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Jubilee Housing

Since 1991, NMCC has provided affordable rental housing to low-income through the ownership of 52 apartment units in Albuquerque and in 1995 added 14 more units. In select cases, NMCC provides short-term relief to tenants who may have fallen on hard times and works with tenants to get back on track with their rental payments.

Initiated in March of 2001, Jubilee Housing formalized NMCC’s intentions to expand the Conference’s affordable housing ministry throughout the state of New Mexico. Jubilee Housing is a separate nonprofit corporation that works statewide on behalf of the Conference to provide and preserve affordable housing and bring resources into the community by collaborating with local institutions to design and implement community-based housing strategies that respond to the needs and priorities identified by local residents and institutions.

For churches, the housing industry can be bewildering, complex and technical. In many communities, especially rural communities, local nonprofit or church-based services may not be available to address housing needs. Congregations and church leaders understand how the lack of affordable housing impacts the quality of life of their constituency, however, starting a nonprofit or program that can meet the needs of the particular populations they serve may go beyond their mission and expertise. Jubilee Housing builds on the knowledge and relationships of its members churches to identify needs and gaps in services, engages local residents in a community planning process, leverages housing investments from government, foundations, corporations, churches and individuals and develops affordable housing programs that serve the unique needs of communities in New Mexico.

Jubilee Housing does not duplicate services or compete unnecessarily in communities with effective housing delivery systems. Jubilee Housing’s objective is to stand where others do not and to meet a clear housing need. Jubilee Housing fills gaps in services and works in communities where other organizations do not work because the task may be too difficult, does not produce enough revenue, or the task falls outside their mission. These communities are often rural, small urban neighborhoods within larger metropolitan areas, or specialized populations with unique housing needs.

Jubilee Housing and Ortiz Properties

Ortiz Properties is the 52-unit apartment complex owned by NMCC. Jubilee Housing has assisted NMCC with a program and property management assessment of the properties and is developing a long-term financial and property renovation plan. Jubilee Housing is helping NMCC implement new systems and policies that respond to the needs of the low-income residents in the community and to the long-term financial obligations of the property.

Jubilee Housing and Housing for Survivors of Domestic Violence

In Gallup, NM Jubilee Housing is working with a local nonprofit social service organization to develop crisis housing for women and children survivors of domestic violence. Jubilee Housing is working with a local advisory committee in the community to plan the housing program, raise necessary funds to construct the housing, and to develop and manage the development of the project. The local nonprofit will own and manage the housing once the project is completed and provide direct supportive services to the women and children living in the housing units. For the local nonprofit, packaging the financing and developing housing goes beyond their organizational mission and capacity as a social service organization. However, the staff and board of the organization understand the need for safe and affordable housing for women and children seeking to leave abusive situations. Last year (2001), the local nonprofit turned away 120 women and children who were seeking safe housing because they did not have the housing units for them. Jubilee Housing is providing development and financing expertise and church-based resources that will bring safe affordable housing into the community while allowing the local nonprofit to concentrate on what they do best - delivering quality services and support systems to women and children experiencing violence in the home.

About the New Mexico Conference of Churches

NMCC began in 1965 and is governed by a board of directors that include members from 14 regional church bodies in New Mexico. In 1967, the NMCC became the first regional ecumenical organization in the United States to include Catholics and Protestants. Over the years, the NMCC has developed its own outreach ministries and has been the catalyst for many new independent community-based projects that have provided housing to seniors, counseling services, meals and food to the elderly, disabled, and poor individuals and families. The NMCC has worked consistently over the years to repeal the death penalty in New Mexico. The year 2001 marked the beginning of several important new programs. A statewide conference, "When Religion Teaches Hate," was held in February. As a result of this conference, the NMCC established a Task Force to continue work on reducing hate-crimes and violence and to work on legislation that supports reduction of violence. SAFE 2000 began with a shared grant with the City of Albuquerque. The NMCC hired two outreach ministers to work with youth at risk in cooperation with city social workers, police and detention officers. A mentoring program is in formation to enable churches to participate in helping young people make healthy and smart choices for their lives.

For more information about Jubilee Housing, contact Kevin Drexel at the New Mexico Conference of Churches at 505.255.1509 or at kdrexel@nmchurches.org.