Chainbreaker Collective
Working within the initial framing question of – “What will it take for affordable housing to become a more equitably accessible available resource in Santa Fe?” – the Chainbreaker Collective Zone coalesced to address the political, social, and economic structures that prevent access to safe, affordable, and quality housing in Santa Fe.
To do this, the collaborative engaged direct grassroots organizing, advocated for a community land trust in Santa Fe, and developed a People’s Plan to address housing insecurity for the most vulnerable in the community, based around redeveloping the midtown campus of the former Santa Fe University of Art and Design. The work the collaborative has engaged in deeply rooted community activism and policy advocacy that has focused on the underlying and intersectional systems that continue to displace community members, and prevents them from accessing safe and affordable housing.
COVID-19 created an increased need for advocacy against housing evictions. The pandemic shifted the urgency of the collaborative towards preventing and advocating against home evictions of members of the local community. With this still being an ongoing issue, the Chainbreaker collaborative is working to ensure rental assistance and housing support for those who have – or continue to – face evictions and housing instability.
Rebecca was working in a restaurant at the onset of COVID-19. Within two months, the restaurant had shut down, and Rebecca was without employment, without income and facing eviction. Connecting with Chainbreaker at a vaccination event, Rebecca was able to navigate the Rental Help New Mexico system and stay in her home.
Anthony had been living at St. Elizabeth’s Shelter when he was introduced to the CONNECT program, in which navigators link community members to nonprofits that provide direct assistance with rent, food and other necessities. Today, Chainbreakers is organizing an advisory committee in partnership with CONNECT.
These are Rebecca and Anthony’s stories, in their own words.
Rebecca's Story
I got to know Chainbreaker right after the pandemic began. I was working as a host in a restaurant and we started hearing rumors about the virus in China. We started getting nervous, but there were no cases in New Mexico. This was January. I noticed some of my coworkers getting symptoms, but it turned out not to be COVID.
When one of my coworkers did get sick, the boss decided to close the entire restaurant. I was able to get another in a restaurant, but then they also closed. That’s when we started really getting scared. We didn’t know what was going to happen – if we were going to lose our jobs. Without work, a lot of renters were starting to get eviction notices.
Lots of thoughts were going through my head at this time, especially for my youngest children who were still home. My children are my motivation. I have five children – two are adults and on their own; and I have another adult child, but he has special needs and two others, 10 and 11 years old.
When all the restrictions started and they were closing the schools, my youngest children had to stay home for online schooling, and I had to stay home with them because I didn’t have child care. I have a very potent memory of the psychological impact this time had on me as a single mother. Even to this day, it brings tears to my eyes because I can remember lying in bed, looking at my ceiling and thinking, “Today, my children have a roof over their heads, but I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
I learned about Chainbreaker at an event at the library for vaccinations. At the same time, I was trying to figure out how to apply for Rental Help New Mexico. I had the application, but it was all in English. It was really complicated because they asked for a lot of documents that I didn’t have. The management offices and the landlords’ offices were closed.
That’s when I met, Cathy, one of the Chainbreaker organizers, at the library. She saw me and asked me if I was doing OK, because I was on the verge of tears. She said, “Don’t worry. We are here to have your back. We have people who speak Spanish.” She gave the address to the Chainbreaker office and said to go there and they could help with my application so I could stay in my home.
I had felt alone, but when I went to get my vaccination shot and I met Cathy, I realized that I was not alone. Little by little, things started to get more stable. Even so, it’s a daily struggle just to catch your breath. I was able to get another job. My friend opened a food truck and I can work there. It has a flexible enough schedule that I can bring my kids to school. I have to commute from Tesuque because really, Santa Fe has become too expensive to live in.
There are lots of organizations, like Chainbreaker, that are really here for the people. I’m living testimony of that. In my experience, there are a lot of people like myself, especially Latina women, who are up against the same issues and dealing with the same problems. Sometimes they have issues with their immigration status, but there are organizations like Chainbreaker, where that’s not what is important. What’s important for them is being a person.
We would like to acknowledge and thank Tomás Rivera and Yetzali Reyna Aguilar for their interpretation support with this story.
Anthony's Story
I was homeless for 15 years and because I shattered my knee, I was invited in to stay at St. Elizabeth’s Shelter. I did not want to have a disability to get financial assistance. That was just a big accident. At St. Elizabeth’s, I was involved in CONNECT – it was a group of three people who shared our stories for the public to know. We told each one’s story and we started from being homeless to getting housing.
Through that process, I went through different programs to get housing. I started with LifeLink [nonprofit organization that provides services to persons experiencing homelessness and/or behavioral health challenges]. Through LifeLink, they helped me get my disability, and through them I got housing.
I did not know that I was going to get financial assistance by being disabled. I was working at the time when I was homeless. But, the rent was just too outrageous for one person to handle. You have to deal with first and last month’s rent as a deposit. You don’t have that. Then you have to seek help, which I did. The process of it is not easy at all. It’s a period of waiting and you’re on a long list. You wait and wait and call and call constantly to know where you’re at. You just hold your breath and wait.
The help is there for you, but you need to change and conform in order to get all the assistance that’s available. You have to open up doors for yourself and you have to commit yourself to that. Programs are there to help you – they want to help you. But first you have to help yourself, in order for the programs to help you.
Chainbreaker has open hands – they do. They helped me, and many people I know, with rental assistance and utilities. There’s free bikes in the yard. And they have a program where you can work for so many hours and then you’re able to get a one-year bus pass. But you have to allow yourself to be helped. You’re vulnerable when you don’t have anything. When you have nothing, you’re so weak and you’re afraid to even ask for help. You’re afraid of rejection. Being out there – being homeless – it tends to lead you into drinking or doing drugs. And, you run around with that clique and it becomes worse and worse.
I wouldn’t say my life is the best right now, but I am trying to manage it. It’s hard. Without all the programs, I wouldn’t be able to meet my rent. I learned how to budget my money. With everything I went through, I am now able to stand on my own two feet. And, I promised myself that I would never become homeless again. Hopefully that never happens – I do wish and I pray.
It’s not easy. I have a lot of responsibilities now. And, I need to look out for myself. I try to fit back into society again – I don’t know what the norm is anymore. It’s a struggle talking as a homeless person. We shy away from people because we don’t feel like we’re going to be accepted because we don’t have a home. But, we are human. We do have feelings. There might be a lot of apathy, but there is also empathy.
The transition out of homelessness is tough. You don’t know what to expect. You’re not free when you’re homeless – you run from people who don’t like you. You’re always bombarded with crime. It’s a really big transition to become your own person again – to identify yourself as being an individual. To know how far you can go as being yourself, and to know how strong you can be when you’re on your own.