New transitional housing facility a 'stepping stone' and second chance for homeless families

When Katrina Weaver packed her bags and headed home to New Mexico, she not only became a single mother — she also became homeless.

For four months, Weaver and her children, 8 and 14, had nowhere to rest their heads.

But that changed when Weaver was approved for transitional housing in a renovated hotel off the freeway.

“Starting from nothing, it was hard,” Weaver said. “But during that time, they helped me set goals.”

The housing facility that took Weaver and her family in is called Ponderosa Place. It was opened less than two months ago by Bernalillo County, although some form of the program has existed since the pandemic.

Ponderosa Place is now the largest transitional housing facility for families in Albuquerque, coming just ahead of the city's Gateway Family facility in terms of capacity.

Ponderosa Place is a tan, unassuming building that might go unnoticed if not for the 100-foot tall sign that announces its presence to the thousands of cars that whiz by on Interstate 40 each day.

That sign, which once advertised the Comfort Inn, is now empty, but the building beneath is bustling. Dozens of once homeless families stay in the hotel’s old rooms, where they’re trying to put the pieces of their lives back together.

“If I'm doing my job right, I'm finding out what broke first and then trying to fix that,” said Elena Lucero, a care worker who helps the families meet their goals.

For Weaver, what broke first was her relationship with her children’s father back in Virginia. Coming back to New Mexico anew, it was difficult to restart her life, especially with a past eviction on her rental history and high-income restrictions barring her from applying.

For other families, Lucero said, what broke may have been a lost job, a serious injury, an addiction or any number of safety nets.

Ponderosa Place is open to any homeless family that consists of at least one adult and one child, said Louisa Garcia, the program’s manager. Another requirement is sobriety, she said, although staff will refer anyone who doesn’t qualify to substance use treatment.

Building back starts with basics, Garcia said, a safe space to sleep, breakfast every morning and re-enrolling students in school. Then, families begin to work on goals with care managers, like securing housing, getting a job, or getting crucial documentation they may have lost like a driver’s license, Social Security card or birth certificate.

Staff also work daily to teach life skills and prepare families to be back out on their own.

But it’s not all serious, staff also host game nights for the kids and Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Kids run through the halls and huddle together tearfully to say goodbye when their 90-days are up, Lucero said.

For their parents, a big part of the work is building back confidence, Lucero said.

“They're so used to hearing no, that a yes is harder for them,” Lucero said. “Because they hear no every day. ‘No, you can't have housing.’ ‘No, you can't go here.’ ‘No, you can't have this job.’ ‘No, you're not educated enough,' or 'you are too educated.’”

A lump sum of $7 million dollars from the Legislature helped the county start turning “no” into “yes.” Those funds came from a pot of more than $110 million that the state Legislature allocated this year to create solutions for housing and homelessness across New Mexico.

With the $7 million, the county bought the old Comfort Inn in mid-October and was able to move people in by the end of the month.

Now, Ponderosa Place has 74 residents, although it could house up to 76 families or 300 people.

For Weaver, her 90-days were a “stepping stone” which she says everybody needs.

She has since graduated from the program and her family now lives in an apartment. For her part, Weaver is putting all her spare energy into a nonprofit to help connect people to resources they need.

She calls it the Ripple Effect Foundation.

“It can be rocky, but just be the stepping stone,” Weaver said. “Be the stone and hopefully that just ripples out through the rest of the community.”

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com or on Twitter @G_Barkhurst.