- 247 more households received rapid rehousing, move-in help, or eviction prevention
- 127 people with serious mental illness housed through Linkages
- 34 apartments at La Luz, in our historic main building
- 3,102 pre-tenancy and tenancy-support visits so people stay housed
Who We Serve
The People Other Systems Couldn't Reach
Our clients arrive carrying more than one burden at once. That is exactly why every service at The Life Link is linked to the next — no one has to start over at a new front door.
were unhoused when they came to us
713 people were homeless at the time they enrolled.*
live with a mental health condition
Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia — treated here, not referred away.
carry post-traumatic stress
Trauma is the common thread. Our care has been trauma-informed agency-wide since 2005.
face mental illness and substance use together
50% have co-occurring disorders — the hardest cases to treat, and the ones we are built for.
57%
Hispanic or Latino clients*
1 in 10
American Indian or Alaska Native*
1 in 5
age 60 or older; nearly half are 40–59
4+
languages served — English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Native languages
* Percentages based on clients who reported this information at enrollment. Source: The Life Link Annual Quality Improvement Report, FY2026 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026).
Why It Matters Here
New Mexico Needs This Chain to Hold
Poverty, distance, and exploitation compound one another across northern New Mexico. The Life Link was built for exactly these conditions.
Poverty · 2023
3rd
highest poverty rate in the nation
Roughly 368,669 New Mexicans live in poverty. For the people who walk through our doors, poverty is rarely the only burden they carry.
New Mexico17.8%
United States12.5%
26%
of New Mexicans live in rural areas — where the nearest services can be hours away.
50%+
of New Mexico's 33 counties are designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.
6.3
average Adverse Childhood Experiences score among trafficking survivors we serve — a score of 4 already sharply raises lifetime risk of depression, chronic illness, and suicide.
8+
countries of origin among survivors in our care. Sex and labor trafficking occur statewide, with labor trafficking concentrated in oil, gas, mining, and cannabis agriculture.
Isolated pueblos in central and northern New Mexico are disproportionately affected by missing and murdered Indigenous women tied to trafficking. Sources: The Life Link Human Trafficking Outreach & Aftercare Outcomes Reference (2015–2025).
Linked Impact
Every link in the chain counts.
11,559
community support visits — more than half outside the office
476
walk-in, same-day assessments through Treat First — no appointment, no waitlist
821
personal crisis and safety plans written or updated with clients
Care That Travels
We go to where people are.
More than half of our community support visits happen outside the office. For someone living in an arroyo or a car, that is often the difference between getting care and going without.
Other community locations35%
At our offices31%
In the client's own home18%
By phone or video16%
Four Links · One Chain
What Your Support Made Possible
Each program is its own lifeline. Together they form a chain of support that no single crisis can break.
8people coming home from incarceration housed at RISE House instead of released to the street
2,343individual treatment and recovery plans created or updated with clients
998clients who stayed with us from the prior year — relationships that last
Inside the Work
A Closer Look at a Year of Care
Behind the headline numbers: the services people used most, how they received them, and how much time our staff spent at their side.
Services Attended · FY2026
Where 27,000+ visits went
Community support and the Clubhouse carry the heaviest load — care that happens in daily life, not only in a therapist's office.
Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS)11,559
Clubhouse & La Luz drop-in6,728
Individual therapy3,712
Group therapy1,909
Psychiatry visits1,350
Supported employment547
Comprehensive assessments491
Treat First walk-in assessments476
Intensive OutpatientIncludes IOP assessments390
Medication-assisted treatment145
Community Support · FY2026
Many teams, one front door
Community support workers are the connective tissue of The Life Link. Each team focuses on a different kind of need.
Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS)Case management & skills633
Treat FirstWalk-in, same day · served419
SOARDisability benefits access295
LinkagesHousing for serious mental illness128
Opening Doors31
La LuzSupportive housing residents23
Sojourners Advocacy CafeUnhoused women & families5
Assisted OutpatientCourt-ordered community treatment3
935 unique clients across all teams — 548 of them new this year. Clients often move between teams as needs change.
How Care Is Delivered
Face to face first, with telehealth where it helps
88% of all services were delivered in person. Telehealth fills gaps — especially for psychiatry, where distance and transportation are real barriers.
Community support53% outside the office
Individual therapy89% in office
Psychiatry40% telehealth
Group therapy & IOP91% in office
Medication-assisted treatment90% in office
Clubhouse100% in person
Community locationsClient's homeOur officesTelehealth
160 min
average Clubhouse visit — more than two and a half hours of community
70 min
average community support and housing-support visit
62 min
average Treat First support session for new walk-in clients
526
services attended in an average week, across every program
Community Support
4.61
"I like the services I received" · out of 5
Outpatient Therapy
4.61
Plus the agency's top substance-use score: 4.33
Clubhouse
4.60
Highest gains in social connection: 4.16 vs. 3.83 agency-wide
Psychiatry & MAT
4.89
Highest satisfaction of any program (smaller sample)
In Their Words
Clients Tell Us It's Working
Every trimester, clients rate us anonymously on a five-point scale. In FY2026, 431 surveys came back. Surveys are offered in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Client Satisfaction · Out of 5
Respected, and glad they came
Scores above 4 mean clients agree; 5 means they strongly agree.
I like the services I received here.4.68
Staff respect my values, culture, and spiritual preferences.4.66
I would recommend this program to a friend or family member.4.62
I am able to recognize the signs of my illness.4.31
I don't use alcohol or drugs in a way that causes problems in my life.4.20
Symptom Relief · FY2026
Symptoms eased, trimester after trimester
"My symptoms are not bothering me as much" rose steadily all year — the clearest upward trend in our survey data.
94%
of our community support and Clubhouse staff bring lived experience to the work
88%
of all services delivered in person, face to face
90%
of client records include a personal crisis plan
89%
attendance for housing-support visits — people show up when the help is real
24
Written notes of thanks from clients this year. The words that came up again and again: kindness, genuine care, and being treated with "respect and dignity."
Every note of appreciation is shared with the staff member it names and added to their file.
Survivors of Human Trafficking
"Thank you for keeping me sheltered and safe."
Survivors rate our aftercare program 4.5 to 4.8 out of 5 across satisfaction measures, year after year.
"They provide a chance to change the things in your life like trauma, abuse and life experiences in a positive way… I really appreciate this program because it made me change my life for the better and made me feel like my life matters."
A survivor in our aftercare program
"I would just like to thank The Life Link program. You all have helped me so much. I could not be clean today without [staff]."
A survivor in our aftercare program
Survivor trauma scores tell the same story. The group's average PTSD score (PCL-5) fell to 31.33 — below the clinical cutoff of 33 for severe PTSD. Survivors who stayed engaged longest saw the greatest relief.
15 of 15
survivors in our 2018 survey strongly agreed our staff respect their background
93%+
in that survey agreed our staff help them believe their lives can change for the better
5.0
top score for "I would recommend this program to a friend or family member"
Stewardship
Your gift is in accountable hands.
The Life Link answers to the federal, state, and managed-care partners who fund our work. In FY2026 we completed every one of these reviews and audits, and our Medicaid and Medicare chart audits returned no significant findings.
CARF AccreditedLicensed CMHCHUD-ApprovedSince 1987
Independent annual financial audit
HUD site visit
U.S. Department of Justice site visit
Medicaid MCO & Medicare chart audits
NM Mortgage Finance Authority review
Linkages housing program audit
Federal Probation contract review
NM Board of Pharmacy inspection
IPS Supported Employment fidelity review
Voted Best Mental Health Agency — Santa Fe Reporter, Best of Santa Fe
Out in the Community
We showed up for Santa Fe this year
Sept
2025Rhythms of Recovery Danceathon
2025Rhythms of Recovery Danceathon
Nov
2025Keep Hope Alive Gala & Concert
2025Keep Hope Alive Gala & Concert
May
2026Be Kind to Your Mind — Mental Health & Wellbeing Community Festival
2026Be Kind to Your Mind — Mental Health & Wellbeing Community Festival
June
2026Pride Parade & Festival
2026Pride Parade & Festival
Forge the Next Link
Next Year's Numbers
Start With You.
Every figure on this page is a person someone refused to give up on. Your gift keeps that chain unbroken — a same-day assessment for someone in crisis, a key to a first apartment, a safe place for a survivor to begin again.
Looking Ahead · FY2027
01
A permanent home of our ownAfter more than 25 years of renting, The Life Link purchased a new main building. Community support, housing, psychiatry, and Treat First services move under one roof in September 2026.
02
Expanding micro-communitiesGrowing our low-barrier micro-community shelter model so more people can move from the street to stability.
03
Exploring CCBHC certificationPlanning for a potential application to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic — the national model for comprehensive community care.
All figures are for The Life Link's fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) and come from the agency's Annual Quality Improvement Plan and Report. Behavioral health counts exclude people who received housing assistance only. Satisfaction scores are weighted averages of anonymous client surveys (n = 431) on a 1–5 scale. Demographic percentages exclude clients who did not report that information. Human trafficking program outcomes and New Mexico context come from The Life Link's Human Trafficking Outreach & Aftercare Outcomes Reference (2015–2025), drawing on DOJ Office for Victims of Crime program evaluations and program service data; survivor contacts from 2022 onward include anonymous and hotline contacts. Survivor quotes are shared anonymously.