Senator Martin Heinrich and Representative Melanie Stansbury were both in Albuquerque on Wednesday afternoon to attend a tour of the Gateway Center at the Gibson Health Hub.
Both were responsible for securing $4.2 million in funding in the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Agreement to open New Mexico’s first medical sobering center, which will be located inside the Gateway.
The tour around the center included stops at multiple posters that outlined the design of the center and the purpose of each section.
The Gateway aims to be a transitional entity that allows those who are unhoused to learn and understand the skills and discipline needed to obtain consistent housing.
Services from medical respite and sobering, to haircuts and professional training will all go toward the goal of helping these individuals reach stability.
For Representative Stansbury, the funding towards the sobering center hits close to home.
“My own family has struggled with substance abuse issues and the question, ‘why are centers like this important?’ I can share a personal family story has to why, this center will save lives.”
Stansbury went on to talk about a relative of hers that relapsed and died in jail 15 years ago.
The first phase of the Gateway center’s opening, which included the sobering center, is expected to take place in the Spring of this year.