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City launches new office in hopes of curbing generational poverty
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller speaks at a press conference Tuesday, where he announced the launch of the city's Office of Financial Empowerment.
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City officials rolled out a new division Tuesday called the Office of Financial Empowerment, which aims to provide financial education tools, offer “less predatory” banking options and help families struggling financially.
The city launched the project with help from the New York-based nonprofit Cities for Financial Empowerment, which gave the administration a two-year grant for $170,000. The city matched $120,000 of that.
“Albuquerque, unfortunately, has been one of the lowest-income cities, the highest at-risk populations for poverty and homelessness for decades,” Keller said. “This is a step to identify different tools and resources that are available to try and help stabilize the financial future of families in Albuquerque.”
The median household income in Albuquerque is roughly $65,000 while the national average is $80,000, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. There are an estimated 5,000 city residents with shelter instability.
Additionally, 16% of Albuquerque residents were living in poverty from 2019 to 2023, while the national average was around 11% during that same period, according to the federal agency.
The new division will be housed within the Office of Equity and Inclusion, which aims to “address racial disparities and to achieve equity across all populations and indicators,” according to its website.
“We understand also that as we look at the generational inequalities that are affecting our marginalized communities … as they are struggling to survive, that Albuquerque is a city that wants to fight to correct that,” said Sonya Lara, director of OEI.
The creation of the Office of Financial Empowerment is the latest move by the Keller administration to assist low-income families.
On Feb. 13, it rolled out the Guaranteed Income Program, which seeks to supplement the income of impoverished families.
That program is expected to begin in the fall — pending City Council approval — with 80 families receiving $750 monthly over three years.
