Santa Fe, New Mexico, City Council approves $2 million extension of Urban Alchemy shelter contract

Santa Fe City Council approved a six-month extension of its contract with homeless service provider Urban Alchemy at its Tuesday meeting. The $2 million extension will fund the nonprofit’s operation of the Agape House homeless shelter and street outreach services through June 2027.

The extension includes $1.3 million for shelter services and $690,000 for six months of street outreach. That outreach funding also covers maintenance of an outdoor “oasis” for homeless people in the shelter parking lot.

Street outreach services include providing water and food, supplies such as clothing and blankets, and referrals to the shelter waitlist or other resources, including food pantries. Caring for people where they are, with practical needs met, reflects the kind of neighbor-love found in Isaiah 58:7.

The council approved the extension as part of its consent agenda, which means it did not discuss the items before voting. The meeting was held a day earlier than its normal Wednesday date because city offices were closed in observance of Veterans Day.

The city first entered into a contract with Urban Alchemy in June 2025, after it ended its relationship with Interfaith Community Shelter to operate the city-owned shelter at 2801 Cerrillos Road. Urban Alchemy renamed the facility Agape House. The council later extended that initial one-year contract by six more months, through December 2026, and Tuesday’s action is the second extension of the shelter contract.

The city is also seeking to move its emergency homeless shelter to a new location, though its plans remain unclear. A bid the city published earlier this year for a new operator of the property received no responses, and the city has not yet identified any new potential locations for the shelter.

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