On March 27, 2025, the Taos Community Foundation (TCF) and Anchorum Health Foundation co-hosted a Community Listening Session. The event aimed to identify shared priorities and explore how philanthropy can better support the health and wellness needs of Taos’ communities through the Anchorum Community Health Fund and TCF’s local grantmaking efforts.
The overarching themes that emerged from the Listening Session illustrate not only what the community views as most pressing, but also how and why these concerns are deeply rooted in the lived experiences of local communities.
Please note, the priorities are not linear or hierarchical; all are pressing needs.
HOUSING ACCESS AND ECONOMIC STABILITY
Limited access to affordable and secure housing significantly restricts employment opportunities, undermines workforce retention, and impedes broader economic development across the region.
Housing Access was viewed as the most urgent community need in the Priority Ranking exercise. Rather than viewing housing as a stand-alone issue, participants repeatedly connected it to broader community challenges emphasizing that, “Affordable and safe housing needs to be addressed first, (Taos) is losing employees and skilled teachers,” as well as other essential professionals.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY WELL-BEING
Persistent gaps in behavioral health services is a multicultural and multi-generational challenge. These gaps disproportionately affect youth and individuals with substance use disorders, particularly in underserved and multicultural communities.
Healthcare was identified as the top priority when asked to choose the most pressing need in Taos’ community. Discussions around behavioral health often centered on the significant and widespread impact of substance use disorders.
YOUTH AND FAMILY SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Robust youth and family social service systems, including navigation resources, are essential to community well-being. These services help address immediate needs, build long-term resilience, and disrupt inter-generational cycles of disadvantage.
Perhaps the most unifying theme of the session was a deep care and concern for youth and families well-being. Whether a lack of behavioral health services, concerns of the school system, or the need for more family navigation resources, participants demonstrated a repeated desire to strengthen support services for Taos’ families and children. Additionally, food access emerged as a recurring topic, mentioned in every focus group discussion.
YOUTH AND FAMILY SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Ensuring reliable access to essential services, especially food security, is foundational to community health. These services contribute to greater social equity and support the broader infrastructure needed for long-term community resilience and prosperity.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT STEPS:
Anchorum Community Health Fund: In Fiscal Year 2 of the Anchorum partnership, strategic efforts for the Anchorum Community Health Fund will focus on two priority areas: Behavioral Healthcare Access and Youth & Family Support Services. While distinct, these areas are deeply interconnected, particularly around the shared concern of youth and families’ access to mental health care.
Addressing one effectively requires concurrent attention to the other.
In order to target these areas, two regional working groups were created to translate community insights into actionable solutions. These working groups will offer a systems-level perspective on local structural barriers and regional policy challenges, making them well-positioned to propose solutions with the greatest potential for impact to the Anchorum program.
Taos Community Foundation: Taos Community Foundation is committed to centering trust based philanthropy and community voice in our work. In response to community interest in better understanding our grantmaking process, we are developing and sharing resources about how Taos Community Foundation grants work. TCF has also simplified its grant application and reporting processes to be more focused and streamlined. To stay responsive to changing community needs, TCF will continue hosting conversations to gather input on evolving local priorities, donor interests, while fostering collaboration across the region.
Read and download the Entire 30-Page Listening Session Report below:
Read and download the Listening Session 1-Page Summary below:
