OPINION: Talk of the Town

Families are key to recovery

My family’s story is one of resilience against addiction. When my daughter was manipulated by a predatory individual using drugs, our bonds were tested. Despite paying for rehab and facing assumptions from professionals that we were at fault, our unwavering love — rooted in the belief that family, even through adoption, is unbreakable — helped her recover. She now thrives, avoiding addictive substances. But not every family has the resources or support to navigate this journey.

New Mexico faces a dire drug crisis: fifth in the nation for overdose deaths (50.6 per 100,000 in 2021), second for teenage drug use, and third for teens offered drugs at school (Addiction Group, 2025). Families, especially in a state with deep cultural ties, are a powerful resource to combat this epidemic. Yet, policies and institutions often create barriers, leaving youth vulnerable to harmful influences.

To empower families as partners in prevention and recovery, we must act:

• Fund family-centered treatment: Expand access to evidence-based models like Multidimensional Family Therapy, involving parents and siblings in recovery. Prioritize funding for underserved rural and tribal communities.
• Reform school policies: Encourage family engagement in addressing mental health and substance abuse, balancing privacy with parental inclusion. Promote parents as allies to rebuild trust.
• Launch public campaigns: Educate teens and families that parents are ready to help, reducing stigma and leveraging New Mexico’s multigenerational family ties.
• Increase treatment access: Address the state’s high unmet treatment needs with affordable, family-inclusive rehab, especially in high-risk areas like Rio Arriba County. Families are not the problem — they are the solution. By investing in policies that strengthen family bonds, New Mexico can combat addiction effectively.

Anne Doherty

Santa Fe

Who pays for the budget bill? We do.

At a time when we are worried about the costs of groceries and the likelihood that prices on consumer goods will increase with rising tariffs, we now have another problem: Budget cuts to programs critical to us all. The budget bill passed by U.S. House Republicans aims to cut $1.5 trillion dollars from the budget but give tax cuts for the wealthy. To do that, critical programs will have to be cut, including Medicaid, which pays for health care for low-income families and nursing home care for many elderly; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food benefits for low income families so they can afford their grocery budget; and maybe even Social Security – which we all understand.

Meanwhile, the top 5% of American taxpayers – like Elon Musk – would pay fewer taxes. Elon Musk’s net worth in 2025 is estimated at $326 billion. In New Mexico, total wages and salaries is $232 million a year (fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NMWTOT). One billion dollars would pay the wages for all New Mexicans for 4 years. Does Elon Musk need a tax break? You should care because we will pay for it.

Just look at Medicaid. Almost 897,000 New Mexicans are enrolled in Medicaid. If your mom’s nursing home care is covered by Medicaid, how much will it cost if her benefits are cut? Or will you or your spouse have to quit work to care for her?

Aside from the human tragedy, Medicaid cuts will hurt New Mexico hospitals. The financial impact on hospitals, especially rural hospitals, would be enormous.

As a moral society, we want everyone to have access to health care, food and the retirement benefits we earned. The wealthy don’t need tax cuts at the expense of regular people.

Kay Monaco

Albuquerque

Haaland is the right choice for governor

As Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman enters the Democratic Party governor’s race, we can expect some fireworks. He’s known for setting off news fireworks in exchange for a good photo op. What we have so far is a mild-mannered, extremely intelligent, soft-spoken but fierce leader, Deb Haaland, and an outspoken, loud, camera-happy attorney.

While Bregman has a local political resume, he can’t possibly compete with the resume of Haaland, who has been a vocal and visible leader in the Native American community, state Democratic Party chair, U.S. Congresswoman and Secretary of the Interior under President Joe Biden.

What worries me about this race (and perhaps more will join the field) is the question, “Can Bregman be trusted?” Rumor has it, he told Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham that he would not seek election to a full term as district attorney while filling the unexpired term. He then ran for the full term. Now, with not even half of his first full term over, he’s seeking to move on again. What will “Gov. Bregman” do next; leave the Governor’s Mansion in two years to seek higher office?

We need a governor (Haaland) who will govern and lead, not spend time seeking photo ops. We need a governor who will make the commitment, and follow through with it, with leading this great state with calm yet fierce attitude and action.

Jeffrey Paul

Albuquerque

Parents responsible for student outcomes

In the Opinion section of the April 20, 2025, Sunday Journal, three articles appeared by local commentators on the subject of education in New Mexico. Recommendations to improve our sorry record as a state included more funding, more training and more experts. Notably missing from any one of the articles was the responsibility of parents to ensure their children attend school on a regular basis. Statistics about absenteeism have been widely published and are dismal. While the quality of teachers and facilities is truly important, if children are not in the classroom every day, they cannot and will not achieve success. Until school districts and individual schools step up to educating and motivating parents to have their children in school, little is likely to change.

Gary Miller

Corrales

Bonjour, Albuquerque: Where problems persist

My daughter, who’s living in Albuquerque, mailed me your Sunday Journal dated March 30, in which I read an article about juvenile crime in the Duke City and around the state of New Mexico.

Sad to say, but I used to read about the same such problems way back in the late 1980s when I was living in Albuquerque for awhile.

In short, why are the same problems, unfortunately, still repeated again (almost non-stop, like a broken record) with no big difference 35 years later or more?

It’s the same with our single, local newspaper here in the French Alps: No real big change about what’s being written today about senseless violence in our communities when compared to what happened many, many years ago, too.

Bottom line, it looks like we never seem to come up with final, adequate solutions.

Perhaps it’s the price to pay to live in democracies.

An explanation hard to swallow, for sure.

Robert E. Devergie

Valserres, France

P.S. My daughter, Suzanne Devergie, is having your newspaper delivered every Sunday.