Santa Fe presents micro‑community pilot results and plans to expand transitional housing options

City of Santa Fe officials on the evening of the community dialogue presented data showing a persistent shortfall in shelter capacity and promoted micro communities—small, noncongregate transitional housing—as a proven way to move people off the streets.

The city’s director of community health and safety, Henry Hemmepault, said Santa Fe’s by‑name list includes about 400 people and the city has roughly 280 shelter beds, leaving “about a deficit of a 120 beds.” Hemmepault said the city’s October 2024 Homelessness Action Plan organizes responses into six areas, including noncongregate shelter, outreach, day services and better data and coordination. “Put very simply, micro communities work,” he said.

The nut graf: City staff and providers described one pilot micro community, Arroyo Chamizo, and presented data the city says show strong short‑term housing outcomes, while also outlining new land‑use standards, increased homelessness staffing and neighborhood engagement measures intended to address community concerns.

Officials and service providers gave details about the pilot and next steps. Lifelink, which operates the Arroyo Chamizo site, described the site’s programmatic features: individualized crisis and housing plans on entry, two meals per weekday, weekly room checks, on‑site navigators and 24/7 security. Janelle Bohannon, director at Lifelink, said, “We provide meals 2 times a day, lunch and dinner.” Raquel Baca Thompson, the site liaison for Christ Lutheran Church and Lifelink, noted services for residents and their pets: “So, of course, they're able to bring their 4 legged friends along with them.”

Hemmepault cited pilot outcomes and other data to frame the need: the city’s school system reported 741 students experiencing homelessness in 2024, a 7% increase from 2023, and Lifelink’s pilot reported that after one year 72% of residents at the 10‑unit pilot (34 total residents at the time) had either moved into permanent housing or held a voucher. Lifelink’s internal client data for its micro community work showed 38 people served to date: 10 moved into housing, 1 had a voucher and several were on waitlists for permanent supportive housing. Bohannon described program measures for clinical and functional progress: “24 percent of our longer term clients have seen an improvement in their PCL‑5 scores,” and about 27 percent showed improvement on an activities‑of‑daily‑living assessment.

Speakers also described policy and operational guardrails the city is proposing. Hemmepault said the city is developing land‑use policy language in the municipal code that will set design standards, maximum occupancy, ADA requirements, permit conditions and a requirement for 24/7 on‑site management. He also said the city will increase homelessness staff from one full‑time position to four in fiscal year 2026 to support implementation. Hemmepault noted a community‑based public safety program operated by Urban Alchemy was scheduled to soft‑launch July 14 (date provided by presenter) to support outreach and safety work.

National context and design options were part of the presentation. Roseanne Haggerty, president and CEO of Community Solutions, described national experience converting unused buildings and creating purpose‑built sites and said transitional, well‑managed private units with on‑site services accelerate moves into permanent housing. “This is a solvable problem,” Haggerty said, adding that cities that pair transitional options with services have reduced street homelessness significantly.

City staff emphasized neighborhood engagement. Hemmepault described planned “good neighbor agreements” negotiated among providers, the city and neighbors to set expectations and address complaints, and said public input from the evening’s table discussions would be recorded, summarized and published. Lifelink said it holds monthly community Zoom meetings to update neighbors and that its Arroyo Chamizo site offers supportive employment opportunities and on‑site services that include referrals to recovery and medical care.

No formal votes or binding policy adoptions took place during the presentation portion of the event. The session transitioned to facilitated table discussions for public input after the presentations.

Ending: City staff said they will publish notes from the table discussions and continue neighborhood outreach as the city finalizes land‑use rules and expands staffing; no timetable for final ordinance or permit language was specified during the meeting.