Albuquerque is expanding an early support program that aims to help at-risk young people by providing direct financial assistance and mental health services before their challenges lead to homelessness, incarceration, or other crises.
City officials on Thursday announced the second phase of the city’s guaranteed basic income pilot program and a new effort to provide cognitive behavioral therapy to residents ages 16 to 24 who are facing behavioral health challenges. The two programs intend to address financial instability and mental health needs early, reflecting a wider approach that emphasizes prevention over intervention after problems escalate.
Twenty young people will receive $750 a month under the guaranteed basic income pilot. The payments are unrestricted. Program participants can use the money for housing, transportation, food, education, or other essential needs. The program also features financial coaching, job training, mentoring, educational support, and counseling.
Mayor Tim Keller said the initiative seeks to address the root causes of instability before young people become homeless, imprisoned, or dependent on emergency services. “If we can help people at this stage, it means they’re not going to be right out on the street costing us more, they’re not going to be in our emergency room costing us more, they’re not going to be in our jail costing us more,” Keller said during a news conference at the city’s Trauma Recovery Center. “So this is the right intervention at the right time.”
The early support program’s guaranteed basic income pilot is part of an experiment in which local governments are using direct cash assistance to reduce financial hardship and improve long-term outcomes for vulnerable residents. Albuquerque also invests $600,000 in a contract with the nonprofit Youth Development Inc. to provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a widely used therapy that addresses negative thinking and behavior.
City officials said the city continues to experience high rates of addiction and mental health challenges, especially among young people whose exposure to trauma can increase the risk of violence, homelessness, and substance abuse.
Robert Chavez, chief executive of Youth Development Inc., said the therapy program will address those issues before they escalate into more serious behavioral or criminal problems. The counseling program, according to Chavez, will provide a package of interventions to help young people better understand their thoughts and emotions influencing their decisions.
Officials did not say how many young people will receive therapy. But the contract covers about 12,000 hours of counseling services over the next year. Individual sessions are expected to last about one hour.
Together, the early support program reflects Albuquerque’s effort to combine economic support with behavioral health care to help vulnerable youth and reduce reliance on emergency and criminal justice systems.