Congresswoman Stansbury Announces Funding Submissions For Key Community Projects
Statement
As communities across New Mexico face interconnected challenges to well-being, economic security, and sustainability, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) announced her selections for 15 projects she has submitted for consideration in appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year. If the federal Fiscal Year 2023 budget is passed by Congress, the projects will invest millions in public safety, public health, veterans, and youth services across New Mexico's First Congressional District.
Rep. Stansbury chose projects that reflect the diverse needs of New Mexico communities. If funded, these projects will be included in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget when passed by the House and Senate.
"My number one priority in Congress is getting crucial federal dollars into our communities to make a difference for New Mexicans," said Rep. Stansbury. "My office received an unprecedented number of over 200 submissions for this year's budget, and the projects I selected are designed to address urgent community well-being needs in public safety, housing, behavioral health, economic development, sustainability, and meeting our obligations to our veterans and Tribal Nations. I will always fight to invest in a more resilient future for New Mexicans."
While these 15 projects have been submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration, this does not guarantee funding for the project. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. The House Appropriations Committee will weigh these requests alongside other Member submissions before ultimately selecting a limited number of projects to include in its FY 2023 funding bill. These bills must then be approved by the House Appropriations Committee, the full House, and ultimately through conference negotiations with the Senate before it is signed into law. This process will likely take months, with the earliest final consideration of bills taking place in late fall.
Rep. Stansbury secured over $10 million for seven community funded projects benefitting public safety, economic development, and as part of the recently-passed Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus budget.
A summary of the 15 projects is provided below:
Albuquerque Adult Learning Center
This project will fund a new facility to expand essential wraparound services in the International District, including Albuquerque Adult Learning Center's Family Literacy Project. Albuquerque Adult Learning Center's "School-Based School-Linked" Initiative is a three-pronged approach to education based on best practices and proven strategies yielding results. This approach will expand services to include a community/licensed social worker, and key staff in support of a new "turn-key" community project impacting the International District community.
Requested Amount: $600,000
"This is just the beginning of a greater collaborative effort among direct service providers in the International District, an area of high need," said Gloria Rael, executive director and founder of the Albuquerque Adult Learning Center. "This Representative Stansbury FY23 Community Project award responds to the critical needs including Adult Education services, job training, and job access in the International District. This Integrated Education and Training (IET) spurs additional investment that provides dual instruction for High School Equivalency (HSE/formerly GED®) completion with Post-Secondary Education transitions to a new on-demand solar apprenticeship in a collaborative space enhancing jobs in a growing industry."
Alex Horton of the International District's Economic Development Center (IDEDC) stated, "This IET program will stimulate business, promote higher education, and provide wrap around services closing the gap from training to jobs and industry standards."
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless will use their funding to purchase vacant and blighted properties in the neighborhood to expand primary health care and social services to meet the needs of an increasing number of people experiencing homelessness in Bernalillo County due to the fallout from COVID-19. This will improve property values, mitigate current public health and safety concerns, and allow AHCH to leverage additional funds and current assets. The organization serves approximately 7,000 people a year through its integrated primary care and social services programs both on its health center campus and through mobile, field-based outreach across Bernalillo County.
Requested Amount: $1,000,000
"Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless is incredibly grateful to Congresswoman Stansbury for prioritizing the needs of people experiencing homelessness in the District. We appreciate the Congresswoman's long and steadfast commitment to fighting for health care and housing to end homelessness. This federal investment will ensure Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless is able to purchase proximate property to expand its base of operations for taking integrated health care from our central campus to the streets, across the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County service area, and meet the growing numbers of individuals and families newly experiencing homelessness due to the fallout of COVID-19," said Jennifer Metzler, CEO of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH). "We confirmed during the pandemic that we are built for ending the crisis of homelessness, but we can only accomplish our goals through community support and dedication of resources. If approved by Congress, we will steward this federal investment well to ensure that our dedicated staff can continue to grow to meet the needs of our community members and to eliminate homelessness."
Albuquerque Homeless Youth Center Construction
This project will provide funding to construct a new facility to provide a safe, transitional environment for homeless and unstably housed youth. According to the findings of a February 2022 study by the City of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), the total young adult homeless population in Bernalillo County is estimated to range in size from 1,088 to 2,341. Young people experiencing homelessness are faced with associated issues of poor health, traumatic experiences, and involvement with law enforcement. The Center will provide a safe environment for young adults ages 18-25 who are homeless or unstably housed. It will include coordinated and age-appropriate assessments, supports and referrals, training and employment development, assessments and referrals to mental health supports and other programs to remove barriers to self-sufficiency.
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
"These projects are critical to our work to create an integrated system of care in Central New Mexico. Facilities like these have been missing for far too long in our region, providing support to youth who are unhoused and to those battling substance abuse," said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. "We're grateful to Representative Stansbury for putting these funding requests forward and are hopeful that they will be approved."
Albuquerque Sobering Center
This project invests in the City of Albuquerque's Gibson Gateway Sobering Center, which is designed to increase community safety and improve outcomes for some of the most vulnerable populations in America. The funding will be used to support operational costs as, professional and certified clinical/medical staff; program management and administration; supplies; dedicated transportation vehicles; and facilities management including security and maintenance
The Albuquerque Sobering Center is intended to divert individuals with low acuity intoxication from overcrowded emergency departments and jail to a safe place with medical monitoring to gain sobriety and to access treatment, housing and other unmet needs. Such a facility does not currently exist in Albuquerque.
Requested Amount: $6,800,000
Albuquerque Veterans Transitional Housing Campus
The funding would be used to build the first all-Veteran transitional housing campus in New Mexico that will include a 42-bed individual sleeping and bathroom unit for each Veteran or Veteran family. The units include 10 fully ADA-accessible rooms and 8 family rooms which support over 176 veterans each year, representing the only Veteran-specific transitional housing program in the state.
Requested Amount: $300,000
"We are so very grateful for Congresswoman Stansbury's support of the Veterans Integration Centers and her recognition of our mission to enable Veterans and their families to achieve stable housing, financial security, and renewed sense of community," said Brock Wolff, CEO of the Veterans Integrations Centers. "We look forward to working with Congresswoman Stansbury to continue to serve the over 1100 New Mexico Veterans and their families who entrust us with their care each year. This funding will be vital for us to complete the building of our new state of the art Transitional Housing Campus in Albuquerque. The new facility will provide housing and support services to our great veterans, and allow us to give these heroes the dignity they so rightly deserve."
Chromatograph -- Infrared Detector (GC-IRD) Instruments
The funding would be used to purchase three gas chromatography - infrared detector (GC-IRD) instruments to better characterize illicit fentanyl tablet submissions, emerging drugs of abuse, and other chemical unknowns. The instruments will be utilized in the Santa Fe Forensic Laboratory, Las Cruces Forensic Laboratory and Hobbs Forensic Laboratory to strengthen the Forensic Drug Chemistry Unit's capabilities for analyzing unknown substances.
Requested Amount: $410,721
"This important tool, gas chromatograph infrared detector (GC-IRD), will ensure higher quality and timely information about synthetic drugs," said Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Jason Bowie. "As a border state, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Forensic Laboratory processes a high volume of drug cases, including fentanyl and other illicitly produced opioids for New Mexico's courts. The citizens of New Mexico will benefit greatly from this funding."
East Mountain Food Pantry Expansion
The East Mountain Food Pantry currently serves households in Bernalillo County, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Torrance Counties--an area encompassing 1,100 square miles. The funding will be used to acquire land and build a purpose-built 6,000-10,000 square foot facility allowing efficient service to more households.
Requested Amount: $875,000
"The East Mountain Food Pantry is very grateful to Congresswoman Stansbury for her understanding that there are large numbers of food-insecure families and individuals in the United States, particularly in New Mexico. The Food Pantry has served individuals for over 30 years within an expansive 1,100 square mile rural area in Bernalillo, Torrance, Santa Fe and Sandoval counties. Recent events at local, state and national levels have dramatically increased the community's need for our services. With Congresswoman Stansbury's dedicated support, the East Mountain Food Pantry will be able to build a purpose-built food pantry facility. This will allow our dedicated group of over 140 Volunteers to efficiently increase the food services that we provide to our East Mountain residents. Community-wide donations, as well as directed funding like this, allows the Pantry to provide much needed food pantry services," said David Smith, President of East Mountain Food Pantry.
Partners for Community Action, Families First Economic Justice Project
The funding for the Families First Economic Justice Project will facilitate a multiracial, cross generational coalition of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) community leaders to address systemic inequities in economic development, asset building, and access to capital in a post-COVID-19 world.
Requested Amount: $650,000
"This investment in community driven economic development is catalytic. The South Valley Social Enterprise Center is an alternative model that exists in large part due to this type of commitment to community," said Nichelle Gilbert, Associate Director of Partners for Community Action. "BIPOC leaders and entrepreneurs will come together to share stories, be held in common lived experience and create. Business ownership, workforce development, community engagement and relational organizing are all tenets of family and community prosperity. These dollars are a commitment to community voice and solutions on a path toward a healthier and stronger NM. Congresswoman Stansbury understands alternative community-led economic development and its value in our state. We are grateful for this impactful investment."
First Nations Community HealthSource Behavorial Health Clinic Expansion
The funding would be used to cover the construction and design-related costs to expand First Nations Community HealthSource's behavioral health site to include medical, dental, cultural wellness/Traditional Healing and an array of support services to address the holistic care need of Albuquerque's urban Indians and other underserved populations. It is anticipated that when this project is fully operational, it will increase access annually to integrated holistic care services to more than 15,000 community members who are without a medical, behavioral health or dental home.
Requested Amount: $1,000,000
"We owe deep gratitude to Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury for her support in increasing needed health and behavioral health services in Albuquerque," said Linda Stone, CEO of First Nations Community HealthSource. "Funding will help First Nations Community HealthSource fulfill its mission of providing a comprehensive, culturally appropriate health delivery system that addresses the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of urban Indians and other underserved populations in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. We look forward to working with Congresswoman Stansbury to serve our communities."
Mobile Crisis Team, New Mexico Department of Public Safety
The funding would be used to provide acute mental health crisis stabilization at home or in the community within a maximum of 90 minutes. A two-member team operates 24/7/365, providing crisis intervention, screening and assessment, referrals to time limited follow up services.
Requested Amount: $2,800,000
"Funding Mobile Crisis Teams will help New Mexicans confronting behavioral health crises to receive support designed for their situation, and the federal funding will enable a more rapid implementation across the state, including to our Tribal, rural, and frontier neighbors," said Neal A. Bowen, PhD, Director of the Behavioral Health Services Division for the New Mexico Human Services Department.
Mobile School-Based Health Center Acquisition
The funding would be used to purchase and equip two mobile School Based Health Centers that will provide preventative medical, dental, mental, and COVID-19-related health care services to four Albuquerque Public Schools campuses that serve a combined total of 2,500 students and their families.
Requested Amount: $400,000
"This award will go a long way in the development and operation of a new mobile school-based health center in Bernalillo County," said Bernalillo County Manager Julie Morgas Baca. "School-based health centers are unique as they meet the medical, behavioral, and social health needs of the most vulnerable members of our community."
Mountainair Wastewater Facility Improvements
This proposed project would make necessary improvements to the town's wastewater treatment facilities, a basic public service benefiting the entire population of Mountainair. This funding represents the financial lifeline the town needs to bring the community's Wastewater Treatment Plant into compliance with environmental regulations.
Requested Amount: $2,500,00
"Congresswoman Stansbury promised that she would be the champion we needed in Congress. She is keeping to her word. She continues to fight for all of us which includes rural communities such as Mountainair," said Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto.
Sandia Pueblo's EMS and Fire Station
This project will provide funding for the development and restoration of the Sandia Pueblo's EMS and Fire Station so the Pueblo EMS services can decrease response times and better serve the Pueblo community's emergency response needs.
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
"The Pueblo of Sandia is focused on delivering quality emergency services to every member of the Sandia Pueblo community," said Pueblo of Sandia Governor Stuart Paisano. "The funding that Representative Stansbury has requested for a dedicated Fire and EMS facility would facilitate faster emergency responses throughout the Pueblo."
Sandoval County Animal Shelter
The funding would be used to address the acute shortage of 24/7 Emergency Veterinary Care in New Mexico in general, especially after a similar facility in Santa Fe closed. This facility will help fill that gap. New Mexican students are forced to go out of state for Veterinary School which creates a brain drain in the area. This project would offer an in-state practicum option that would help create a retention bridge back to New Mexico.
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
"The Commission has made care of County animals one of our top priorities. Representative Stansbury's support for our Animal Shelter project could not have come at a better time! By making this project one of her top priorities, the Congresswoman transformed what was a distant dream, into a certain reality. In addition to providing care for Sandoval County's animal population, this unique project will provide educational and job growth opportunities through our public private partnership," said Sandoval County Commission Chair Michael Meeks.
University of New Mexico and Sandia National Labs STEM Pipeline
The funding would be used to meet the growing demands of this cybersecurity and data science workforce, the University of New Mexico needs to modernize computational infrastructure to encompass big-data computing hardware and data storage. Additionally, funds are needed to develop curricula for new data science, high performance computing, and cybersecurity programs and to support teacher participation in professional development activities to meet the needs of the New Mexico population in data science.
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
"The University of New Mexico appreciates the ongoing leadership and support of Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury as we work to address urgent workforce shortages in the fields of data science and cybersecurity," said University of New Mexico President Garnett S. Stokes. "With similarly appreciated support from New Mexico's U.S. Senators, this $1.5 million Community Project Funding request stands to significantly boost The University of New Mexico's education and training programs necessary to prepare our students to meet the data science and cybersecurity needs of our state and the nation. I am particularly pleased that Congresswoman Stansbury's request funds the computational infrastructure improvements that are vital to producing highly-qualified graduates needed to strengthen and advance New Mexico's economy in such diverse fields as computer science, information technologies, health equity and health care research, social sciences, defense, and other emerging industries."
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