Bernalillo County’s Tiny Home Village hits a stride

Progress didn’t come easy, but Bernalillo County officials say the Tiny Home Village withstood a rocky start to emerge as a project with promise in an area of Albuquerque that desperately needs it. Now, three years in, the county is fielding questions from Albuquerque officials who are in the early stages of a similar undertaking with its planned pallet home campus.

The transitional housing program, for those experiencing homelessness or who are precariously housed, welcomed its first residents (18 and older) in 2021, but after almost a year in operation most of its 30 homes sat empty at a 17% to 27% occupancy rate. 

Now, as of April 29, the village reports it has 27 residents — a 90% occupancy rate.

“We almost hit 100%, but we had an individual that was continuing to use fentanyl,” Pam Acosta, the Behavioral Health Initiatives senior manager who oversees the project, said. “One resident checked himself out and refused to come back. Another self- discharged because he reconciled with his family and moved back in with them.”

After mattresses are replaced, she said her staff will vet the village’s next residents from a randomized waiting list of hundreds.

Acosta said the resident using fentanyl had refused to make an effort to get sober at the county’s CARE Campus detox facility, a requirement. A previous prerequisite that residents be 30-days sober before admission was determined to be too strict and affected the occupancy rate as many experience homelessness and alcohol and drug addictions. Another initial requirement of no severe behavioral or mental health issues was also dropped, as long as residents show they are able to live independently, and agree to see a case manager, prepare meals, do chores and participate in mental health and substance abuse counseling.

“As part of their goals we say: ‘Look, you have to start working towards this if you want to be successful and live independently. We will support you,’” Acosta said.

Residents can stay for 18-to-24 months, but Acosta said the average length of stay is closer to 4-to-6 months. 

“We really try to have all of their goals and set them up so that by 18 months they should be ready to go,” she said. “Anything beyond 24 months is no longer transitional living.”

Costs, staff, location

The county’s goal to help people break the cycle of homelessness and achieve long term housing and addiction recovery doesn’t come cheaply. The Tiny Home Village cost $5 million to build and has annual operating costs near $1.24 million — both price tags have attracted a fair share of criticism.

But past staffing problems have been shored up, Acosta said, even as the state grapples with a chronic shortage of social workers.

“When I first came on we had really low staffing, so the manager at the time was really hesitant to bring villagers in because we wanted to bring them in safely,” she said. “We are now fully staffed, which is fantastic.”

Acosta said the village has six social services technicians (an entry-level position), two program coordinators and a new village manager, along with contract positions like security. She said some villagers have come on as mentors and certified peer support workers, too.

Finding a location for the village faced a “not-in-my-backyard” backlash initially, but in the end, the site at 101 Texas St. NE was not that controversial. The village sits on a formerly blighted 1-acre lot next to the Albuquerque Indian Center. It is near services, public transportation, the CARE Campus, and the UNM Southeast Heights Clinic.

In fact, the village stands out as a neighborhood amenity within an International District and East Central Avenue corridor that faces a multiplicity of issues: crime, shuttered businesses (including the high-profile closure of the Fair ‘N’ Square grocery store in 2016), little affordable housing, and some of the starkest examples of chronic homelessness, trauma, health issues, drug addiction and overdose, and mental and behavioral health struggles.

“When you go see [the village], to me, it is aesthetically pleasing,” said Estevan Vásquez, a Behavioral Health Initiative communications coordinator. “There’s the art when you come in — an artist who did a mural along the inside — there’s colors and angles and shapes. It is an attractive little enclave that’s just right.”

Acosta said her team is approached by people who don’t realize the village is a transitional living program and ask if they can rent the homes.

Increased interest

Acosta said there are no other Tiny Home Villages in the state, but that officials in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties have contacted her for ideas to get started.

“[They are] reaching out to us because they want to replicate what we do,” Acosta said. “They come down for tours. We’re very transparent about what our weaknesses have been and what we’ve learned.”

Acosta said Albuquerque officials have also toured the village to get feedback on its recently announced 50-pallet home campus in Northeast Albuquerque at a former MVD site.

While pallet homes are typically half the size, and are made to be easily collapsible and transportable with beds that fold down from the wall, some become permanent sites similar to a Tiny Home Village with sidewalks and golf carts used to transport residents.

“It would be really cool to be able to expand and put more tiny homes and expansion efforts in Bernalillo County,” Acosta said.