Casa Familia seeks solutions to homelessness
11/26/2009
For the next five months, St. Elizabeth Shelter will be providing homeless children and their families food and a place to sleep.
Casa Familia Urgent Transition Center is St. Elizabeth's newest winter project and is the only shelter specifically for women and children in Northern New Mexico, said Deborah Tang, executive director for St. Elizabeth.
With a $46,000 grant from The Frost Foundation, Casa Familia will be open at least until March 31, 2010, when the lease and the funds expire, Tang said. St. Elizabeth is leasing the Casa Familia building, at 1604 Berry St., with an option to buy it.
"We need the community's help," Tang said. "It's $315,000 to purchase it." If St. Elizabeth can raise the money, the shelter would be open year-round.
The shelter will be open seven nights a week, from 3:30 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next morning, when families have to leave the building. Families who have sick children can stay with a partnering agency throughout the day.
Adelante, the Santa Fe Public Schools' program that identifies homeless students, estimates homeless families comprise about 800 people in the city.
Funds from The Frost Foundation have facilitated the operation of a winter overflow shelter for the past 13 years, said Jim Podesta, the shelter's development director.
Opening Casa Familia does not only mean helping more children and their families, it also means St. Elizabeth will be able to increase beds available for men from 22 to 30. St. Elizabeth had one family room, which meant many families had to be turned away when it was occupied, Tang said. At Casa Familia, there are 10 private family rooms, along with two large dormitory rooms.
Since Casa Familia's grand opening Nov. 5, more than 200 bed nights have been provided to at least 25 people, Podesta said.
The Interfaith Shelter in the old Pete's Pets on Cerrillos Road also has emergency accommodations for women and children.
In 2008, St. Elizabeth served a total of 3,001 people. As of last month, the number had already surpassed 2,900; by the end of the calendar year, St. Elizabeth will have served more than 3,000; the shelter expects the final total will be an all-time record, Podesta said.
"It's the economy," Podesta said. "We've seen people who've worked all their lives and run out of their savings quick, so they end up here."
For the winter months, Casa Familia will not put a limit on the number of days families can stay. The ultimate goal though, is to move families into stable housing as soon as possible, Tang said. A solution to homelessness might be more affordable housing — housing that a minimum-wage or part-time employee can pay — within Santa Fe, Tang said.
"People have stereotypes of who these homeless are ... but people who come into our shelter, 46 percent of them move into permanent housing," Tang said.
Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.
CASA FAMILIA NEEDS YOUR HELP
St. Elizabeth Shelter's Casa Familia Urgent Transition Center is in need of the following:
• Cash donations
• Towels
• Wash cloths
• Volunteers who can prepare meals to feed 20 to 30 people
To find out more, call 505-819-7334