NMILC Helps Immigrant Community Access Emergency Rent Assistance

Rosalba Ramirez-Molina knows well the power that comes with having a community to rely on in a time of need. Rosalba and her family are one of several families who received emergency rental assistance from the state of New Mexico with the help of the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center’s (NMILC) social services team.  

“It helped me stabilize my financial situation during a very difficult time for my son and I,” Rosalba said. 

Originally from Parral, Chihuahua, Rosalba migrated to Albuquerque in 2002 after she married her now ex-husband. Rosalba remembers her transition being a difficult one, confronting a series of taboos that she never thought she’d ever have to deal with.

“The culture, the fear of not being accepted, the fear of having issues with immigration officials, the myths that I’ve been told, the racism, even the way I dressed made it hard for me to fit into my new community,” Rosalba said.   

Unfortunately, Rosalba fell victim to domestic violence some time after starting her new life in Albuquerque with her ex-husband. However, this unfortunate experience helped her to connect with her immigrant community. She was able to connect with SAFE House, a local nonprofit that provided shelter to her and her son while she recuperated financially and emotionally. It was during this time that a couple of social workers connected her to Encuentro NM, another local nonprofit and a partner of the NMILC. 

Even though Rosalba had experience working as an accountant and a butcher, her immigration status prohibited her from applying to any job opportunities in these fields. Encuentro NM helped Rosalba learn of new career opportunities specifically in the field of home health aide. This motivated Rosalba to take classes at Central New Mexico University and graduate with two associate degrees in early childhood education and home health aide. 

“I worked in a child daycare center for a long time until I was fired due to my immigration status with no consideration of  the associates degree I have in early childhood education,” Rosalba said. “That is when I decided to change careers and begin working as a home health aide.”

Our immigrant communities were, and continue to be, disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. One career field highly affected by the pandemic was the home health aide field. During this time Rosalba’s client passed away, leaving her without employment, and to make matters worse, her son was attacked and left seriously injured and in need of costly healthcare. 

“My son needed another operation. It was a difficult time for me and my family since I don’t have access to unemployment. At the same time, I was mourning the death of my client, she was a person I cared deeply about ,” Rosalba said.

Fortunately, with the help of NMILC’s Social Services team, Rosalba was able to apply for and obtain three months worth of rent and utilities payments from the state’s emergency rental assistance fund. Rosalba says this allowed her time to find another job and to start saving money again. Now Rosalba shares her story to motivate other families from her community who may be in need of this same assistance to access the services available to them. 

“Sometimes we think that asking for help can damage our dignity and make us feel ostracized. I think that it's important to access these resources available to us to avoid homelessness and eviction without any shame since it's only a helping hand to use as a stepping stone as we move forward towards stabilizing,” Rosalba stated. 

Since January 2022, NMILC’s Social Services team has been able to help 9 families apply for and receive financial assistance to pay their rent and utilities. Currently there are 13 applications being processed by the state, our team is sure they will be approved sometime soon. 

“I am not sure what the future holds for me, that is why I am grateful for all the help NMILC’s Social Services team has provided my family and I,” Rosalba says. 

Since its initiation, New Mexico’s Emergency Rental Assistance program has helped more than 52,362 people with financial assistance with more than $124,300,000. The initiative looks to disburse $170,000,000 in total which means there are still plenty of funds available to help families. To apply for this assistance click here to access the application. 

.Flaviano Graciano is the Communications Manager for the  New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.