Eliminating Childhood Trauma

100% Otero is a grassroots nonprofit eliminating childhood trauma in Otero County by supporting families with 10 vital services: food, housing, medical/dental care, behavioral health care, transportation, parent supports, early childhood learning, community schools, youth mentoring, and job training.

On Thursday, Feb. 8 100% Otero Summit invites community members from educators to parents to administrators and health professionals to join with like-minded individuals, find partners who also are supporting Otero County families, and learn about trauma and brain science from expert Jessica Sinarski.

The summit is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Willie Estrada Memorial Convention Center in Alamogordo. Register and learn more at www.100nm.org/otero.

The organization works to help every family access the services they need to successfully raise their children including the following:

• Because of the relationships built through 100% Otero, the local hospital now has Community Health Workers (CHW) who assist residents with all of their healthcare needs: CHWs connect residents with community programs, resources and services, find ways to help locals improve their health and well-being, and provide information and answer health-related questions. 
• The Early Childhood Learning team has sponsored several trainings to help parents understand the importance of early learning, and created and shared a poster identifying early childhood learning opportunities in Otero County.
• The Youth Mentoring team has canvassed Otero County discussing the importance of mentoring, recruiting new mentors, and thanking former mentors.
• The Food team keeps the list of local food pantries and community meals updated and available to all who need it.
• The Housing team has organized two Days of Hope, with more on the calendar. Events offer tangible services and share kindness with unhoused individuals and those struggling to maintain their housing. Services provided may include: drop-in counseling, job searches, resume writing, free cell phones, signups for food pantries, SNAP benefits, and Medicaid, vision and hearing screenings, vaccinations, veterinary care for pets, clothing, and one young man received a haircut.
• The Behavioral Health team has created a safe space for therapists and counselors, who often work independently, to come together to relieve stress, support each other, and share some laughs, making them better able to continue their work. 
• When transportation to medical appointments was identified as an issue in Otero County, our Transportation and Medical teams partnered to sponsor stakeholder meetings to identify issues and opportunities. These two teams continue to work on solutions to this thorny problem.
• The Housing team has assisted or sponsored the annual PIT (Point-In-Time) Count of unhoused individuals for the last four years.

Parent, grandparents and guardians of children in the county are invited to take the 100% Community Survey for Otero County at www.100nm.org/otero/survey. It is available in English and Spanish and should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. The survey is available through Feb. 29.

The 100% Community Survey asks residents of Otero County about what services they need and if they are able to access those services. Residents unable to access services are asked to identify the barriers which are preventing that access.

Data collected will be shared with public and private entities in the county. 100% Otero teams will use data to design activities and projects that eliminate barriers, improve access to services and therefore reduce childhood trauma. 

A community conversation about housing and homelessness takes place Thursday, March 21, when housing specialists from around the state will join local residents to share experiences and create opportunities. The symposium will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Christus Health Conference Center in Alamogordo and is open to the public.

For more information about 100% Otero or any of the events listed above, email peg.crim@100otero.org or call Peg at 575 551-1726.

Peg Crim and Lisa Yehle are long time community advocates and co-founders of 100% Otero.