>>Funded generously by the following: the New Mexico First Legacy Fund at the New Mexico Foundation and its donors, including the Greg Nelson - Warren Nelson family.

More donors at NMPBS.org.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

>>Hakim: How do people characterize their communities?

That's what the producers of our program were charged to discover within New Mexico.

They traveled all across southern New Mexico to speak and engage with community leaders and ordinary people.

We headed to Hobbs, where the group emphasized how their community in Lea County is working to not solely be defined as an oil field town, but rather as a place capable of growth and opportunity.

>>Annaliese: I love about my community is that we help take care of other people.

>>Elizabeth: There is a lot of support for families here in this community, and we are very close knit when it comes to supporting one another, and we all.

>>Evelyn: Want the same thing the best for our communities.

>>Aliyana: We all come together and we work together as one.

>>Sam: We're a community of people who want to just make this community stronger and better and grow to where we're just not that dirty.

You know, field town that that people perceive us, perceive us to be in the past because that's what it was.

That's what Hobbs originally was based on, was the field.

And we're trying to steer that paradigm to where we're more than just a field.

We're a community of people who really want this place to grow and to strive, and to be a better place for people to come and live.

We've got so many wonderful nonprofits and so much support for the people here in Hobbs that we need to get that out so people can see exactly what we have to offer for everyone here in the community.

Not just fathers, but everyone seniors, kids, everyone here in Hobbs.

>>Kendra: I am in charge of the farmers' market here in Hobbs, and it is Hobbs America Farmers' Market, and I love it.

I've been involved since 2016, and I started with a little table with about eight dozen eggs.

And then, because I had a 50 by 100 foot farm or garden and lived out in the country with my stepdad.

And through the years I've met a lot of people in the community.

And now that I'm officially running it, I love the phone calls from the moms that are wanting to earn, needing to earn money for their kids' ballet lessons, anything that they want, and even the kids that come and sell lemonade or their baked goods.

It's a neat place for the community to come together.

And a lot of our vendors over the years have become more famous, I guess, like Patio Pizza, Heather's Kettle Corn.

They all started with the market, and I remember Patio Pizza with just a brick oven on a trailer.

So a lot of people have gone farther after leaving.

You know, they leave the market because they are pros at it now, and just seeing everybody come out and get the opportunity to get fresh vegetables.

We have programs with the New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association to encourage fresh food, eating and just enjoying nature.

>>Sam: I work in the community.

I work at the substance abuse program called the Community Drug Coalition, and I also founded a program called the Tre Foundation for Fathers.

It's based solely for fathers.

We're here to support the fathers and the families in the community, whether it be with substance abuse, incarceration, whatever the father needs to be actively engaged in the children's lives.

So change the subject a little bit.

We're talking about, you know, education and stuff.

What about family-friendly things that Hobbs has to offer?

We have the CORE.

The CORE is a wonderful facility.

I mean, that's just an amazing building that we have there.

And then we have, you know, our little trampoline jump park.

We have amazing splash pads that we have open.

The parks are being, what do you call it?

Renovated.

Yeah.

Big word for me.

Renovated, to make it so much more of a family place to come to live here in Hobbs.

>>Evelyn: Lea County is one of the best communities in the state of New Mexico.

And that's because if I don't know you, someone is going to introduce me to you, to reach out to you.

And that cannot be, it's hard to replicate, and people don't, they think well if I'm not it, no one else.

But Lea County is not proud to reach out to everyone for the betterment of others.

>>Sam: And yes, we're blessed to have the oil field here.

Yes, it does bring in revenue, but we also feel the negative impact on that.

So how can we turn it into a positive?

That's where I struggle with, how can we how can we turn this into a positive?

One of the things that I've done is I tell my dads, okay, so yeah, you work 12, 14 hours a day, you bring in the check.

But do you even know your child's favorite color?

You know, maybe right now this is a good job to get you started.

But the oilfield's not a career.

And that's what I tell them.

The oil field's a good a good place to start, get your feet planted, get your stuff going.

But it's definitely not career-based.

It's really not.

So somehow along the line, we need to spin that to bring the community around, get these community leaders to understand that we need to do some sort of income-based housing projects or something to help support being able to bring in teachers, bring in people that want to provide sources to our community.

Where they can afford to come in and live and not - we then lose them back to the field.

>>Elizabeth: And it also affects education.

We're having, just the increase of population of, like you said, grandfathered-in and everything.

And it is just like affecting the attendance too, because let's say if there's only one parent that is responsible, while the other parent—and they both have to work, and one of them is in the oil field.

They don't even get to see the kids half the time., you know?

So then there is a lot of barriers when it comes to that.

And the housing part, I see it.

I've had several students that depend on the school lunch and the white bags.

You know, that is something very important.

And I'm glad that we are able to provide that.

>>Claudia: Hobbs has been growing a lot lately.

We have Covenant that's here now, they're one of our biggest hospitals.

And we're trying to get more doctors.

I know Lovington at Nor-Lea, they're trying to get more specialists to come here and we're almost there.

>>Kendra: Unfortunately, a lot of us, myself, go to Lubbock.

Because there isn't adequate care at times, and especially for Medicare patients.

There's limitations here in Hobbs.

>>Claudia: Medical insurance is so expensive here.

But then it's not even us that we're struggling with medical insurance.

It's also like the older generation, like they have this Medicare, but then they have all these Advantage plans.

But one Advantage plan isn't accepted in Lubbock.

So then, when they switch them, then their Advantage plan is not accepted here.

So there's just so many Advantage plans out there that nobody knows how they get switched to it.

I've had so many patients just tell me, “I was just traditional Medicare this day.

Why am I Humana this month?” I mean, we don't know what's going on.

I mean, thank God it's been easy to switch them back, but sometimes it is a struggle to get them off if it's not open enrollment right now.

>>Evelyn: You want to look at negatives as a minus.

But I look at negatives as a plus, because out of your negatives come the empowerment to build, to update, to help.

So I like negatives, because double negatives create a plus.

I think that's what we find here in Hobbs and in Lea county, is if there's something that's going on that's not working, we step back and we look at what's missing, what's not missing.

Like we're talking about right now, where there's things, there's gaps here.

And how can we turn around as a committee or as an organization or as a team or as a group, and fix it?

>>Claudia: The only things that I have run into is, like I was saying earlier, some doctors here don't take the Medicare Advantage in Lubbock.

And that's where a lot of people go to Lubbock.

And then some doctors here don't take the Advantage one that Lubbock does.

So maybe when Nor-Lea does open up all the oncologists and the audiologists or gynecologists, all of them, maybe that would bring something different, because everything will stay in this community and maybe we'll all take the same insurance.

I think I've heard a lot of that it's a dangerous community, there's a lot of murder, killing, gangsters.

I have not experienced any of that.

But I've always been told if you follow it you're going to find it, but if you're not looking for it, you won't.

But I know a lot of good people that live here.

I mean, I have great communication with all the doctors here, and I've never heard them say anything bad about Hobbs.

>>Elizabeth: The accessibility, it increases what is going on right here.

The substance abuse.

And you said, yeah, education about it, we do have the puppet shows.

All the time, and that does help to a certain extent.

But then if it's their parents that are doing it and they're supposed to be setting an example.

And then not only that, but we have dispensaries every other block.

>>Annaliese: So my questions are like the kids who are over, under age of vaping and they're trying to drink alcohol and all that.

Like, what do you recommend for them to stop?

Because it's like their parents, some of their parents are giving them it.

>>Elizabeth: We're losing accountability.

When there is regression in the kids' reading, yes, it has to do with the absences.

Maybe if we bring them in, they'll have a meal and they'll have a safe place.

That's what we're trying to create.

But, we need to do better with students' behavior.

Because the first thing they do, they find a vape on a student, they get suspended.

There, they go back to the environment.

There goes three days, because they get state suspension, three days that they miss of school.

So it's like, it is a cycle.

Until we get to the bottom, it's still going to go.

So what can we do?

Accountability.

>>Sam: We can help the families be accountable for their children and their actions, because their actions is what leads them to want to do, like you said, vape, right?

If the parents are vaping, what's the kid going to do, Right?

If the parents are drinking, what's the kid seeing?

That's normal behavior to them.

If you raise a kid teaching him that the color blue is red, and all his life you're telling him that the color blue is red, what is he going to believe?

That the color blue is red.

Because that's what's normal to him.

And that goes to that same environment like we're saying.

If that environment is not structured and it's toxic for the children, they're going to learn that that toxic environment is normal.

>>Kendra: So with the vaping, and that, it would be great if the parents were held accountable legally in some ways.

You know, I know a lot of it is, that's the way they were raised.

And it's really hard, a fine, line because the parent's doing it and the parents probably don't see a problem with it, but if they were held accountable, maybe might help a little?

I don't know.

>>Aliyana: It's also about mental health, and how you guys were talking about some substance abuse.

It can be accountability, but a lot of people have normalized it to, it helps with their mental health.

And they've just normalized things like that so much.

And I feel like with like Teen Court, it does take them accountable for it.

But there's also more things to it.

And that's why it's great that we can send them to that therapy to help them with that.

Like, there's amazing people in the school system, but there's also people that make the school system really suck.

And that's what happened to me.

The school system sucked for me.

It was really bad, and that's why I had to get homeschooled, and kids were just afraid to be able to talk to adults about it.

And it wasn't that they didn't want the help, but they were afraid.

Because they would do something about it, but then they would come to school again.

I would get bullied a lot, and a lot of kids, they would have kids messing with them.

And what the teachers would do is that they would suspend them for three days.

But then those kids are coming back to the same environment, angrier.

And that's why a lot of fights happen, too, because like we tell teachers, but they don't do anything about it except take them out of school for a couple of days, which I think really sucks.

And I know a lot of students now that are getting homeschooled because of the school system.

And one thing that, I get to be able to talk to these people and like, help them through it, because I went through the same exact thing.

Like a story with my sister, she was crying right in front of the principal, and he didn't do anything about it.

And I had to go up to him, and I had to tell him, “You need to watch your students.

You need to look at them and talk to them so you can figure out the situation.” And it sucks because sometimes as kids, as youth, we get degraded because we're younger and we are not as wise.

Which sucks, but that's why sometimes we have to be that voice and stand up for it, even though people may not listen, and think it's just as a joke.

>>Sam: So, that high school mentoring program has been put on hold.

Because we can't find the staff, like we talked about earlier, that gap, to fill that need.

And I think if we could get that going again, like you were saying, get that high school mentoring program going, get mentors into the high school?

I don't know what you guys feel about that, but get some mentors in to help work with some of these kids who maybe are bullies, you know, who really don't see their behavior.

Because again, that's a learned behavior.

They got that from somewhere.

They just didn't grow up being a bully.

You know what I'm saying?

So, maybe, I don't know, how do you feel about that?

How do you feel about getting the mentoring program back going, do you feel that that may be a gap that may be missing?

>>Aliyana: There are so many problems in the school and like with kids and stuff like that.

But one thing like my mom would always say is hurt people, hurt people, and if they're hurting right now, like they, they kind of hurt you too.

And that's also like something that, like, I was able to help with because like with kids, like they would just come up to me and talk to me and ask for advice.

And I was very grateful for that.

But now that I'm homeschooled, I can't stand up for these kids anymore, help them anymore.

And that's why I think, like what you said, like with the high school mentors, that would be amazing thing because like, we're also still kids and like we're learning to and it would be great to have people that they would actually respect because they are older and they people do discriminate age.

I feel like I've always tried to look at both.

Sides.

Like we're all think differently.

We all do things differently, and especially with teachers, like they're older than us, like they went through it like, you know, they've been kids, but also as kids, we have a different mindset right now.

We're barely learning.

We're really going through it all.

And so of course I have to always look at both sides on it.

Like like we don't know each other like completely, you know, like we see them on the weekdays, but they don't see us at home.

They don't see us like anywhere else.

And so sometimes it could be confusing on like what to do about it.

I feel like people seems like since we're such like we're a small town, so we don't really have a big community.

But I feel like we all work together and it grows as more as it's so much bigger than what it looks like, because it's not just about the people, it's what we're doing.

>>Evelyn: What would it take to initiate a trust so that you can talk freely and don't feel that it's going to come back to haunt you?

>>Aliyana: I just like even when we would talk to counselors, then they would tell our family.

Or then they would send us to therapy automatically, which we feel like we didn't need at the moment because we just needed someone to talk to in the moment.

It doesn't mean that we feel that way the whole time.

I know mental health is so important, but sometimes we need someone that we can trust that won't go and tell everybody.

>>Elizabeth: And when we hear students, and we have to speak the truth, because these are fifth graders—I'm a fifth-grade teacher.

They're cutting themselves.

They're purposely not eating.

They have already started drinking.

And you hear this and you want to be like, what are you doing, you know?

But then imagine if it goes a little deeper and then it's on you.

Like, you knew this information.

So one of the things that I started doing was providing journals that they would be able to vent or, “Let's talk trash.” That was a thing.

And I would be able to see where is that kid's mindset.

But there are times that they would write things that we were like, “Whoa!” So, you know, it's like, when does it come to the point that we're not losing that trust, but we're showing you we care, you know?

So it becomes two-sided, because it's like, what if we don't say and we want to build that trust, and you get hurt, or someone else hurts you?

And then CYFD comes in, now you're taken away from your home, because you opened up.

>>Aliyana: You don't want to break those kids' trust.

But if it is for the right reason, they will understand it eventually, especially even when they're older.

They get to live more years now, because you took that opportunity to tell somebody.

>>Claudia: Actually at the nursing homes here, I've actually, we haven't started it yet, but I think we should have some kind of like a secret angel, a phone number that they can call to.

We don't know who they are.

I mean, they don't know who we are, but we're just giving advice back and forth.

Like, maybe they're mad at their roommate.

Maybe the nurse didn't do something timely.

Sometimes people just want to be heard.

It's not anything that you have to do or it's going to cost money.

They just want to be heard.

>>Elizabeth: It was really inspiring, especially listening to the younger generation.

And it's wonderful to have them have a voice.

And even though they were talking about, sometimes it feels like they can't open too much.

But, we are doing it different, or they are doing it different.

Like we are going to be heard.

And that's what I loved about it.

And also seeing all the community members and everything that we do provide here in Hobbs.

And just that we all have that same deep desire of creating this building upon what we already have and making it a better place.

One of the things I hear is like, oh my God, they're so violent and all of this stuff.

And I was like, just like any other place.

But we get to be magnified more because we're a smaller community, you know?

But we're doing our best.

We are doing our best, and we are being intentional of the things that we do, whether it is with working against drug abuse, working against mental health, working against our future, or the things that our future is going to be needing when it comes to students and kids that are depending on us adults.

So we are actually being magnified, but I wish we could look at the positive sides of it because we have a lot going on, and that's the part that needs to be magnified.

>>Hakim: Next, we headed to Alamogordo, where the group emphasized the important role of listening to different perspectives, and using that knowledge to make life better for people in Otero County.

>>David: You know, we have a base out here, and we see so many different diversities and cultures and everything.

>>Jeanette: One of the things that I love about my community is the resiliency of the people who live here.

>>Kayla: Being in this community has contributed to my own self-growth.

>>Jeremy: There's a lot of different people of different walks of life.

>>Udo: What I like about it is, is that it's still a small town, and I'd like for it to stay that way.

And when I talk to people from Santa Fe and Taos and Albuquerque and they wrinkle up their noses and they say, “Oh, there's all that dust.

And it's dry and you get these big dust storms and the gypsum everywhere.

And it's hazy all the time and it's terrible down in Alamogordo.” I'm like, yeah, keep thinking that.

You are right.

It's awful here.

We hate it.

Because I'm fine.

Yeah, just keep thinking that, that's fine.

We love it down here.

Nice and small, man.

>>Abby: One of the ways that I like to engage with my neighbors and make a positive impression on them is just saying hi to them every morning or whenever you see them at night.

For example, this is maybe a little strange.

But where I live, there is some people that are living in a tent.

I'm not sure if they're squatting or not.

But a lot of the other neighbors were not happy about it, and they were very mean to them.

And so I tried my best to be nice to them.

I offered them seeds to grow stuff on the property.

And I say hi to them.

I think they appreciate that because no one else was nice to them.

And one of the things that came out of being nice to them is they offered to give us some bags of soil that they had.

And so I just feel like being kind, you just pay it forward and it just keeps making an impact.

>>Jeanette: I can be completely on a different stance than my neighbor, and he and I can get along just fine because we're listening to each other, you know, as long as there's that respect there, once it crosses a line where there's not respect, then that's a different story.

That's a different perspective, a different point of view, a different story.

But starting at that point, I think we have to listen to each other.

>>David: Someone told me, why don't you get more involved?

You know, because sometimes it's disheartening.

I'd rather step aside and volunteer to do something else than get involved in the political elements.

And one of the things I used to ask my student, because they would always I taught history.

Obviously, I'm a history buff, but one of the questions was they wanted to know what political affiliation I am.

Right, and this is my answer.

Point blank, I would tell them I'm an American citizen who served my country honorably.

That's what I am.

>>Abby: I am quite a bit of a political activist, I feel somewhat.

I write stuff on my cars.

So my neighbors, they see that a lot, but despite the fact that my neighbors are more right-leaning than I am, they still say hi to me every day.

They love talking to me, and I love talking to them.

And so, you know, even though they see what I write on my car, we still have that mutual respect with one another, which is really important.

What matters most is the love that you have for each other.

And you need to look at the positive things about the other person.

And not so much the negative things.

There's a lot of diversity and different people of different races and cultures and ethnicities here.

I love that we just got like our first African-American mayor, and she's a woman too.

So I think that's great, but I think a lot of outsiders think is that Otero County is like very, very conservative.

But I think that's not true.

>>Jeremy: You know, there is a certain mindset from where I came from and that kind of thing.

I think the biggest thing that I've learned from the people in this community is that there are two sides to every situation.

You know, this person's not right and this person's not wrong.

There's very much a community mindset.

You have to know that if this person is dealing with this, it might be because of that, not because they're just this, you know, to not put a two final point on it.

But, like I said, I would say a little bit more as a child, I had this kind of Pollyanna complex, you know, everything's bright and beautiful in the world.

But it's not so much that way anymore.

You get to see both sides of the perspective.

And I see a lot of that in this community just because of the job in counseling.

And I see both sides of the story, now that I'm a counselor and try to help people, and that kind of thing.

So I feel like a lot of times Alamogordo has helped shaped the kind of person that I am today because of that.

>>Abby: My husband, he is of a different political party.

He's more conservative than I am.

And we would get into fights about it a lot sometimes, especially during the 2024 election.

But we would overcome it.

And despite our disagreements and arguments, we would still love each other.

And we still found positive things about the other person that we liked.

So even though we had differing points on politics and different opinions, we were still able to get along and, you know, find things that we did agree on.

So I feel like it's important.

That's one of the important things, is to look for the things that you do agree on, and not focus so much on the things that you disagree on.

And work towards fixing the things that you do agree on.

>>David: You know, I give my viewpoint.

I listen to the viewpoint and then it's over.

Because then we know where that person stands, and we don't go there no more.

They don't go there no more.

Because they know we're not going to talk about this.

Because that's what's going to get you into an argument.

Friendships are lost, families are lost, over political issues.

And unfortunately, you just have to be open-minded.

You have to stand your ground, you know, and listen.

Biggest thing is listen.

>>Jeremy: Oftentimes, people don't know the other side of the situation, so they need to be able to communicate that with the people that they're having some kind of conflict with.

And I encourage that, whether I'm in the counseling situation or in a social situation.

I try to make sure that conflicts get resolved by talking out things.

Sometimes that is not always fruitful by the end of it.

Sometimes that conversation goes sideways, and that's okay.

People don't always have to be able to agree on everything.

But if they can find a common ground, I feel that level of communication helps out tremendously.

>>Kayla: Most people do want access to health care.

Or access to affordable, adequate housing.

Or clean air, access to education.

I believe the main difference is how we go about getting that for everybody.

But for me, to have those kind of conversations, I mean, I like to debate.

I'm a debater.

I like to make sure that what I'm saying, I can back it up, but also, I'm not afraid to change my mind if what I'm saying is incorrect.

And then it's going back to the drawing board and finding sources that support whatever argument.

I do believe everybody does deserve to have a voice in the issues that impact them the most.

So whether they want to run for office, or register to vote, or vote, or whatever civic engagement looks like you, I do believe that everybody deserves that opportunity.

And everybody should have the chance to have their voices heard.

Because we know what impacts our community most.

And we know what's going to work and what's not going to work, what's going to work in the short term, what's going to work in the long term, but everybody deserves that chance to at least have part of that conversation.

I think there is a common misconception about small towns that if you're not from here, then you won't be welcomed.

Often in rural communities, you'll hear the conversation, especially around workforce, about recruitment and retainment: “How can we get people to come to rural communities, and how can we get them to stay here?” I think the fact that I chose to come back, and I'm still actively choosing to show up for this community, is just an example of, if you feed into the person then they'll feed back into the community.

I've had the privilege of being in community with so many amazing people that have supported me, that have mentored me.

I mean, before this job, I didn't know anything about public health, but I've had so many amazing mentors that have ushered me under their wing and taught me everything that I know.

And they show me opportunities and have really contributed to my development.

So I think that was the right decision to see that there's so many hidden gems in this county and Alamogordo.

And it's worth coming back and it's worth staying around.

>>Udo: The rules of the game have changed.

And it's my philosophy on dealing, and my approach on dealing with difficult conversations with strangers or family members or even friends.

Yes, of course, there is absolutely a risk of fight.

There's absolutely a risk of fallout, grudges and all of that other pettiness.

I try to match my debate style to what they are giving me.

And if somebody wants to fight, let's fight.

You want me to bring out my hammer head and we'll bang it against each other, then that's what we've got to do.

Because in certain circles, that's the political culture now.

I believe that we will self-right ourselves in this country, politically speaking, back to the time of political discourse where we listen where if ' I'm thinking of John McCain right now, when somebody was asking him about Barack Obama and said, “Well, what do you think about Barack Obama?” And John McCain was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

What are you talking about?

This isn't about insulting here.

I may disagree with the man, but I still respect him.” John McCain was leading by example.

Those days, I hope, are not gone.

But they're definitely not here right now.

So to directly answer your question, I am sometimes accused of being quite bullheaded about stuff.

I am willing to compromise.

I'm willing to reverse my position altogether, especially if I am proven wrong.

Or at least consider that I'm wrong.

That's okay.

Because you know what happens when you admit that you're wrong?

You become smarter and better.

That's not a failure.

>>Jeanette: I don't shy away from debating somebody or making sure that those conversations are had.

I think hard conversations are needed.

They're needed for us to grow.

And so, definitely the ones about, you know, housing, about affordable health care.

Politics aside, we have a major housing issue.

And we know that.

And it doesn't matter who you talk to, they're going to tell you we have a major housing issue.

But getting to where there is actually solutions, that's where we get caught up.

If you're going to come at me and put me down to start with, then we're already having other issues.

So it's one of those, I'll match it, but I don't want to match it.

I want you to just come at me and have a respectful conversation.

Because we can disagree all day long and it doesn't mean that I don't like you, or that you're not my family member or my colleague or whoever it is.

But the cutting remarks, the only you people do this or whatever, you know that are stated when somebody has a differing opinion, it does come at you right away.

It makes you defensive.

And so I definitely try to bring that down and bring it back to where we can have a rational conversation, because I think that that's where change does happen.

>>David: We do need to reach out to the military community, especially the shut-ins.

And, you know, suicide prevention is, I'll tell you what.

Firsthand, I can tell you, I've had some experience with death from a military perspective.

So it's very important to get those airmen out there that are shut in to the storm.

I asked one of the lieutenants the other day.

We were having a breakfast over there at the Holloman serving breakfast there.

“Where are the young airmen?” He says, “They go home and they just play video games all night long.” So, you know, if you see a young airman, reach out to him and invite him over for dinner or something.

>>Jeremy: We actually, in our current production, have about 4 or 5 young airmen who have told us that basically we'd be sitting at home playing video games.

So it's nice to get them out.

Granted, it does stroke the ego a little bit to do theater.

But a little bit of philanthropy as well, because a lot of the money that we make on these productions go towards scholarships.

And so we try to give back to the community in that sense.

So the next generation of actors and actresses can go on and study the craft when they go off to college and that kind of thing.

So, you know, like I said, we oftentimes try to pull from the community so we can do that.

>>Kayla: Something that I've been asking myself is, okay, what am I going to do next?

How am I going to turn insight into action?

What can I do?

Because I can't control what somebody thinks or they believe.

And I like to say, okay, we'll agree to disagree and we'll move it, move on from there.

But what can I do?

I can advocate for people to check the registration or register to vote.

I can share information about election deadlines.

I can attend seminars on specific topics so I can learn more and find a way to help whenever the opportunity presents itself.

So I don't think it stops at just having a disagreement in a conversation, but looking at yourself and what you're capable of doing to be part of the solution rather than a problem, and just going round and round and you're not going to make any progress.

What can you do to help your community?

>>Hakim: Next, we travel to Silver City, where the group emphasized how people in Grant County are investigating their complex history to strengthen their rich and diverse community.

>>Laura: I think that the diversity here is something that stands out and makes us stronger.

>>Carol Ann: Everybody is working together just to make our community to be a more enjoyable place to be.

>>Paulo: There is culture here.

We may not always practice it in similar ways, but we all see it and we all respect it because we've all grown up around it.

>>Lorraine: The people are very warm.

They're willing to accept things and to bring other people into the community.

>>Stephen: I think we can all recognize that we come together on important matters and we stand together.

>>Carol Ann: People who just come to visit Silver City, and go to the gallery, see the beautiful art that is produced.

They see the beautiful landscape around us.

You might go on a hike, you might go to the river.

It's gorgeous.

They might think it's idyllic.

And in some ways it is.

I've been here for over 25 years and it is idyllic.

That's why I'm here.

But there are some serious divisive issues that we are still enduring and dealing with, and it's an ongoing conversation.

>>Sylvia: So I think in our community, our veterans are well taken care of.

We have a VSO as well, and I do the education part.

So I help them with their spouses and their dependents with their education.

So I think that's helping them in their future to continue and to be prosperous out there.

Their goals that they set, they might not even have any sometimes.

And once they do that, they have an opportunity to either go into the service or continue their education and better their career opportunities.

So we need to take care of our older veterans as well.

And that's a lot of our community here in Grant County, veterans.

>>Jean-Robert: So when my kids were little, they were, you know, like, what are we going to do here half the time?

And so, I guess I always wanted to be that element that provided that for the community.

And just to bring people together on different events, on different focuses, but mainly on the creative ends of things.

But your question, the effects I see?

I see them immediately.

That outlet, I've had kids from age three up to 95, making art.

You see it visibly right away.

It's palpable.

You're adding beauty to the world.

And in my case with community, I'm involving other people to share in that experience.

>>Paulo: So I own a small mobile food business.

It's called TGI Fry Bread.

I'm pretty sure you've seen it around town or around the county, And it's a unique position that I'm in.

Because I see the community.

I'm not behind the counter just making the food.

I'm there speaking to all of my customers.

They become acquaintances.

They become family, they become friends.

And now our opinions are not so much divided anymore.

There's connection.

>>Carol Ann: And we work with many schools in our county to take kids to the river.

To work with them with their school gardens.

To take them on trips in the summertime as an overnight camping trips, weeklong camping trips that reunite them with nature, that teach them ancient skills and get them out of their normal inside space that so many people are living right now.

>>Patricia: The community I live in is about 25 miles from Silver City.

But we're not a gated community.

And so to me, it's important to support the different organizations that are up and down the valley.

For example, we have a volunteer fire department.

For a while, I was a volunteer dispatcher.

Last night I attended a stargazing opportunity at the cultural center.

I'm involved in planning the annual harvest festival.

And I'm a member of the Farm Bureau.

So even though we have many, many organizations, how can I support them?

Whether it's bringing something to a potluck or spending hours in planning an event?

So that's very important.

>>Stephen: I think it's crucial, understanding your own personal perspective and how other people's perspective builds into it.

A negative side of that sort of thing, Especially in a small rural community, is a lot of individuals.

One, they don't understand that sometimes.

As well as, I think a lot of us are potentially still in a mindset of survival mode.

And it makes it harder to see past your own personal perspective and see the other people's perspective, because it's about you and your survival.

And that's really difficult.

And I see that it's not about placing blame.

It's how can we come together?

How can we overcome these issues, whether it be social, political, economical, right?

How can we overcome these together?

And that's why it's so important that we have these conversations, we sit down and we understand we are both people.

We weren't raised in the same way.

We weren't brought up in that in that same light.

>>Laura: So a lot of people are integrated in the mining community in the sense that it's one of the biggest employers in the area, if not the biggest, maybe for our county.

So while it's created jobs and also has a trickle effect to supporting the local economy, coming from a state such as Alaska that has a mining history as well, I've seen the negative sides of that in the long-term environmental effects alone.

And so I see it as a double-edged sword to where they're giving to the community.

But oftentimes, I mean, they're taking so much.

And the amount of money they're making off the community and then giving a few grand here, a few grand there, or even maybe it's 100 grand.

But really, in the scheme of things, that's not much compared to the effects it has.

And then I see, living in Bayard where the Chino mine is, how there's an obvious wealth difference between there and Silver City.

Yet that's where the mine is.

And yet I see that community still has a lot of needs that aren't being met.

>>Patricia: Papa used to say, there's always three sides to every story.

His, hers and the truth.

And so I take the opportunity to attend very conservative group meetings because I want to understand where are they coming from.

At the same time, I also attend progressive or liberal meetings because I like to hear that side.

But it's a personal decision: which one do you align with?

>>Paulo: You know, I mentioned I grew up in Mimbres, right?

Mimbres has historically always been native or Mexican.

Right now my children go to Cliff.

Cliff has always been predominantly white.

When I was growing up, we didn't go there unless you wanted to fight.

It was always just, you know, right?

And then even Cliff Gila, they had segregated schools.

One for the Mexicans, one for the whites.

You know, now I have three long-haired boys that go to a predominantly all-white school.

And I have to think about that, too, because I was hesitant when I put my children in Cliff school, knowing the history and seeing it for myself and wondering how it would be.

Because I when I was growing up, I did a lot of lot of playground fighting just because of my identity, you know?

So I figured, is this what's going to happen with my children?

And I think about it, you know, what are the factors?

They were there from kindergarten all the way up.

So they've been integrated from the start.

I have a business.

My business is all over town.

Folks know me.

So a lot of these parents, they know me through that business.

Their children are in that school as well.

So I always, always think about, if I was not who I am, doing what I do in this town or in this county, would my children, or would I be looked upon differently?

We're all talking about community.

We're all talking about positiveness, but on an individual basis, on a daily basis, when you're out there, not just what happens to you personally, but what you see happens to others.

What do you do with that?

Do you ignore it?

What do you do?

Do you step in?

I mean, these are tough questions.

Those are the tough questions.

What do you do?

What's your personal action in a time like that?

>>Sylvia: But like in Hurley, Central, well it's Santa Clara now, Bayard area.

Especially in Hurley, there used to be a lot of segregation there.

You have the tracks.

The whites were on one side and the Hispanics were on the other side.

Being a Hispanic, I grew up and I didn't see that.

I was, it was a lot before my time or while I was growing up, but I didn't see it while I was in school and stuff until I actually got older.

And then that's when I started seeing more of you're Hispanic, you're white, you're native, you're'you know, that's when all these things started coming up.

And I was like, I never thought of that.

You know, I never thought of Blacks.

And it's like, to me, they were all just my friends.

I didn't think anything of that until I started getting older, and I started noticing it and started experiencing the discrimination.

>>Lorraine: I've been in several different organizations, and a lot of that the time I am at one point the only Hispanic person in that organization.

And that's several times.

But what I feel that I do is, I don't feel like you're going to be discriminating to me.

If you are, then I just gravitate away from you, because I know there's a lot of people there that are not.

They want to know who you are, not because you're Mexican or white or whatever.

I am married to a white man, and my kids are, you know.

But I feel that it's how you perceive them.

It's easy to say you're going to be discriminated.

And they are.

They will.

Sometimes they do.

But I think it's how you accept it.

How you take it into account.

Because I could probably just be as discriminate against a white person as they could against myself.

So it's how you define yourself and how you want to perceive how you fit into that area.

>>Jean-Robert: Me being in the creative world I create rather than react.

I may be reacting on some levels to create something, but I'm not outwardly reacting.

And I like to say, I chop wood, carry water, make art.

Or, art is my religion.

I'm more concerned about relationships, interpersonal relationships and building, and taking myself accountable.

And having a consciousness about that and mindfulness.

And I know that's not everybody's take, but where you two had the questions - what do you do, what do you do?

And I say, well, you do what you do and you're not looking for solutions.

You're adding your part rather than resisting.

What you resist persists.

>>Lorraine: I have lived here all my life.

I think people that come in here probably get the impression that we're a very tight community and that we don't bring outsiders in.

But I believe that we do.

You just have to give us the opportunity because we all grew up here.

We are all, and a lot of them, my husband is not from here.

He's from Michigan.

So you just have to have an open mind and let us draw you in and you take the opportunity to come into us and meet us and know who we are.

Yeah.

>>Laura: With the building that I bought on the historic Main Street, most people remember it as Cecilia's Flower Shop.

And so when people come in and start to reminisce, the more I've asked, “Oh, what do you remember, what are your memories here?” Or, ‘What do you remember downtown like?” It's very different in a lot of ways than what it is now.

And then living in the mining district, I've noticed that a lot of people there tell me that they haven't been to downtown Silver in years, because it is so different than how they grew up.

And some people, sadly, have even told me that they don't feel welcome.

And so asking questions like, “Well, when did you feel welcome, what was that like?” Or, “What could change that?

What would make you feel welcome or come downtown?” And as someone who is very chatty, just trying to take a minute and listen and hear people.

And then even taking the time to invite people like, please come down.

See what's going on.

And when people are in our space, just observing even the differences in family culture and parenting styles, that's been just really neat to be able to observe even in that setting.

And like you mentioned earlier, identifying your own bias and prejudice and kind of just taking a minute and reflecting upon, oh, why is that making me kind of, you know, have a response and just observing.

>>Stephen: I also think it's important for us to, if that's what we believe, say enough is enough.

If there are organizations or businesses who are actively spurring on this negativity that I would personally not like to see in my community, and the future of the community that, like I said, my generation is eventually going to inherit, and the next generations to come.

I think it's our responsibility to not support them.

And I know it sounds bad.

We want to support everyone, but I do not support that division that we're seeing.

And like I said, it is a new day and age.

And I think it's on all of us to combat bigotry and segregation within our communities.

And I also have to understand my part in it for who I am as a white male.

I have to understand that, right, how I play my part in this and how I understand my privilege in this.

But how can I also do my part to make our community safer, more inclusive for everyone, no matter who you are?

>>Sylvia: How do we teach our kids?

We need to teach our kids, our grandkids, I always do and tell them, no, that's not nice.

Don't say that.

That's not nice.

Because they come from school and they come telling you, grandma, this is that.

And they tell me things that I'm like, “Oh my goodness.

Wow.” I said, you don't be like that because you don't want to be - we need to teach our children, our grandchildren not to be haters.

It doesn't matter.

Everyone in this whole world is different.

Not one of us is the same.

Not even a twin person is the same.

We're all our different persons.

And you know, we all have our opinions.

We all have our thoughts.

And I love the wilderness.

I love the animals.

I'm all for it.

I love being out there.

But everybody wants right away to kill just to kill, you know, or trash our environment.

But with our children, I think we need to teach them that natives and Blacks and all those cultures, they're okay.

It doesn't matter who you are, who that person is.

We should all love them anyway.

You know, you don't have to be with them.

But I was taught that you can love them, but if you can't get along with them, you don't have to be with them.

But you need to respect them.

And I think a lot of it is, our children don't know that.

They're not being taught that.

To respect our elders, to respect the people that are different from us.

Because we're all different.

>>Carol Ann: The physical ability of taking those actions changes our mind.

Because it's taking a step beyond just reading or talking about it.

You know, we can say, oh yes, it'd be great to grow our own food.

But if by doing that we understand that labor and love and the complexity of growing food.

And then that can change our own mindset, making that even more important.

And why is it important to grow our own food on so many different levels?

>>Hakim: Thanks for watching.

This has been not a snapshot, but rather a tiny slice of the populations in Lea, Otero and Grant counties in southern New Mexico.

The viewpoints expressed in this program are only one brief example of how individuals within these communities think, and not at all an overall consensus of the residents in these communities.

We hope that the conversation you saw will invite you to think critically about your own participation in your communities.

We would like to thank everyone that helped introduce us to our many guests and to New Mexico.

First, in its mission to be a catalyst for positive change by engaging New Mexicans in policy and enabling action.

This program was imperative to continue that mission by focusing on creating meaningful dialog within communities across New Mexico.

>>Funded generously by the following: the New Mexico First Legacy Fund at the New Mexico Foundation and its donors, including the Greg Nelson - Warren Nelson family.

More donors at NMPBS.org.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.