Bernalillo County Commissioners have approved a three year, $3.5 million contract with Serenity Mesa Recovery Center as part of its Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI). The initiative passed at its regularly scheduled meeting Feb. 20. The city of Albuquerque contributed $930,000 of the funds.
Serenity Mesa is a youth detoxification center on Albuquerque’s Southwest Mesa. The sober living facility is designed for adolescents and young adults struggling with addiction. In 2014, county voters approved a new tax to support additional behavioral health services. In 2015, the BHI was formed to allocate the tax revenue toward behavioral health service providers and initiatives.
“The funding will be used to set up a medically supervised detox center within the facility, specifically designed for teens and young adults,” Commission Chair Barbara Baca said in a statement. “There is a void in services for youth ages 14-to-21 suffering from addiction to detox safely under the supervision of medical professionals.”
Officials said current options are limited to outpatient detoxification with prescribed medication, using an emergency room or inpatient psychiatric facility. Under the new contract, officials said clients could be treated in a “safe, comfortable setting” with access to a 90-day inpatient recovery treatment program, adding that there is a higher success rate for those who go through medically supervised withdrawal.
Youth addiction and detoxification is a critical issue in New Mexico and across the country. Overdose deaths for those 10-to-19 years old increased 109% from December 2019 to December 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says fentanyl abuse is an ongoing problem as it is often mixed in with other illicit drugs and presents a painful and difficult withdrawal.
“We look forward to successful outcomes for young people to withdraw safely, reset their lives with recovery services and move forward,” Commissioner Steven Quezada said in a statement.
$3 million to Gateway Center
At the same meeting, commissioners approved $3 million for an expansion of the housing navigation center at Albuquerque’s Gateway Center at Gibson Health Hub.
The Gateway Center is the city’s multimillion dollar project designed to address a burgeoning homeless population. The 572,000 square foot facility currently offers 50 overnight beds and 35 seasonal beds, including a variety of social services for those experiencing homelessness. Officials said the county’s funding will go toward the addition of 50 “trauma-informed” overnight beds.
The city has already received $59 million from a variety of sources.
“It is imperative we make headway in our continued efforts to address homelessness, and this new addition provides the groundwork for positive outcomes and fits into our overall behavioral health programs and initiatives,” Commissioner Adriann Barboa said in a statement.
The project entails the reconstruction of a 17,000-square-foot suite located on the building’s second floor, adjacent to the existing housing navigation center. Officials said clients using the beds will have access to case management, peer support and other assistance. The project is due to be completed by the end of the year and is expected to service more than 200 people annually.