Group assists needy travelers

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Two thousand years ago, Jesus told the story of a good man — a member of a despised lower social class — who sacrificed his time and money to assist a traveler who had been robbed and beaten.

For the last 25 years in Gallup, a small group of individuals and organizations have been trying to follow the example set by that man, who today is simply known as The Good Samaritan. But without much government support, the folks who oversee Gallup’s Transient Relief Services are struggling to keep the program financially afloat.

Now, with the winter months approaching, they are looking to the local community — families, churches, organizations, and businesses — to help TRS assist needy travelers who find themselves stranded in Gallup without money for gasoline, food, transportation, or lodging.

Toni Lopez, the current secretary for the TRS advisory board, recently talked about the program during an interview at her office in Catholic Charities of Gallup. Although TRS was founded more than two decades ago by a group of concerned citizens, in the last year Catholic Charities has agreed to help administer the nonprofit program.

According to Lopez, TRS served about 468 adults and 88 children over the last year, and expenses totaled $11,753. With average monthly expenses of $979, TRS’s current bank balance of $4972 won’t get the program through many more months. The advisory board met last week, Lopez said, and agreed that once funds dipped down to $1,000, the TRS checking account would be frozen and services would halt.

TRS’s money woes are heightened by the fact the program relies mostly on charitable donations, and the only government funds it receives is $1,000 annually from FEMA.

The City of Gallup used to give the program $6,000 a year, Lopez said, but it cut that funding due to budget constraints.

To Lopez’s knowledge, McKinley County has never helped. A July 2007 letter writing campaign to local businesses only netted TRS four donations totaling $450. In contrast, Lopez said five local churches do help by making regular contributions to TRS.

On the morning of Lopez’s newspaper interview, Karla and Phillip Wiggins and their 12-year-old daughter of Independence, Kan., showed up at the entrance of Catholic Charities after being referred for assistance by the sheriff’s department. On route to Flagstaff, Ariz., where Karla’s Wiggins’ father is battling cancer, the family had become stranded in Gallup on Wednesday night after running out of money and gasoline.

A TRS lodging voucher had provided the family with a motel room, but during the night thieves had stolen Phillip Wiggins’ clothing from the family’s 1993 pickup truck. The couple arrived at Catholic Charities barefoot as the thieves had also stolen the shoes that the Wiggins had left outside their motel door. Vera Garcia, the full-time volunteer who manages the Catholic Charities Thrift Shop, found shoes that fit the couple and clothing for Phillip Wiggins. Lopez also arranged for the family to get food and gasoline vouchers so they could make it to Flagstaff.

While they waited for their vouchers, the family expressed gratitude for the help they were receiving. “It’s a miracle place,” said Karla Wiggins, who said both she and her husband were disabled and lived on Social Security checks.

“It’s a blessing that this charity place is here.”

According to Lopez, the Wiggins family is typical of the people TRS helps. They are from outside the region — TRS assistance isn’t available for people who live within 100 miles of Gallup — and they are passing through town with children, an old vehicle, and little money. Although the Wiggins family was traveling due to a medical emergency, other families are frequently traveling in search of a better life, said Lopez.

“They just get up and go, and they hope to make it,” she said. Other people who are frequently helped are out-of-town motorists who are injured locally in auto accidents, Lopez added.

Before travelers can receive TRS assistance, Lopez added, the McKinley County Sheriff’s Department runs their identifying information through a national database to make sure they aren’t wanted by a law enforcement agency.

Those who are helped don’t receive a lot, Lopez said. Bus tickets or gasoline will only get them to Flagstaff or Albuquerque, food vouchers will only buy them grocery store items, and inexpensive motel rooms are only given to families traveling with children late at night.
Lopez believes TRS may be protecting local people and property by getting needy travelers safely through town.

Without the program, Lopez fears some people needing assistance might be tempted to turn to crime to obtain money.

To help the work of TRS, tax deductible donations can be sent to Transient Relief Services, c/o Catholic Charities of Gallup, P.O. Box 3146, Gallup, N.M. 87305.