2026 Recipient

 
 

Las Cumbres Community Services $50,000

Las Cumbres Community Services is a nonprofit organization based in Española, New Mexico, that has served children, adults, and families across Northern New Mexico for decades. Its mission is to provide quality services, public awareness, and integrated community supports for people facing social, emotional, and developmental challenges. Through this e2e grant, Las Cumbres will receive $50,000 in support of its Immigrant and Refugee Services Transitional Housing Project, the only housing program in New Mexico built specifically for immigrant newcomer families. Since launching in October 2024, the project has used a scattered-site apartment model to provide safe, trauma-informed housing to forcibly displaced families with children ranging from newborns to teenagers, many of whom have survived prolonged periods of housing instability before reaching New Mexico. The program addresses three of the most urgent barriers newcomer children face to staying in school and succeeding academically:

  • Housing instability, the single largest predictor of chronic school absenteeism and student mobility.

  • Food insecurity, addressed through a partnership with Roadrunner Food Bank that gives families unrestricted, ongoing access to nutrition.

  • Navigational barriers, addressed by Family Navigators who help enroll children in school, secure immunization and academic records, and connect families to ESL resources.

Families in the program stay an average of six months or more, giving children the stability to remain in one school rather than being displaced mid-year, a key factor in long-term academic outcomes. Since its inception, the project has housed 121 unduplicated individuals across 26 units, with nearly half of all clients being children. Las Cumbres works alongside an extensive network of partners on this project, including Albuquerque Public Schools and its Newcomer Program, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, Lutheran Family Services, Catholic Charities, the City of Albuquerque's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and Bernalillo County, among others, ensuring families are connected to a full ecosystem of education, legal, resettlement, and health resources.