NMBLC’s August open house launched the UpLift NM Initiative and brought organizations and the community together in Albuquerque’s International District.
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council (NMBLC) hosted an open house to announce the launch of the UpLift Initiative. The UpLift NM program serves New Mexico’s Black/African American communities and all residents of the International District in Albuquerque, New Mexico. NMBLC and partners have been collaborating on this project for over a year. At the open house, we finally got to share UpLift with the community.
The UpLift Open House was on August 16th, 2022 at the NMBLC office on 1258 Ortiz Dr SE in Albuquerque. Many local organizations set up information booths to share the services they offer. The rooms and hallways bustled with community members getting to know one another.
Emergency Rental Assistance and Housing Stability
The UpLift Room was a hub of reps and resources. NMBLC’s in-house legal counsel Chris Elam shared the resources available for those facing eviction and loss of housing. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) can help eligible applicants financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic pay rent and utilities.
Also in the room were the NM Center on Law and Poverty as well as the Chisholm Table cohorts with the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association, Nu Rho chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, UNM African American Student Services, Albuquerque Black Economic Security and Solidarity (BLESS), and Beyond the Chair Initiative.
COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence
The New Mexico Department of Health gave away free at-home COVID-19 tests and had the 411 on COVID-19, Monkeypox, and vaccinations. Dr. Duane Ross answered questions one-on-one about the vaccine and health in the Black/African American community. Bianca Cowboy of D.O.P.E. Services (Dedicated Outreach and Prevention Education) helmed a table of tools for preventing ailments such as sexually transmitted infections and drug overdoses.
One of the rooms screened the Digital Stories collaboration. Story creators Tracy Dingmann and Alfondso Thompson shared their frightening experiences with COVID-19 in the days before the vaccine.
Broadband Relief
Comcast rep Kyle Biederwolf had info on the Internet Essentials program for low cost and free internet access.
Voter Registration
The New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative (NMBVC) had information on voting and voter registration. Several NMBLC and NMBVC members are registration agents and will be ready to help people register to vote for the upcoming election.
Educational Resources
Newt Robinson of the Community Mentor Network recruited mentors to tutor middle school students. Librarians from the new International District Library signed people up for library cards and talked to parents about the activities and resources available for kids and teens. The New Mexico Humanities Council showcased their magazine, programs, and grants, and editors from the Albuquerque Journal handed out newspapers and made contacts with the community.
Mental Health Resources
One of the exhibits showcased Taraji P. Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF). The Empire and Hidden Figures star’s goal is to break the silence around mental health in the Black/African American community and lift the stigma so people can get the help they need.
Fun and relaxation were part of the program, too! A game and play area was set up for kids and one of the rooms was reserved for free ten-minute massages with massage therapist Sue Lunsford.
Capping off the program was an appearance by actress Regina Taylor (I’ll Fly Away, Lovecraft Country) who’s the voice behind our ambassador Glamma Bibi.
The UpLift program is for you and all your neighbors in the International District. Come find out more at (505) 407-6784 or https://nmblc.org/uplift/. See below for even more photos from the UpLift Open House.
Photo Credit: Photos were taken by Shannon Moreau and Robert Leming
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Shannon Moreau is the Editor of the NMBLC EQ Blog