Proposed Pallet shelter project has lifted church -- and may do same for homeless in Santa Fe

Dec. 11—A year ago, Christ Lutheran Church was considering closing its doors.

On Wednesday, it will be seeking approval from the Santa Fe City Council to host the city's first-ever safe outdoor space for homeless people.

"When I tell you this is Holy Spirit-led, it truly, truly is," Pastor Joene Herr said at a community meeting last week.

The City Council approved a resolution establishing the pilot program in April and designated $1 million in federal pandemic relief aid to implement it. The city purchased 25 Pallet shelters for the pilot earlier this year and opened an application for host sites and service providers over the summer. The pilot is part of the city's Built for Zero model of addressing homelessness.

Applications for host sites were open only to faith-based communities, which will not need to seek zoning approval from the city before setting up the shelters. Christ Lutheran, which has space for a 10-shelter village, was the sole site selected by the city.

City officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether the church was the only applicant or if there is another reason the pilot is smaller than anticipated.

Part of Christ Lutheran's mission statement, recited at the end of each service, is "ministering to the vulnerable and those on the edge."

"Not knowing where you're going to sleep at night is about as vulnerable as you can get," Herr said.

Herr had recently returned from a several-month sabbatical when she and a congregant went to the Safe Outdoor Space Community Forum last December, an open house focused on solutions to homelessness. Consulting firm Project Moxie had a Pallet shelter set up at the event, and Herr said she immediately thought the church would be the perfect place to host the shelters.

She asked her congregation if it would be interested in pursuing the idea at a special meeting. The response: an enthusiastic yes.

Founded in 1963, Christ Lutheran, 1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road, has just over 40 members, most north of age 70, Herr said. The meeting focused on discussing options for the church's future, including closing because of how small it had become. Ultimately, the congregation decided it still had more it needed to do, and Herr — who had been considering early retirement — committed to staying as pastor for three more years.

Since then, Herr, project liaison Allyson Faehl and other congregants have been working to make the safe outdoor space a reality, including a road trip with several members of the Lived Experience Advisory Board to a Pallet shelter community hosted by a church in Aurora, Colo.

The advisory board is a group of Santa Feans who are currently or have previously been homeless. Chairman Nechay Gustobov participated in the trip to Colorado and said he was pleased with what he saw. He said he believes having a home, a word he prefers to shelter, will allow people experiencing homeless to feel safe and start pursuing ways to turn their lives around.

"They will feel like they have a sense of normalcy, no matter how temporary," he said.

Herr said the project has energized the congregation, which Sunday celebrated its 60th anniversary with a 1960s-themed party.

"People were tired," she said. "I really think being able to do something that is going to have a positive impact has brought in new life."

If approved by the City Council, the church plans to start construction on the village as soon as possible and have people move in at some point next year.

The congregation's goal is to keep the safe outdoor space running for as long as it is needed, Herr said. In the coming year, the church plans to establish a 501(c)3 nonprofit for the safe outdoor space and its weekly food pantry so it can apply for grants besides those available to faith communities.

Santa Feans who work with homeless people say the safe outdoor space would be a welcome addition to the city's available resources.

"The more options to help people get connected to services, the better off our whole community is," said Korina Lopez, executive director of Pete's Place.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," added Ed Archuleta, executive director of St. Elizabeth Shelter. "I hope this is a success and they start more around town."

"Having a place to be able to get away from the trauma of the streets and lock up their personal belongings is really crucial" to helping homeless people succeed, said Janelle Bohannon, an outreach services program manager at The Life Link.

The Life Link will provide the day-to-day staffing and case management services at the safe outdoor space. Bohannon said the organization was inspired to become involved by the emergency shelter hotel program it ran during the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the course of nine months, Bohannon said, 29 people who participated into the program moved into some form of permanent shelter. Staying in the hotel was contingent on receiving case management services from The Life Link, Bohannon said, which will be the case at the safe outdoor space as well.

There will be two case managers on site Monday through Friday to help connect residents to a range of services and work toward the long-term goal of getting into permanent housing, she said.

"It's going to be a lot of work, but we're prepared," she said.

Project Moxie will be providing technical assistance for the pilot program, funded by the Anchorum Health Foundation.

"These sites are incredibly successful," said Project Moxie Vice President Kathleen Van Voorhis.

Project Moxie has helped established Pallet shelters across the nation, and Van Voorhis said people who stay at the shelters transition into permanent housing at high rates. The company will work with the providers in Santa Fe to ensure they are following best practices for safe outdoor spaces, which include providing wraparound community support services.

It also will help with community outreach, she said. The church is in the process of notifying the community groups who use its building during the week and neighboring residents about the pilot and will be required to craft a good neighbor agreement.

On Wednesday, the city will be asking City Council to approve an agreement with Christ Lutheran for $388,000 for the preparation and construction of the safe outdoor space and $440,000 for support services and 24-hour supervision from The Life Link through the end of 2024.

Herr said that was more than she initially expected it to cost but believes the program will end up saving the city money if it is successful in getting people into housing. A 2022 report estimated the city spends $14 million a year in total addressing homelessness.

The church has spent about $3,500 of its own money on the architectural design for the safe outdoor space, which came from a gift in memory of a congregant who died last year.

Herr said she hopes other organizations in town will be inspired by Christ Lutheran to want to become host sites as well. She joked her congregation is "the little mouse that roared."

"We're small, we're old — but if we can do it, anyone can do it," she said.