re trying to balance these two things out,” said Keller. 

That Albuquerque city council meeting didn’t end until 2 a.m. Tuesday. 

Keller says he hadn’t had a chance to read through all of the ordinances passed yet.

MORE:

• City plans to bring pallet home community to Albuquerque