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Committee approves $320,000 contract with Interfaith Community Shelter to fund moteling, mobile hygiene and navigation services
Summary
The finance committee approved a $320,000 service agreement with Interfaith Community Shelter Group Inc. to continue moteling, mobile hygiene and navigation services through June 30, 2029, and to participate in the city's Connect referral network.
The Santa Fe Finance Committee on June 23 approved a service agreement with Interfaith Community Shelter Group Inc. worth $320,000 (including NMGRT) to fund overnight shelter, life‑stabilizing services and navigation through June 30, 2029.
Krista Hernandez, program manager for the city’s Connect network, framed the contract as part of a broader strategy to coordinate services across 19 community providers funded by the city. Hernandez said the city uses small appropriations to “incentivize them to join our connect connect network and require them to be part of this connect network, which makes referrals so that if someone does show up to the food depot to get food, they are also gonna then be connected and made a referral to, whether it's shelter services or legal aid services.”
Under the new contract, Interfaith is required to provide both navigation and safety‑net services. Hernandez said those performance metrics include serving 10 unduplicated individuals through navigation and 400 safety‑net service encounters in the contract period. She also described Interfaith’s ongoing “moteling” program, which provides transitional hotel‑based placements for roughly 25 individuals, and confirmed Interfaith runs a mobile hygiene unit several days per week.
Councilor Lee Garcia, who pulled the item for questions, expressed concerns about accountability and measurement. “I don't wanna just say, here's some money. Use it,” Garcia said, asking for clarity on metrics and evidence that the funding moves the needle on homelessness and stabilization.
City staff said Interfaith will continue to provide moteling and mobile hygiene services but will no longer operate the emergency shelter at 2801 Cerios after July 31. The agreement also requires mid‑year and end‑of‑year reporting with counts, service types and demographic details and specifies performance targets attached to the contract.
On a roll call, the committee approved the contract with unanimous recorded votes from members present. Staff said they can share current grantee mid‑year reports to show contract performance and metrics going forward.
