By Molly Ann Howell
Alexis Lucero knows what it’s like to be unhomed, and to not know where her next meal was coming from. That’s why she became the co-director of the Gallup Burrito Project, a non-profit organization that helps people without housing by feeding and clothing them and even giving them haircuts, manicures, and pedicures.
Lucero herself found housing in April. Two months later, she found a way to give back to people who are in a similar situation when she learned about the non-profit.
“I know how it is to be on the other end,” Lucero said. “Especially in Gallup it is so hard to do anything [to get yourself out of that situation.] I felt hopeless. [The Burrito Project gives] what most people have a hard time finding.”
A COMMUNITY EFFORT
Linda Farnes is a traveling nurse, and she started the Gallup Burrito Project in June after she and her son moved to town. They had volunteered with the Burrito Project in other cities and immediately saw a need for the organization here in Gallup.
“It is the coolest and most uplifting thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Farnes said during a presentation about the organization at the Dec. 10 Gallup city council meeting. “You see people come in hot, dusty, discouraged, and beaten down. They get their tummies full and get a haircut and they walk out a little bit straighter, a little bit happier, and a lot more confident.”
The organization sets up shop outside the Redwood Lodge, located at 907 E. Hwy. 66, every Saturday. The night before they gather in Farnes’ kitchen and make about 200 burritos, some regular and some breakfast, for the people they know they’re going to serve the next day. Farnes said they easily see over 200 people each Saturday and run out of the food quickly.
People have volunteered to provide haircuts and manicures and pedicures all in an effort to make people who don’t have proper living situations feel their best.
The organization also pays for two motel rooms each Saturday so that people can take a hot shower. Lucero said about 20 people get to take a shower each Saturday thanks to their help.
“We give people the feeling of being a human back,” she said.
During the holiday season, the organization provided a Thanksgiving and a Christmas meal. On Dec. 21 Farnes made lasagna and Italian meatballs because that’s what she ate on Christmas when she was growing up.
The Gallup Burrito Project encourages sobriety, but Farnes said they don’t enforce it. As long as someone is respectful, they’re willing to serve them.
A woman named Amber explained to the Sun what the Gallup Burrito Project has done for her and her family. She and her family have been without secure housing for over a year now.
“They helped us when we didn’t have anything,” Amber said. “They helped my kid, they gave us clothes, they gave us food, and they helped us shower.”
Now that Farnes will be leaving the Gallup area soon, Lucero has stepped up as co-director. She said the organization is working to build a website, but right now they can be reached by email at gallupburritoproject@gmail.com or through their Facebook page.
