Last Year, the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope helped 396 Homeless Las Crucens find housing, including 97 children. They recently held a lunch to thank the landlords who help them find housing for the people of Las Cruces.
Community of Hope helps homeless in Las Cruces work toward finding employment and housing. Nicole Martinez, Executive Director of Community of Hope says many people have the wrong idea about what it means to rent to someone who used to be homeless.
“A lot of the myths surrounding what homeless will be like when you get them indoors simply aren’t true,” Martinez said. “They are excited to have their own space, they take care of their space, they make sure that they are doing what they need to do to remain stably housed, and our case managers and land lords are both really working together to make sure that that happens.
In most of the Community of Hope’s housing programs residents pay 30% of the rent and the Community of Hope subsidizes the rest for a certain period of time. Martinez says there are many economic benefits to working with them.
“When partners collaborate with the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope to house somebody who has been living on the streets,” Martinez said. “They know they are going to get a rent check from the Community of Hope, they know that they are going to have a case manager that’s going into the apartment to make sure that it’s safe and sanitary, and that the client is working toward self-sufficiency. And that’s what happens. We’ve been doing this for several years now. Landlords keep wanting to partner with us, in fact they call us when there are vacancies.”
Robert Pirtle is a Property Manager for E and H properties in Las Cruces, he says he’s been working with Community of Hope for almost 9 years, and has had a lot of success keeping people housed.
“You know one of the biggest jokes I tell people all the time,” Pirtle said. “We are the biggest gamblers this side of Sunland Park. The reason is instead of gambling by pulling a slot machine, or turning on a card, we’re betting on people. Now, we’re dealing with a group of people that has struggled in life, down on their luck in Most cases. However, we’re still rolling the dice on them, we’re still hoping that we can take them, get them into a situation where they feel comfortable enough to stay.”
Pirtle says over the years, he’s learned more about how to make sure the transition is successful.”
“If they’ve got a place where they feel comfortable,” Pirtle said. “And they are not having to worry about some of the other things, they have a tendency to be able to focus on some of their other problems. Part of the trick is putting them in a situation or in an environment where not only are they going to feel comfortable but the tenants in the complex also feel comfortable with them. One of the things that we have at E and H property is we’ve got people who look out after some of our more needy people, and that seems to work.”
Pirtle says it’s great to hear from other landlord’s experiences.
“One of the things in talking,” Pirtle said. “You never know what motivates someone else to do what they do, all your really concerned is what is it for me. Yes, it’s about keeping the apartments rented, not having to do turnovers every 3-6 months. It makes it easier to cut your maintenance costs down. But, it’s that sense of we’re doing something for the community, and I have no doubt that they don’t feel the same way.”
Nicole Martinez says not only are Landlords helping their businesses, but also they are helping improve the quality of life of individuals and the community.
