Gateway Center residents speak about their experience at facility
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The City of Albuquerque has poured tens of millions of dollars over the past several years to create the Gateway Center, in hopes of helping hundreds of people get back on their feet and find housing. For the first time, KRQE News 13 got a chance to speak with some of the residents about their experience and how it's opening new opportunities for them. 'Homelessness does not discriminate,' said Adrienne, a resident at the center.
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For 13 years, Adrienne and her partner, Lisa, lived in an apartment together in Albuquerque. That was until the day Lisa was shot in the head in October, which led to costly medical bills and an eviction notice. 'Oddly enough, we lost everything we owned,' Lisa said.
After getting evicted, it was only a couple of days before they were welcomed at Albuquerque's Gateway Center. 'By God's good graces, I'm still here, and the worst that came out of this is we got to start over a little bit,' Lisa said.
It's been two weeks since they arrived, and they say they're making good progress on finding a new home for themselves. Lisa says she does not have a job, identification, or a cell phone, but that caseworkers at the center are helping her.
They're also working to get her an EBT card. 'If you're willing to utilize the resources that they're giving you, then you're going to succeed,' Adrienne said. 'If you're not, then you're going to go out and say all these kinds of bad stuff.'
Adrienne, however, does have a job, but stays at the center as the eviction process and apartment search play out. The city has faced scrutiny over the center, with the public questioning the millions spent and its success.
Lisa and Adrienne say their experience is much different than what some people may think or hear about the center. '[It] focuses on getting people's lives back together,' Lisa said. 'Focuses on what the reality of going back out there is.'
According to Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, about 500 people have gone through housing navigation at Gateway since the start of the year. About 20% of them have found some sort of housing. 'You're either going to step up and help yourself, or we're going to go ahead and rotate through and get somebody who wants to step up and help themselves,' Lisa added.
The couple plans on moving to a new place in the next several months.
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