1986: St. Elizabeth Shelter first opened in December of 1986 in response to a community-wide interfaith commitment to address the growing needs of homeless people in Santa Fe. Inspired by the work of St. Elizabeth Seton, the Sisters of Charity were fundamental in the early days of the shelter, in both planning and operations. The first shelter was located in a rented building on Don Gaspar Avenue.
1988: St. Elizabeth purchased the old United Way Building at 804 Alarid St. and converted it into a facility to feed and shelter the homeless. This is the site of the Main Emergency Shelter where to this day two meals a day are served and up to 32 homeless individuals stay on any given day.
1991: To address an increase in requests for shelter for homeless families, four satellite apartments were rented. This was the start of our Family Program.
1993: St. Elizabeth purchased a nine-unit apartment building at 1905 Siringo Road as transitional housing for families. We share the building with Youth Shelters and Family Services, an agency which provides transitional living for homeless youth.
1994: We acquired six houses on Jemez Road from the City of Santa Fe on lease for a nominal fee of $1.00 per year. The houses were on a right of way awaiting demolition for a new highway project. These houses provided six months of housing to homeless families through the Fall of 2001.
With a grant from the Marshall L and Perrine D. McCune Charitable Foundation, the Main Shelter was remodeled creating a sleeping room for families with children for short term (up to one month) lodging. Prior to the remodeling, families were divided between the men’s and women’s dormitories.
1996: With the help of Life Link and the City of Santa Fe, the Emergency Winter Shelter was opened for the first season. This program offered a warm, safe place to sleep for 20-25 men from mid-December to the end of February.
1997: Thanks to the funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City of Santa Fe, The Federal Loan Bank of Dallas, and the McCune Foundation, the construction of eight new transitional housing apartments for homeless families began. Arroyo Sonrisa Transitional Apartments were completed in 1997.
1998: St. Elizabeth Shelter purchased an existing building on Cerrillos Road with 28 efficiency apartments to be used as transitional housing for homeless individuals and couples. The first guests moved into the usable apartments in February, 1998 with a complete rehabilitation of the building completed that summer. This site is home to the Casa Cerrillos Transitional Living Program for individuals.
2002: Economic developments following the September 11th tragedy posed unique challenges on our programs and staff members as there had been a significant drop in private giving. As our funding fell, so did the economic outlook for those individuals already or on the edge of poverty. However, all of our programs operated at almost or more than 100% capacity due in large part to the efforts of our enormously dedicated staff members, interns and volunteers.
2005: St. Elizabeth Shelter implemented our Resource Center. Every Monday and Friday, homeless individuals are welcome to take advantage of lunch service, showers, laundry services, free clothing and food boxes, and other services.
2006: St. Elizabeth shelter implemented our Homeless Court, wherein individuals who have outstanding warrants have the opportunity to contest them in court at the Emergency Shelter location with assistance from attorneys and case managers.
2007: St. Elizabeth Shelter implemented the Companion Animal Assistance Program in which clients may qualify for financial assistance for necessary services for their pets, such as vaccinations, spaying and neutering and leashes.

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