From homelessness to hope: One mother’s journey through Albuquerque’s Gateway Family

When Gabrielle, a Gateway Family resident, called 311 for help, she was homeless and had spent a decade battling addiction that cost her custody of her children. Nearly two years later, she is sober, has full custody of her one-year-old, visits her older children regularly and is preparing to move from Gateway Family into her own apartment.

Gabrielle’s story highlights Albuquerque’s effort to address family homelessness through Gateway Family, a former hotel operated by Youth Development Inc. (YDI) in partnership with the city’s Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) Department.

“People do have a fighting chance. There is help out there,” Gabrielle said. “I’d love to be able to have people realize, you don’t have to be scared, you know, there’s stuff out there that you know is for everybody and I’m doing this not only for myself, but my kids. They depend on me.”

The shelter provides housing, case management and child support, helping 279 families in fiscal year 2025 connect with early childhood programs, school transportation and stable housing.

Mayor Tim Keller said programs like this did not exist in the city just a few years ago.

“Just about six years ago, there were zero people that the city was actually helping, zero off the street, 24/7, with help and now we know, in aggregate, there’s roughly about 1,000 [people] in different forms,” Keller said during a recent visit to the facility. “Our city has needed this Gateway system since we were a modern city… most cities created it; we just never did.”

Keller said families need specialized shelters and transportation for their children, and the city didn’t provide these services until about three years ago.

Gabrielle’s Journey

Gabrielle’s path to Gateway Family began at 17, when she turned to drugs while growing up in an unstable household and caring for her younger siblings from age seven. She said she met “the wrong people at the wrong time.”

The addiction cost her custody of her children and left her homeless, walking Central Avenue. Unlike many people struggling with addiction who end up in the criminal justice system, Gabrielle sought help voluntarily.

She called 311 to ask about resources. “I called 311, and I was like, ‘Are there any resources that you can help me with?’ And that’s how I did it, you know, it was amazing. It was a blessing,” she said. “All these different wonderful places, programs out here in Albuquerque, it’s been a blessing.”

“I was homeless, I had an addiction and actually lost my son to [Children, Youth and Families Department] CYFD, and I had found support through ACS,” she said. “I was like, ‘I need help, I don’t know where to go, who to talk to.’”

ACS connected her to rehabilitation services, she said. “They referred me, directed me. I put myself in a rehab. I got out of rehab, got my son, and I found shelter, and it took me a minute to get here, referral-based, but I waited and I didn’t give up. It was a struggle, because I am doing it by myself.”

The city’s information line connected her to ACS, which guided her to rehab. Her journey wasn’t linear. She completed rehab, regained custody of one of her children, found temporary shelter, and eventually entered Gateway Family through the referral system.

Now nearly two years clean from alcohol and almost a year off other drugs, Gabrielle said she felt a turning point when she arrived at the family shelter. “When I got my son back and I came here, I had a relief, you know, like the fight is over,” she said.

Her recovery is still a daily commitment. She goes to therapy groups, takes medication and works with both a sponsor and a peer support partner. She rides city buses to appointments and checks in weekly with her case manager about new opportunities.

She has also started studying case management, hoping to guide others through the system that helped her. Her advice to people struggling with addiction is simple:

“You have to want it. If you’re not willing to fight for it, you’re not going to get nowhere,” she said.

Gabrielle said losing family to addiction taught her that recovery often means building new relationships. “It’s the family you create that’s beautiful.”

For her, that family now includes the children at Gateway Family who run up calling her “Miss Gabby,” her case manager and the support network she’s built through recovery programs.

Her story shows how Gateway Family serves as more than a place to sleep.

The Family Gateway — A Holistic Support System

Gateway Family operates differently from other homeless shelters, Keller said, because it addresses the full range of needs for families with children, not just providing a place to sleep.

The facility, housed in a former hotel at an undisclosed location to protect residents’ privacy, now shelters about 50 families through YDI, city spokesperson Connor Woods said.

The nonprofit, which has served Albuquerque since 1971, plans to expand to 75 families this year as renovations add 10 new rooms. Another 20 rooms are getting new flooring for families.

Families usually stay about 90 days, though the program is flexible and allows longer stays based on need, city officials said. The actual average in fiscal year 2025 was 88 days, according to Woods.

“The family gateway quietly takes care of whole families,” Keller said.

Gateway Family is part of a coordinated city system. Families can get in through several routes: calling 311, referrals from ACS officers, partner agencies, or the online gateway website. ACS also provides outreach and transportation to connect people with services.

Keller said the program helps fill gaps in the system. “One gap is the outreach and the transportation. But then the other gap is, well, where does ACS take people?” he said.

For families like Gabrielle’s, Gateway Family coordinates housing, case management, child services, health and recovery support and employment assistance all at once.

Every day looks different. While the kids are at school or city community center programs, parents meet with case managers to look for jobs and fill out housing applications. YDI also coordinates rides through Albuquerque Public Schools’ (APS) McKinney-Vento program, which provides educational support for homeless students.

“There are connections here for early childhood. There are connections with APS and getting students back and forth, and even our own city community centers,” Keller said. “But while the kids are at school or in our community centers, we’re also doing what we can to help the parents also try and get stable housing and employment.”

Since taking over operations, YDI has gone beyond basic shelter services. Case manager Tatum Yazzie said Gateway Family residents now have access to the organization’s full range of programs, including behavioral health services, Head Start and early childhood programs. Parents can get therapy and addiction recovery support while kids join enrichment activities.

The facility is also being upgraded to better serve children of all ages. “We started adding the art room, the youth room. We’re going to add a teen room, and we’re also going to be setting up a playground for the kids outside,” Yazzie said.

Yazzie said the approach recognizes that family homelessness isn’t just about housing. It addresses multiple challenges at once, from helping parents find stable jobs and homes to supporting children’s education and emotional well-being.

Systemic Challenges and Albuquerque’s Evolving Response

Gabrielle’s story shows what success can look like, but it also points to the stubborn challenges of family homelessness. Yazzie said families at Gateway Family face multiple barriers that can slow their transition to permanent housing.

She pointed to issues like limited transportation vouchers and a shortage of housing programs.

“That’s really where we’re at right now with the struggles that we’re having with these families,” Yazzie said. “There’s not enough housing opportunities, so we’re kind of at a standstill at the moment. Once other programs get more vouchers, then we’re able to get more families out and get new families in. But we do have a long wait list. The housing portion is the biggest struggle that we’re having.”

The scope of demand is evident in Gateway Family’s current wait list of 150 families, according to city data. While the program shows strong outcomes—39% of families transition to permanent housing and 45% connect to transitional housing or treatment—the wait list illustrates ongoing challenges.

“While our success rate is still high, there is still undoubtedly a need for more resources, including funding for more permanent supportive housing vouchers to connect families to permanent housing.” Woods said.

The numbers, he added, “showcase the sad truth that there are more families in need of housing and support than there are resources available.”

Those gaps explain why Gabrielle’s path to Gateway Family wasn’t simple. She had to navigate the system on her own before finding help. Her persistence paid off, but her experience shows how tough it can be for families in crisis to get connected.

Keller said Albuquerque is still building the kind of homeless response system other cities created decades ago. Until a few years ago, the city relied entirely on nonprofits, which couldn’t keep up with demand.

He said the city now helps about 1,000 people through various Gateway programs, with Gateway Family showing what coordinated services can do when they’re in place.

If you want to get involved or need help

For more information about Gateway Family: abq.gov/health-housing-homelessness/gateway-network/gateway-family

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