Director: Dr. Linda Son-Stone
5608 Zuni Rd. NE
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 262-2481
First Nations Community Healthsource (FNCH) was founded in 1972 to provide healthcare to under-represented populations of Albuquerque. Serving primarily Native American, low-income, and uninsured patients, FNCH provides a range of services including primary care, dental, behavioral health, pediatrics, traditional health, social services, and emergency assistance. FNCH also sponsors educational outreach in the community, advocating healthy lifestyles and HIV/AIDS and diabetes prevention. FNCH averages 40,000 patient visits annually and staffs approximately 65 employees. “Community health centers are so important because they benefit the people who are most in need,” says FNCH director Dr. Linda Son-Stone. “We provide healthcare to people who private facilities sometimes turn away because of lack of insurance or ability to pay.” With The Loan Fund’s help, FNCH has extended its services to include homeless outreach. A 10-unit apartment complex was purchased in 2008 to add more office space and create a transitional housing program. Son-Stone says she hopes to renovate the building and have it operating by 2011. “Truthfully, we probably wouldn’t have purchased the units if The Loan Fund hadn’t stepped in to help us,” Son-Stone says. “Banks and other lenders don’t always work with nonprofits…. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude, and I know our Board of Directors is so thankful. The units are vital in helping take people off the streets and getting their lives back, and it will help us continue to grow and extend our services.”