By Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
Having the will to help those experiencing homelessness or who are very low income — especially when it comes to housing — likely means jumping through considerable hoops. Few would argue about the need: Historically high rents place many residents in vulnerable situations and there are thousands in Albuquerque living on the streets.
But a church in the International District — New Creation Albuquerque — has a proof of concept to tout: One that its pastor, Jesse Harden, thinks others could use as a template. Last week, Harden and a group of volunteers hosted a “build day” at a church property adjacent to New Creation at 8016 Zuni Road SE. The site consists of a residential home, the Refuge House, and in its backyard, a soon-to-open Safe Outdoor Space.
“We built platforms for all the tents, extended the patio and installed a more secure pedestrian gate,” Harden said. “We have a couple finishing touches to complete and are beginning to take applications and are interviewing people for our first round of guests.”
The site is currently the only city-approved safe outdoor space — a place where those who typically live in illegal encampments can gather in a more safe, secure and sanitary environment. The site has eight, 10-by-10 foot wooden platforms to accommodate up to 10 people. It’s been landscaped and has a portable toilet. The Refuge House has an on-site manager to oversee operations, showers, laundry and case management for those who will temporarily live there.
New Creations has ventured into affordable housing for the last handful of years — to serve those with few or limited options — all through private donations so far. In addition to the Refuge House and Safe Outdoor Space, the church rents seven two and three bedroom units at the nearby Chama Street Apartments (which it owns) and manages nine rent-subsidized, one-bedroom units at the Mesilla & Espanola Apartments.
“As people were being priced out of their apartments, as rents rose, or different things happened, we had people who needed to save for a deposit, a down payment,” Harden said. “It’s been really helpful, because the challenge right now is the requirements to get into a place. It just rules a lot of people out.”
The safe outdoor space is the most recent project and the one that’s been the most hard won. Harden built Tuff Shed-like structures with bunkbeds, dressers and desks inside, but city code enforcement said it wasn’t legal. At the time, it was also illegal for people to pitch tents in the backyard.
“We had to move everyone along and find places for them,” Harden said. “Then we went through a pretty long kind of process.”
Safe outdoor spaces are often controversial and fall under a special city ordinance. It’s not uncommon for politicians and neighborhood associations to oppose the idea. Others have submitted applications to operate the sites, but have been denied or decided to withdraw. (The city maintains a map showing approved, denied and withdrawn locations here.)
“There were so many barriers that we weren’t ready for, one was our insurance — so we had to form a separate housing LLC,” Harden said. “There’s been a lot of unforeseen things for sure.”
Small, but impactful
Harden believes the smaller scale might be the right touch — still impactful and an easier sell to the community and city leaders. If just 20 churches duplicated his 10-person capacity model, he noted, 200 people would be served.
“That’s why I built this place. I wanted it to be something I’d be willing to live next to,” Harden said. “Maybe we could actually begin to see people as our neighbors, not as a problem.”
He said while navigating city bureaucracy is frustrating, employees are receptive to what he’s trying to accomplish, and the ultimate goal falls in line with many city initiatives.
“We’ll get them connected to getting their identification, jobs, housing, mental health,” Harden said. “We’ve got codes of conduct, fire evacuation plans, wastewater management — all this stuff that we had to put together.”
‘Let’s do housing’
Harden said it was around 2017 when International District residents started gathering at the church to talk about what was great about the area, but also what was holding it back.
“A repeated refrain was: Predatory and non-responsive landlords, substandard housing and expensive rent,” he said. “So we said: ‘Let’s do housing.’ We saw a real need for the working poor — the kind of person who is working a minimum wage job trying to pay rent — just killing themselves to stay housed to keep their kids housed — but can never get traction towards homeownership or building that equity.”
Harden said there have been many success stories, including that of two brothers in their 20s from Roswell who were living on the street and sleeping behind the Refuge House before it was sanctioned by the city.
“They got jobs at McDonald’s and Taco Bell. They saved some money and we moved them into an apartment on Mesilla Street,” he said. “They paid rent most months. It wasn’t perfect, but we worked with them and they moved out a couple months ago. They have a car and they’re living on their own. That’s the potential.”
Harden lives in the International District with his wife and two young kids. He’s been in Albuquerque since he was 5-years-old, other than a stint at Baylor University where he earned a degree in community development. He said the membership at New Creation is about 90 people.
“The way we do it is we have a food table. As we pick up our plates, we put down our divisions — we eat together every week as part of our worship,” Harden said. “You know, you think about Jesus — one of the main ways he broke taboos was sharing a meal.”
Those interested in donating to New Creation’s housing initiatives can click here. Information on the requirements for Safe Outdoor Spaces in Albuquerque is here.