Love INC extends a hand up to those in need

ALAMOGORDO — Love INC of Otero County has numerous programs to assist those who are struggling to make ends meet, but the organization's true goal is to give those in need a hand up, not a hand out. 

"It's really important to us that we build relationships with people and get to know them," said Executive Director Susan Payne. "I always use the example of the guy standing on the corner at Walmart. Some people drive by and give him $20, they don't know anything about the guy, his name, his situation but it makes them feel good that they did their good deed. Or they drive by and they're like, 'I'm not giving that guy money. He's just going to buy drugs or alcohol with it.' I always say the third alternative is to pull over, get out and talk to him. How much could you learn about somebody in 20 minutes? That's what we do here." 

An example of that is Love INC's food pantry, where people shop for themselves and pick items they will use rather than being handed a specific package. The pantry has  limitations in the number of times a family or an individual can use their service. 

"If they're new, they can come to our food pantry once and then come again in 30 days and then again in 30 days after that, but after the third visit, we look at that and figure out why they need to continue coming," Payne said. "We'll find ways to help them but we don't want them to become dependent on our food pantry." 

If someone demonstrates a true need for the food pantry, Payne said they can continue receiving food but they'll need to volunteer about three hours a month.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be here, but it has to be somewhere," Payne said. "Say a mom volunteers at her child's school and can bring a note or something. We just want to see that they're giving back in some way. We think that's important because we're not really helping somebody if we're just part of their food budget every month."  

Love INC also has programs to provide furniture, home goods, building supplies, medical equipment and financial assistance to residents in need. 

During the school year, Love INC helps local kids who are in need through their backpack program which provides them with food for the weekend. These students are recommended by teachers, counselors or school staff.

"The idea behind this program is that when kids go to school on Monday they can focus on school and not be hungry," Payne said. "That's not to say they wouldn't eat if we didn't provide it, but these kids may be food insecure so they may not have as much." 

Love INC also houses PNM's Good Neighbor Fund for Otero County in their facility, which is a fund that can assist residents in paying their electric bill if a certain criteria is met.  

A program dear to Payne's heart is Love INC's Transformational Ministry Courses. Through local churches, Love INC works to transform the lives of people in need through mentorship and education. 

Courses include Affirming Potential, which is a 12-week group class that evaluates the physical, emotional, relational and spiritual areas of life. There's also classes dedicated to boundaries, financial wellness, parenting, marriage, cooking and shopping wisely, sewing, and gardening your own food. 

Transformational Ministry Courses meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1505 College Ave. Free childcare is available during the classes. For more information, call 439-4812.

"When my son was in the military, he told me this story about his time in basic training," Payne said. "He's running and there's an MTI (military training instructor) running behind him and he's yelling, 'Payne, why don't you just give up. Just give up, you know you want to give up.' And my son said all he could think to say was, "I won't give up unless you give up, sir.' The moral of that story is you can't give up on people, but you have to teach them not to give up on themselves. If we're just giving out stuff and putting band-aids on their problems, what are we really doing to help people?" 

Love INC's fourth annual shredding event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 7 at the Bethel Baptist Church parking lot, 1316 Scenic Drive. For a donation, attendees can get their personal documents professionally shredded.

For more information about Love INC, call 439-5683 or visit their website at www.loveincotero.org.