Shelter From the Storm

UNM Employee’s Nonprofit Finds Temporary Housing for Northern N.M. Wildfire Evacuees

As the wildfires in northern New Mexico continue to rage, many are wondering what they can do to help.

When Vanessa Garcia – a northern New Mexico native who works as a radiologic technician for the UNM Health Sciences Clinical & Translational Science Center – learned about the thousands of people being evacuated from their homes, she jumped into action.

Garcia decided to revamp Safe Space, a non-profit she had started in 2018, to help displaced people find temporary housing.

“A couple of weeks ago, I started hearing from people who were being evacuated,” she said. “They were telling me their stories and frustrations, and that it was very hard for them to access services.”

So, she said, she enlisted a network of hotel workers across the state who offer Safe Space discounted rates for people who have been displaced due to the wildfires.

While the American Red Cross has set up shelters and provided meals and other relief items, Garcia said Safe Space was created to serve the most vulnerable, such as the elderly and families with very small children.

“For some people, Red Cross accommodations in shelters aren’t a good fit,” she said. “So now I’m trying to find out what their needs are so we can get those to them.”

Garcia said these types of volunteer efforts are critical in crises that have no defined end date.

Multiple wildfires are currently scorching parts of the state, displacing many people living in rural communities outside Las Vegas, N.M., and with dry weather and gusty winds in the forecast, authorities warn the fires could expand in various directions in the coming days.

We don’t know how long this is going last. We’re going to keep this organization going. And then, in the off-season, we’re going to keep requesting donations, so that way when the next fire season hits – because inevitably it will – the help will already be there.

— Vanessa Garcia