The tent encampment at the Espanola Pathways Shelter has been disbanded and the Shelter is moving forward with a more services focused model. Courtesy photo
BY DENA MOSCOLA
Executive Director
Española
Dear Community Members,
My name is Dena Moscola, and I serve as the Executive Director of the Española Pathways Shelter (EPS). You may have heard of us—or maybe not. And if you have, there’s a chance you’ve heard things that raised questions or concerns. Some of those things may have been true, others may not. Either way, I believe you deserve to hear directly from me.
Now that I’ve been in this role for over a year, I want to offer a clear-eyed update on where we are as a shelter and share both our progress and our ongoing challenges. EPS has the only low barrier emergency homeless shelter in the Espanola area. We provide day services – hot meals, showers, hygiene kits, case management, peer support and more -to 30 to 80 people each day.
Four nights a week, we also provide overnight shelter for up to 20 individuals, during the coldest months of the year. Overnight guests must check in and store their belongings in lockers until they exit in the morning. These measures have been put in place to protect everyone’s safety. Our facility includes separate bunk rooms for me n and women, as well as a family room.
I want to be very clear about who we serve. There’s a common perception that people come here from out of state just to use our services. That is not what we’re seeing. The vast majority of our guests are from Española or nearby communities. These are our neighbors—people you may have gone to school with, your family members or someone from your church or neighborhood. The dual crises of skyrocketing housing costs and the influx of fentanyl in our community have pushed many into unimaginable situations and the numbers continue to increase. EPS sees approximately 20 new people each month. For those who are eager to turn a corner, our staff is here to help—connecting them with recovery centers, counselors, ID services, Medicaid, mental health support, peer support and more. Our team shows up with compassion and commitment, supporting everyone as they are ready. This work isn’t easy, but the staff at EPS are deeply devoted to making a difference, one relationship at a time.
Tent Encampment Update
Much of our energy and funding this past year has gone toward addressing the crisis situation that developed in our parking lot. While EPS never encouraged camping on our site, we did everything we could to tackle this community emergency. When I arrived in March 2024, there were approximately 50 tents on the property. Our skeleton crew worked hard and brought that number down to 20 tents by July offering access to drug treatment, reconnection with family, or transition into housing.
When the river encampment closed in August, many of those displaced individuals came to us, and the tent count rose again – hitting 40 by mid-August. Another influx occurred when the weather turned, peaking at 65-70 tents in December. This created an immediate fire hazard, so we partnered closely with the Fire Department and Fire Marshal to quickly reduce the risk.
Thanks to support from United Way and the Los Alamos Coalition to End Homelessness, we launched a Winter Essentials Program. We immediately brought on 2 part-time case managers and within three weeks began rapidly finding safer alternatives for those in tents, bringing our count to 18, which more than satisfied the Fire Department request.
Where did people go? 29 of the people who left went into drug treatment. And as of the end of March 2025, everyone who was sleeping on the property has left and the property has since been cleared and cleaned. This outcome was made possible by the unwavering dedication of the EPS staff, contractors and volunteers. Our clients understood our need to disband the encampment and all left peacefully. Where did people go? Many opted to find their own undisclosed location; 9 began addiction recovery; 8 more are waiting for their reserved bed to become available in a treatment facility; 9 went to family and friends; 1 went to an out of state shelter.
As some of you might have heard, during the final phase of clearing the encampment, a fire broke out in our parking lot at approximately 5:30am on March 30. Our staff, who were onsite providing overnight shelter services, responded immediately and called 911. We later learned that a few individuals had returned to the property overnight to camp. While the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, we are grateful that no one was injured and the fire did not spread to surrounding properties. Unfortunately, some folks did lose their belongings.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be installing a perimeter fence to deter those who come to our shelter with harmful intent. The fence will also help prevent unauthorized re-entry onto the property. While it was never our goal to become a tent encampment, we stepped in when there were no safer options. While people were here, they had access to food, showers, and connection—many took that opportunity to take their next steps forward.
Financial and Governance Update
When I stepped into this role last March, the shelter was on the brink of financial collapse. There was a significant funding gap, and serious questions about the shelter’s sustainability. With the help of an independent accounting firm, our financial records and systems were reviewed. That review did not find any evidence of fraud or illegal activity. Still, it was clear that our financial processes needed significant improvement.
We’ve since overhauled our financial management system, implementing stronger checks and balances to ensure accountability and transparency going forward. We also have a newly appointed Board of Directors. Our new Board President is Angela Mielke, the Executive Officer for the Deputy Director of Science Technology and Engineering at LANL. For the past 25 years Angela has held a number of leadership positions within the Lab. She brings a strong reliable leadership style to EPS that is committed to our mission, driven by integrity and a passion to take EPS to the next level.
Next Steps
Our fence installation is scheduled to be completed this summer. In the meantime, day services will continue Monday through Friday, and our overnight shelter remains open four nights a week for most of April. Then, our summer schedule kicks in and our overnights will reconvene next cold season. Our day services will continue through the summer season.
We’re also revising and refocusing our services. Now that we’re no longer managing a tent encampment on our property, we can shift toward a more service-oriented model, with increased emphasis on case management and client support. We’re strengthening partnerships with other service providers in Española and Northern New Mexico. On a regular basis, we collaborate with more than 30 organizations to supplement and enhance the services we offer.
We’re also incredibly grateful to the funders who make our work possible: Anchorum Health Foundation, Community Health Funders Alliance, LANL Foundation, Los Alamos Interfaith Coalition on Homelessness, MFA, New Mexico Health Care Authority/BHS, Rio Arriba County, S3, Santa Fe Community Foundation, Santa Fe County, the State of New Mexico, Tsay Corporation, United Way of Northern New Mexico, and all of our individual donors who contribute regularly. Thank you for believing in this work.
Lastly, I want to thank the community members of Española. We understand that having an emergency shelter in your neighborhood is not always easy or reassuring. But I want to share two facts with you. In the past year EPS helped 62 people into drug treatment centers and administered lifesaving Narcan more than 40 times! Thanks to your support, EPS works hard to provide pathways for the unhoused in Espanola, from Espanola, to make positive changes in their lives.
We are committed to being good neighbors. We know there are challenges, and we’re working every day to minimize the disruptions that can come with this work. I hope we can continue building trust and moving forward together. My door is always open.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions, concerns, or want to get involved. You can reach us at (505) 753-4453 or by visiting http://EspanolaPathwaysShelter.org
Editor’s note: The Los Alamos Interfaith Coalition on Homelessness, as mentioned above, has been providing support to Espanola Pathways Shelter. For more information on the Coalition, read the following article.