SITE Santa Fe presents a town hall meeting on homelessness in the Railyard Park and in Santa Fe, held in the Marlene Nathan Meyerson Auditorium. Attendees will learn about the general landscape of homelessness; resources for people experiencing homelessness; and actions the larger community take to help Santa Fe’s homeless population.

This panel is moderated by Hank Hughes, Executive Director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness

Panelists:
Joe Jordan-Berenis, Executive Director, Interfaith Community Shelter
Edward Archuleta, Executive Director, St. Elizabeth’s Shelter
Carol Luna-Anderson, Executive Director, The Life Link
Paige Kitson, Street Outreach Program Director, Youth Shelters and Family Services

This event is FREE!

Entrance/Exit Through Auditorium Porch on the East (Railyard Park) side of the building. Doors open at 1:30 PM.

About the Panelists:

Joe Jordan-Berenis was born in Brooklyn, New York and worked for 28 years at Family of Woodstock, Inc., a human services agency to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in Ulster County in New York. Family of Woodstock was started by a group of townspeople and clergy who were concerned for the welfare of the young people gravitating to Woodstock at the end of the original festival. Joe helped Family grow from a small nonprofit into a multi-million-dollar human services agency and the largest provider of homeless services in Ulster County, New York. For ten years, he served as chair for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Advisory Committee to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, through both Democratic and Republican administrations, and received numerous awards for his work with runaway, homeless, and street-involved youth. In 2016, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Mexico Behavioral Health Planning Council for his service to people experiencing homelessness in the states of New York and New Mexico.

Edward Archuleta is the Executive Director of St. Elizabeth Shelters and Supportive Housing where he oversees two emergency shelters and three supportive apartment buildings. A Santa Fe native, Edward has served in various capacities with St. E’s over the years—as a volunteer, board member, intern, case manager, and now Executive Director. Prior to working with St. E’s, Edward served as Project Manager with 1000 Friends of New Mexico, assistant to New Mexico Secretary of State, Stephanie Gonzales, as a realtor and with various government agencies. He has also served on numerous civic and non-profit boards.

Carol Luna-Anderson has served as the Executive Director of The Life Link for over thirty-two years, providing visionary leadership to address the issues of behavioral health and homelessness. Carol decided to step down to focus on other aspects of community impact. When the first programs began in 1987, everything was done with volunteers and a budget of $55,000. What a difference her amazing work has accomplished: a budget of $6.7 million; 89 employees; permanent and transitional housing of over 170 households monthly; psychosocial rehabilitation and wellness centers (Clubhouse and Sojourners); outreach programs in Santa Fe, Española, and Albuquerque; state of art treatment services utilizing best practice modalities; Certified Peer Support Workers; screening and brief treatment at health clinics and hospitals statewide; aftercare and restoration services for victims of human trafficking; partnering on research projects; securing grants and contracts and having a voice in multiple local and state councils and advisory groups.

Paige Kitson serves as the Street Outreach Program Director for Youth Shelters and Family Services. The YSFS Street Outreach Program served 525 homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth last year in Santa Fe, providing food, showers, laundry, case management, survival gear, clothing, community linkages, and a safe space for youth to access these essential services. Over the last eleven years, Paige has been committed to working for homeless services programs in our community, including the Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete’s Place, Health Care for the Homeless, Casa Familia, and St. Elizabeth’s Men’s Shelter.

Hank Hughes is the Executive Director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness based in Santa Fe, NM. He co-founded the Coalition in 2000 with other New Mexico advocates for homeless people and became the Coalition’s Executive Director in 2001. Prior to his work at the Coalition, Hughes was the Executive Director of St. Elizabeth Shelter in Santa Fe. He started out as a Water Resources Specialist at the Cornell Center for Environmental Research, and he has a Master of Engineering in environmental systems engineering from Cornell University.