Walking IN Grace with Survivors of Torture (WINGS) Housing Initiative

Las Cumbres Community Services (LCCS) will pilot a project to house newly-arrived immigrant and refugee families identified as Survivors of Torture (SOT) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Eligible families will be enrolled in the existing LCCS program, Walking IN Grace with Survivors of Torture (WINGS), dedicated to providing comprehensive wraparound services for SOTs residing in New Mexico. Current clients include migrants from Central and South America, Mexico, the Near East, and Central Africa; the majority resettle in the Albuquerque area.

This grant will support the development of a transitional housing program for unhoused WINGS clients, specifically those who are identified as most vulnerable due to pregnancy, having young children and/or significant medical concerns. Newly-arriving families with these circumstances are not suitable for shelter settings, and/or are unable to remain in shelter or other limited housing options long enough to afford their own housing. Through a master lease or a collaboration with a property management company, clients will be housed for 3-6 months while their work authorizations are processed, job skills are gained, urgent needs are stabilized, trauma-informed mental healthcare is established, and other holistic social services rendered as needed. Clients will then transition to independent housing in order for them to achieve self-sufficiency.

Over the two-year course of this project, LCCS anticipates housing 125-150 individuals in 7-10 apartments. A team of four existing LCCS WINGS employees will oversee the project. As a result of this critical support, vulnerable WINGS families will no longer be at-risk of homelessness. With this basic need met, families can focus on recovery, healing, and becoming contributing members of their new community.