I met Kevin last year in Fair West. Keith Hensley, owner of local business Lignin, introduced us when they met in front of his warehouse which is just south of the Fairgrounds and north of Central Ave. At that time, Kevin had no stable housing but he was looking for work and since I run FairWestWork, Keith introduced us and we all exchanged numbers. We talked a time-or-two but months passed until in Jan of 2026 we ran into each other again near Central and San Pedro. Kevin had been sleeping outside but winter weather had him looking at Abq's shelter options. Kevin now stays at the Gateway Center(previously the Gibson Health Hub, often just called Gateway) at 5400 Gibson Blvd SE (505-537-8588) and was open to talking about how he got into the shelter and to share his perspective.
We'll start mid-conversation as Kevin describes his brief stay at the city's Westside shelter before moving to Gateway Center on Gibson.
"You know I’ve heard horror stories about that place. I was really surprised at how big it was. I only spent one night out there and I was surprised it wasn’t nearly as bad as people made it sound. Maybe I got lucky. They put me in a good wing. The dorm I was staying in was mainly older gentlemen. Mainly 50+."
After his first night there, Kevin came back to the city. Later that day, he called the city's Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) department for a ride back to the Westside, but they offered him transportation to the winter overflow shelter for men at the Gateway on Gibson and he was happy to have an option that allowed him to stay in the city.
Over the next 4 days, Kevin followed the rules by calling ACS after 8pm and waiting as long as needed, sometimes up to four hours, for his referral and transportation. On Kevin’s 4th day, he completed paperwork to enter the Gateway's Housing Navigation Center for men. He has a 9pm curfew, but no longer needs a referral each night.
There are a few ways to get a referral to the shelter and services operating at the Gateway. If you’re not coming from a hospital or connected service provider, contacting ACS is required. ACS can then determine which shelters have space and offer transportation, as they did for Kevin. For the curious public, the city maintains a shelter bed counter.
Personally, I've never had to sleep at a shelter. "What's it like? Does it feel generally chill?" I ask. "Yeah it does." Kevin has a small personal space, think cubicle, with a bed, power, wifi and some storage. Extra storage space is available in the basement. 3 meals are available daily and shared spaces offer couches and TV. Case workers and counselors are on-site. No drug test nor stay in at CARES/MATS campus is required for entry. Like everywhere, illegal drug possession or use is not permitted, though I have heard rumors of an amnesty box being available. For controlled medications like methadone, "They’ll lock it for you and give you access each day". Weed? You can have it but no consumption on site. Got a dog? That's allowed. "I was impressed how smoothly that part of it's running. You know the guys take care of their dogs they pick up." Kevin went on to describe multiple areas with services for dogs both indoors and outside.
Kevin and I talked about how many people are still on the street and don't seem interested in using the shelters. "What's going on there?", I ask.
"A lot of people just don't know about it (Gateway) and there’s a lot of mental illness out there to tell you the truth."
"Do you see mental health and behavioral problems much in the shelter?"
"Not as much as you would think. I've been really surprised that they do a good job and the ones that do slip through the cracks they weed it out pretty quick." You get one or two warnings but if you don't follow the rules such as the 9pm curfew, no fighting, being respectful, and not bringing visitors into the building, then you're out. "Any violence and you're out." "If they find you with drugs or if you come in high, they'll throw you out." No outside visitors can come inside but you can meet offsite or in the parking lot.
Of course there need to be rules, and those who can't follow rules won't remain at Gateway Center. Trying to understand the circumstances that keeps or returns someone to the streets along with layers of city departments (APD, AFD, ACS, solid waste, etc), non-profits and the ever changing resources is, in a word, tricky. In my many conversations with neighbors over the last few years, we frequently discuss contributing factors like drugs, poverty, trauma, etc and there's a widespread struggle to see how can influence the situation. In my not-so-humble opinion, our impression of Fair West and the street landscape is unlikely to meaningfully change without old school, mostly offline, local collaborations and experiments. More on that tangent later.
Curious to learn more about ACS, I continued, "To get into Gateway, you pretty much have to go through ACS. What's your impression of them?".
"When I thought of them (ACS), I thought it was just a waste of taxpayer money. I thought they were just out handing out waters trying to look busy. To convince society as a whole that they were doing something for us. You know what I mean? Now that I've really seen the inner workings and everything it seems like they do a good part of it. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be in there right now. I can honestly say that."
"You gotta show some effort. You gotta show them that you’re interested."
"At the end of your stay at Gateway, what do you want to have done?"
"I'd like to get my social security card, my birth certificate."
"The housing thing, I'm really anxious to see how far they can take me with that. The way they put it to me is that before my 120 days are up as long as I'm willing to work with them they will have me in an apartment or some kind of housing before I leave."
"What about income and work?"
"There’s a lot of people on the street who’d like the opportunity to work, but people turn me away. Just as much as society is suspicious and wary of us, we're the same with them". As of early Feb, Kevin and I have now worked together on several FairWestWork projects. It does take effort to build trust but through building a carport, breaking up ice and helping to pickup trash in the neighborhood we’re getting to know each other and finding common ground.
As always, there more to say but I'll cut it there. Many thanks to Kevin for the candid conversation!
If you'd like to participate, learn more or hire FairWestWork, email me (nick@fairwestwork.com) or find me at a neighborhood association events. If you'd like to contact Kevin, you can email him via outlawking448@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading :)