ABQ Times

Today, HopeWorks and the City of Albuquerque celebrated the opening of the HopeWorks Behavioral Health Center. This new facility aims to provide comprehensive services for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Located on 4th Street, adjacent to Hope Village, the center will collaborate with the village to support unsheltered individuals and those at risk of homelessness. The center anticipates serving at least 244 clients annually.

Mayor Tim Keller emphasized the importance of such initiatives: “We’re creating touchpoints throughout our city for unsheltered folks to connect with vital services, and it can’t come a minute too soon temperatures are dropping in Albuquerque.” He added that addressing homelessness requires collective efforts and described the center as "a crucial piece of the puzzle."

The facility is named after William R. Miller, PhD, known for co-founding motivational interviewing—a counseling approach for substance use disorders.

HopeWorks staff comprises nurse practitioners, nurses, case managers, and licensed therapists offering wraparound services. The Outpatient Therapy Team will conduct individual therapy sessions and group therapies monthly. The Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS) team will offer community resources and life skills training. Additionally, UNM Hospital will partner with the center to perform psychiatric evaluations on-site.

Gilbert Ramirez, Director of Health, Housing and Homelessness stated: “The HopeWorks Behavioral Health Center will provide services to treat the whole person and uplift the most vulnerable in our community.”

HopeWorks Interim CEO Vicky Palmer expressed enthusiasm about this development: “We are thrilled to announce the opening of our state-of-the-art trauma-informed behavioral health center at HopeWorks.” She thanked Albuquerque for its funding support which allows them to deliver extensive therapy services.

Designed by Doug Heller from Mullen Heller Architecture with trauma-informed elements like specific color palettes and lighting fixtures aimed at promoting healing. De La Fuente Construction completed renovations using over $1.7 million from HUD's Community Development Block Grant Funds administered by Albuquerque’s Department of Health Housing and Homelessness.