Community of Hope agencies warn of demand as SNAP and Medicaid cuts loom; Casa de Peregrinos asks city for $100,000

Leaders from the Community of Hope campus told the Las Cruces City Council work session on Monday that rising need and looming federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid are straining the campus’s shelters, food programs and health services, and Casa de Peregrinos asked the council to add $100,000 to its city funding this fiscal year.

The Community of Hope campus is a city-owned, 17-acre site housing Mesilla Valley Community of Hope (the master lessee) and sublessees including Casa de Peregrinos, Jardine de los Niños, Amador Health Center and El Caldito Soup Kitchen. Natalie Green, who introduced the presentations, said the city is developing a new master lease that will require services provided by the agencies to match or exceed a rent value and incorporate master-plan compliance and maintenance budgeting.

Why it matters: Campus agencies described high day-to-day demand for basic services — shelter, food and health care — and warned federal funding changes would increase reliance on local and philanthropic support. Casa de Peregrinos, which said it served 28,000 unique individuals in 2025, formally requested $100,000 in additional city funding to maintain operations.

Mesilla Valley Community of Hope deputy director Carrie Elapodaca summarized the campus role and service volume. "Since 1998, Community of Hope has provided services for people in need of shelter, case management, income support," she said. Elapodaca reported the…