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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
City Council terminates lease with Interfaith shelter, approves new contracts with California nonprofit
Annette Kaare-Rasmussen has been volunteering at the Interfaith Community Shelter for the past four years, during which time she has gotten to know many shelter guests intimately. "I know who wants cheese on their chili beans," she told city councilors at a special meeting Tuesday. "I know who likes the chocolate syrup but not the whipped cream on their ice cream. ... All of us have gathered knowledge, know stories, have connections." She said she was concerned about the impact to shelter guests if the local nonprofit interfaith group's lease was terminated and operations of the facility at 2801 Cerrillos Road were taken over by a new provider without that accumulated knowledge: "It's going to be hard for them with the changes." After hours of discussion at a meeting that ended after 1 a.m. Wednesday, councilors voted 7-1 to terminate the city's month-to-month lease with the Interfaith Community Shelter effective July 31. They then voted to approve two contracts with California-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy — a $7.9 million four-year contract for street outreach and a $1.5 million one-year emergency contract to operate the shelter. Councilor Michael Garcia was the sole no vote on the three items, saying he thought the termination of the shelter's lease "sends the wrong message to our community-based organizations" and that he had financial concerns about the street outreach contract. Garcia also introduced a failed measure to amend the contract to only two years from four, saying he had serious concerns about approving a contract that is not fully funded. "We are committing to a major investment and we are busting at the seams in a quote-unquote 'flat budget' process," he said, referring to how city staff described the city's upcoming fiscal year budget in conversations last month. Garcia said he wished Urban Alchemy "all the best" following the votes as they will now be responsible for providing services to some of the city's most vulnerable residents. Councilor Alma Castro, whose family restaurant Cafe Castro is adjacent to the shelter, recused herself from the votes regarding the Interfaith Community Shelter's lease and the Urban Alchemy contract to run the shelter. Castro said she has "a lot of personal information' regarding why she has personally lost faith in the shelter's leadership but that the special meeting was not the place to share that. 'Angers both sides and fixes nothing' The meeting, which featured hours of public comment during which more than 80 people spoke, was preceded by a protest outside City Hall by supporters of the Interfaith Community Shelter organization. The room was standing-room only by the time the meeting started at 5 p.m. and turned raucous at points, with Mayor Alan Webber calling for a 10-minute break around 7:30 p.m. after some members of the audience called out Councilor Pilar Faulkner for wearing AirPods and chewing gum during public comment. 060325_GC_PetesPlace02rgb.jpg A large crowd gathered for a special City Council meeting called to terminate the Interfaith Community Shelter's contract wave their hands in the air after The New Mexico Raging Grannies played a song in support of the Interfaith Community Shelter on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Faulkner, who is legally blind, said she was using her AirPods to read the notes she was taking on what people were saying and chewing gum to help make her less anxious. She said it was a "very disempowering moment' for people in the room and "for that, I am deeply sorry," adding she was not trying to ignore or dismiss anyone speaking with her actions. Webber also had to ask people repeatedly not to applaud, boo or speak from the audience, with a man at one point yelling at Webber for being on his phone. Public comment was unusually united, with almost all speakers expressing disappointment with the city's proposals. James O'Connell congratulated the city on putting forth a plan that "angers both sides and fixes nothing." 060325_GC_PetesPlace04rgb.jpg A group of supporters of the Interfaith Community Shelter march back to City Hall from the Plaza before a special City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Several people said that while the council was giving people the opportunity to speak, the decision to terminate the interfaith group's lease and contract with Urban Alchemy was "a done deal." Others questioned the wisdom of making sure a big decision when the city will have a new mayor and at least two new city councilors in just seven months, as Webber and Councilors Carol Romero-Wirth and Signe Lindell have all announced they don't intend to run again. During a presentation following public comment, Community Health and Safety Director Henri Hammond-Paul said the city is dealing with a "public health and public safety emergency" regarding homelessness, particularly in the area around the Interfaith Community Shelter, and that the situation has become "untenable." Business owners express skepticism A handful of business owners in the area around the shelter voiced their opinions, most expressing skepticism of the city's plans. Dan Mulcahy, who operates Black Powder Dispensary a few doors down from the Interfaith Community Shelter on Cerrillos Road, said he has dealt with homeless people defecating and using fentanyl on his doorstep and people threatening his customers in the parking lot. "Nobody in this room wants to stop the support given by the Interfaith Community," but the issue has outgrown the location on Cerrillos Road, he said. Naomi Boylan, an employee at Coronado Paint & Decorating on Cerrillos Road, said she was open to the idea of a one-year contract. "There is value in a short-term agreement to make this manageable," she said, adding the shelter was an "incredible" idea when it first started but needs a larger facility that is not on Cerrillos. 060325_GC_PetesPlace05rgb.jpg Cotton Reichelt makes a sign in support of the Interfaith Community Shelter outside of City Hall before a special City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Angie Grady, co-owner of Adobe Interlock on Rufina Street, said she is also unhappy with the shelter but was frustrated with a lack of transparency from the city. "When I looked up this company, I couldn't find anything to brag about, unless you want to brag about lawsuits," she said, referring to Urban Alchemy. Urban Alchemy: 'Frivolous lawsuits' a 'hustle' Louie Hammonds, director of community-based public safety programs for Urban Alchemy, said the organization has faced "frivolous lawsuits that have been unfounded" and described the practice of people filing lawsuits against Urban Alchemy as "a hustle." The nonprofit has faced claims in lawsuits in other states, including allegations of employees dealing drugs in shelter sites and sexually harassing guests and other employees, along with other issues. Hammonds said he was "very struck" by the passion in the room during public comment and said the organization is asking for the chance to prove it can be a good partner to the Santa Fe community. "We believe in accountability," he said. Councilor Jamie Cassutt, whose district includes a stretch of the city along Cerrillos Road, pressed Urban Alchemy on what residents in her district can expect to see once street outreach starts. Chief Operations Officer Bayron Wilson said residents can expect to see a decrease in loitering, car break-ins and drug paraphernalia on the street, which will lead to people feeling more comfortable walking around in their communities. And people will not be able to use illegal drugs on site, he said. "I can guarantee you this, you're going to see a cleaner community," he said. 060325_GC_PetesPlace01rgb.jpg Lelia Rascón, a supporter and volunteer at Interfaith Community Shelter, leads a chant and march with a large group of supporters of the shelter in front of the Santa Fe City Hall building before a special City Council meeting to terminate the Interfaith Community Shelter's contract and approve two contracts with Urban Alchemy on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Ian Clark-Johnson, chief talent and development officer at Urban Alchemy, said the company anticipates hiring about 35 full-time employees and its focus will be on "long-term offenders." Hammond-Paul said the actions being proposed as part of the city's homelessness emergency action plan are separate from a long-term strategy to reduce homelessness, which will require increasing housing capacity. "Any meaningful conversation about reducing homelessness needs to start with affordable housing," he said. He noted city staff will ask the council to approve the creation of a second "microcommunity" of small Pallet shelters next to Fire Station 7 on Richards Avenue at the June 11 council meeting, which he said could house 60 to 70 people in 30 to 40 units. It's unclear if the city has a long-term strategy for increasing affordable or transitional housing units. Lindell asked people in the audience to stay engaged in this issue even if they are frustrated by some of the city's actions. At the end of the day "we all want the same thing," she said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
City of Santa Fe announces plans to terminate lease at Interfaith Community Shelter for homeless services
After a week of speculation about the future of the Interfaith Community Shelter's lease to serve homeless people at a city-owned building commonly known as "Pete's Place," Santa Fe officials announced Friday they will ask city councilors to terminate the deal. "No one will be left without a place to go," city Community Health and Safety Director Henri Hammond-Paul said in a statement Friday, adding it is "not a decision we recommend lightly." The shelter, which opened at the site in 2009, long has created controversy, with business owners and residents in the Siler-Rufina neighborhood expressing frustration with what they describe as increasing drug use and trafficking and other criminal behaviors by people who congregate near the shelter. A news release announcing the city's decision describes the conditions surrounding the shelter as "intolerable," saying police responded to 3,200 calls for service in the area in 2024. The situation has worsened. "If current rates continue, 2025 is projected to result in approximately 4,050 police calls for service, 1,854 proactive police actions, 729 fire department calls, and $1.95 million in fire department response costs," the news release says. If the City Council approves a lease termination at a special meeting Tuesday, the Interfaith Community Shelter's time at the Cerrillos Road building will end July 31. The nonprofit has been operating the facility on a monthly contract with the city since its last multiyear lease expired in October. The city plans to request a one-year emergency contract with Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that hires formerly incarcerated people, to operate the homeless shelter while the city evaluates whether the site at Cerrillos and Harrison roads is an "appropriate" long-term location, according to a news release. A $7.9 million contract for street outreach and public safety services with Urban Alchemy was introduced at Wednesday's City Council meeting and also could get a final vote Tuesday. An agenda for the special meeting was not yet posted on the city's website Friday morning. City Manager Mark Scott wrote in an email Friday the one-year contract for Urban Alchemy to operate the shelter would be a separate deal for $1.5 million that would take effect after the Interfaith Community Shelter's lease ends. The Interfaith Community Shelter's total yearly budget is about $1.6 million, including about $158,000 from the city; the city has reduced that amount to $80,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. The city's news release does not explain why officials believe the homeless shelter would be managed better by an out-of-state contractor than by the local nonprofit. During a recent joint operation with New Mexico State Police, the city news release alleges, surveillance revealed "ongoing illegal activity in and around the shelter." Interfaith board member Wendy Rhema said Friday she "vehemently" disagreed with the city's claim there has been illegal activity inside the shelter, noting it has a video surveillance system and a security guard monitoring the fenced-in premises. "If somebody lights up or even pulls out drugs, they're kicked off the property immediately," she said. City officials did not immediately respond to questions regarding whether they will continue to operate the facility as a low-barrier shelter — meaning they don't require sobriety or background checks — or if they will change the requirements for guests. Rhema said shelter leaders were told in a Friday morning meeting with Scott and Hammond-Paul it would be a low-barrier facility and would have 24/7 admittance, and that Urban Alchemy would use the property's outdoor space as a place for people to congregate. Rhema said she wondered whether people would be allowed to use or sell drugs on city property, as those activities draw people to congregate in the area outside the shelter. Urban Alchemy is active in some cities with the nation's most endemic problems with homelessness, including San Francisco; Oakland, Calif.; Los Angeles; and Portland, Ore. It has attracted criticism in a number of cities where it operates, including a 2024 lawsuit from a former resident of an Urban Alchemy-run site in Sausalito, who alleged staff were dealing drugs and having sex with residents, according to reporting in the San Francisco Standard. In another lawsuit, a San Francisco supervisor was accused of sexually harassing several female staff members. Representatives from Urban Alchemy described both lawsuits as baseless in statements to the press. The city of Santa Fe said in a statement it appreciates the work of the Interfaith Community Shelter, whose leaders said this week they felt "blindsided" by rumors the nonprofit's contract would be ending. "The City is committed to working with Interfaith Community Shelter to help them continue their important work in our community," the city said in a news release. "We hope their board, volunteers, and supporters in the Interfaith Leadership Alliance will come together to identify a new location — one that aligns with their mission and allows them to thrive independently." The shelter for the past year has been working on efforts to find a new site for a new Resource Opportunity Center in a nonresidential area of Santa Fe. How much of its mission the shelter will be able to accomplish without a building is uncertain. The shelter currently has 24 paid staff, all of whom Rhema said likely will be laid off if the lease is terminated, and some 2,000 volunteers. She noted she was given a vague response from city officials about whether Urban Alchemy might hire some of the shelter's current employees. The Interfaith Community Shelter has several other contracts with the city to provide services for the homeless. It serves as the fiscal agent for the Consuelo's Place shelter in a former dorm building at the city-owned midtown campus on St. Michael's Drive, operates a "Showers To Go" service in a mobile hygiene unit, operates a program that houses about 25 long-term shelter guests in a local hotel and serves as the hub for the city's "Code Blue" emergency operations in freezing temperatures. How this work would be affected by the termination of its lease was not immediately clear. This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
City of Santa Fe announces plans to terminate lease at Interfaith Community Shelter for homeless services
After a week of speculation about the future of the Interfaith Community Shelter's lease to serve homeless people at a city-owned building commonly known as "Pete's Place," Santa Fe officials announced Friday they will ask city councilors to terminate the deal. "No one will be left without a place to go," city Community Health and Safety Director Henri Hammond-Paul said in a statement Friday, adding it is "not a decision we recommend lightly." The shelter, which opened at the site in 2009, long has created controversy, with business owners and residents in the Siler-Rufina neighborhood expressing frustration with what they describe as increasing drug use and trafficking and other criminal behaviors by people who congregate near the shelter. A news release announcing the city's decision describes the conditions surrounding the shelter as "intolerable," saying police responded to 3,200 calls for service in the area in 2024. The situation has worsened. "If current rates continue, 2025 is projected to result in approximately 4,050 police calls for service, 1,854 proactive police actions, 729 fire department calls, and $1.95 million in fire department response costs," the news release says. If the City Council approves a lease termination at a special meeting Tuesday, the Interfaith Community Shelter's time at the Cerrillos Road building will end July 31. The nonprofit has been operating the facility on a monthly contract with the city since its last multiyear lease expired in October. The city plans to request a one-year emergency contract with Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that hires formerly incarcerated people, to operate the homeless shelter while the city evaluates whether the site at Cerrillos and Harrison roads is an "appropriate" long-term location, according to a news release. A $7.9 million contract for street outreach and public safety services with Urban Alchemy was introduced at Wednesday's City Council meeting and also could get a final vote Tuesday. An agenda for the special meeting was not yet posted on the city's website Friday morning. City Manager Mark Scott wrote in an email Friday the one-year contract for Urban Alchemy to operate the shelter would be a separate deal for $1.5 million that would take effect after the Interfaith Community Shelter's lease ends. The Interfaith Community Shelter's total yearly budget is about $1.6 million, including about $158,000 from the city; the city has reduced that amount to $80,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. The city's news release does not explain why officials believe the homeless shelter would be managed better by an out-of-state contractor than by the local nonprofit. During a recent joint operation with New Mexico State Police, the city news release alleges, surveillance revealed "ongoing illegal activity in and around the shelter." Interfaith board member Wendy Rhema said Friday she "vehemently" disagreed with the city's claim there has been illegal activity inside the shelter, noting it has a video surveillance system and a security guard monitoring the fenced-in premises. "If somebody lights up or even pulls out drugs, they're kicked off the property immediately," she said. City officials did not immediately respond to questions regarding whether they will continue to operate the facility as a low-barrier shelter — meaning they don't require sobriety or background checks — or if they will change the requirements for guests. Rhema said shelter leaders were told in a Friday morning meeting with Scott and Hammond-Paul it would be a low-barrier facility and would have 24/7 admittance, and that Urban Alchemy would use the property's outdoor space as a place for people to congregate. Rhema said she wondered whether people would be allowed to use or sell drugs on city property, as those activities draw people to congregate in the area outside the shelter. Urban Alchemy is active in some cities with the nation's most endemic problems with homelessness, including San Francisco; Oakland, Calif.; Los Angeles; and Portland, Ore. It has attracted criticism in a number of cities where it operates, including a 2024 lawsuit from a former resident of an Urban Alchemy-run site in Sausalito, who alleged staff were dealing drugs and having sex with residents, according to reporting in the San Francisco Standard. In another lawsuit, a San Francisco supervisor was accused of sexually harassing several female staff members. Representatives from Urban Alchemy described both lawsuits as baseless in statements to the press. The city of Santa Fe said in a statement it appreciates the work of the Interfaith Community Shelter, whose leaders said this week they felt "blindsided" by rumors the nonprofit's contract would be ending. "The City is committed to working with Interfaith Community Shelter to help them continue their important work in our community," the city said in a news release. "We hope their board, volunteers, and supporters in the Interfaith Leadership Alliance will come together to identify a new location — one that aligns with their mission and allows them to thrive independently." The shelter for the past year has been working on efforts to find a new site for a new Resource Opportunity Center in a nonresidential area of Santa Fe. How much of its mission the shelter will be able to accomplish without a building is uncertain. The shelter currently has 24 paid staff, all of whom Rhema said likely will be laid off if the lease is terminated, and some 2,000 volunteers. She noted she was given a vague response from city officials about whether Urban Alchemy might hire some of the shelter's current employees. The Interfaith Community Shelter has several other contracts with the city to provide services for the homeless. It serves as the fiscal agent for the Consuelo's Place shelter in a former dorm building at the city-owned midtown campus on St. Michael's Drive, operates a "Showers To Go" service in a mobile hygiene unit, operates a program that houses about 25 long-term shelter guests in a local hotel and serves as the hub for the city's "Code Blue" emergency operations in freezing temperatures. How this work would be affected by the termination of its lease was not immediately clear. This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
