Family Advocacy Center can be blueprint for Gateway
As Albuquerque inches forward with a proposed Gateway Center for the homeless, it might be helpful for city leaders to emulate a multi-faceted resource center already in place aimed at a different clientele: The Albuquerque Family Advocacy Center.
The Family Advocacy Center brings resources together to help victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in one building. Multiple agencies such as the Domestic Violence Resource Center, New Mexico Legal Aid, Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico, Albuquerque Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and Para Los Niños coexist in the building on Silver SW. The Albuquerque Police Department also has an office in the building, filling out the array of services for clients.
It’s no easy feat to have multiple organizations work side by side, day-in and day-out — they have their own priorities and rules, and are often competing for government and/or nonprofit dollars. But somehow FAC has made this work for 15 years.
An assault victim can go there for the exam and collection of evidence and also speak with a police investigator. SANE performs medical/forensic evaluations and provides support for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Para Los Niños, part of the University of New Mexico Health System, provides evaluation, treatment and follow-up care for children and adolescents. Showers are available, as well as clean clothing that includes business attire. Survivors can pick up food and toiletries from the pantry. Advocates from the Domestic Violence
Resource Center can help victims file restraining orders, while Legal Aid workers can help victims with legal matters. There are offices for the various agencies offering services, along with exam rooms, waiting rooms, supply rooms, play rooms and rooms set aside for counseling and interviewing.
“We try to anticipate every need a victim might have,” Bev McMillan, who manages the FAC, told the Journal. “We can also help with temporary housing.”
The center accepts walk-ins Monday through Friday during normal business hours; appointments and afterhours help are available as well.
Having an array of services available under one roof is similar to the city’s goal of providing wraparound services at a one-stop shop for the homeless at the former Lovelace hospital at 5400 Gibson SE.
The city’s purchase of the 572,000-square-foot building for $15 million was the largest investment in homelessness in the city’s history, and it needs to be followed up with a services hub capable of tackling the homeless crisis in meaningful ways beyond offering emergency overnight shelter.
The current plan awaiting zoning approval is to begin sheltering up to 100 individuals and 25 families by this winter. FAC is a blueprint for coordination and cooperation — one city leaders could learn from while piecing together the Gateway Center services hub and operations plan. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when one is already working well in Albuquerque.