What type of services do you provide?
SNMCAC is a private non-profit Community Action agency whose mission is to provide and coordinate services that promote individual and family stability as well as self-sufficiency in Southeastern New Mexico. Since 1965, SNMCAC has provided critically needed assistance and services to thousands of individuals and families residing in a five-county region through multiple grant funded programs.
SNMCAC’s programs and services include:
- Head Start
- Senior Citizens Programs
- Senior Citizen Program
- Senior Companion Program
- The Foster Grandparents Program
- Adult Respite Program
- Community Services Block Grant Program (CSBG)
- Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
More information about each program is provided below:
HEAD START
Head Start is a federal program for preschool children from low-income families. Children who attend Head Start participate in a variety of educational activities. They receive medical and dental care, have healthy meals and snacks, and enjoy playing indoors and outdoors in a safe setting. SNMCAC currently operates Head Start centers in Eddy and Chaves counties. The centers are located in Roswell (3), Artesia (1), Dexter (1), and Carlsbad (1). Head Start is comprised of four major components: Education, Health, Parent Involvement, and Social Services. Federal performance standards ensure that every Head Start program provides the services necessary to meet the goals of each of the following components:
Education
Head Start’s educational program is designed to meet each child’s individual needs. It also aims to meet the needs of the community served and its ethnic and cultural characteristics. If communities have a majority of bilingual children, for example, at least one teacher or aid must speak their native language.
Health
Head Start emphasizes the importance of early identification of health problems. Since many preschool children of low-income families have never seen a doctor or dentist, Head Start provides every child with a comprehensive health care program, including medical, dental, mental health, and nutrition services.
Parent Involvement
Parents are the most important influence on a child’s development. An essential part of every Head Start program is the involvement of parents in parent education, program planning, and operating activities. Many serve as members of SNMCAC’s policy council and have a voice in administrative and managerial decisions.
Social Services
The social services component of Head Start represents an organized method of assisting families to assess their needs then providing services that will build upon individual and family strengths to meet those needs. Some of the activities that the social services staff use to assist families to meet their needs are: community outreach, referrals, family need assessments, providing information about available community resources, recruitment and enrollment of children, and emergency assistance and/or crisis intervention.
Over 450 children were enrolled in Head Start last year. Enrollment numbers this year are trending higher.
SENIOR CITIZENS PROGRAMS
SNMCAC offers a variety of programs to assist the senior citizens in our communities.
Senior Citizens Program
The Senior Citizens Program operates within Eddy County. Services provided for individuals 60 and older include: congregate meals, home delivered meals, and transportation. These services are provided with federal and state funding. Local funding is sought to meet program-funding requirements. In addition, donations are encouraged by participants in order to ensure services continue.
Senior Companion Program
The Senior Companion Program (SCP) is a service initiative through which people age 55 and older provide assistance and friendship to elderly individuals who are homebound and generally living alone. Senior companions also provide respite care to relieve live-in caretakers for short periods of time.
Foster Grandparent Program
The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) serves Eddy and Lea counties and offers seniors age 55 and older opportunities to serve as mentors, tutors, and caregivers for children and youth.
Adult Respite Program
Carlsbad Adult Respite is a fun-filled, social environment where seniors can visit with peers, enjoy age-appropriate activities, and look forward to special events. Adult Respite provides an opportunity for seniors to avoid early institutionalization by allowing caregivers a safe place to leave their loved one in order to maintain employment or daily activities.
Last year, the Senior Citizens Programs served 1,157 individuals and 115K meals were prepared.
COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) provides core funding to reduce poverty, revitalize low-income communities, and empower low-income families and individuals to become fully self-sufficient.
Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) funding has been awarded by the New Mexico Human Services Department for Chaves, Eddy, Lea, Lincoln, and Otero counties. Funding is used primarily for client emergency assistance and to supplement programs that are funded with little to no administrative dollars. The following emergency assistance programs are administered by SNMCAC using CSBG funds:
- COVID-19 Related Emergency Assistance
- Rental Assistance
- Mortgage Assistance
- Utility Assistance
- Prescription Assistance
- Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Training Payment Assistance
Last year 1,849 households received $139,000 in assistance from CSBG.
CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM
The purpose of the Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is to improve the health and eating habits of participants enrolled in family day care and adult care homes and centers. The Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) serves Eddy and Lea counties and offers meal reimbursement to providers of family day care and adult care homes and centers.
CACFP currently funds 37 providers of family day care and adult care homes and centers.
How did SNMCAC get started?
SNMCAC is a private non-profit that has been in existence since 1965 and began as the Eddy County Community Action Corporation. Community Action organizations are local, non-profit organizations established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.
Community Action’s proactive approach helps families achieve economic stability by addressing challenges before they become significant problems. Across housing, parenting support, early childhood education, and economic empowerment, we make assistance accessible and provide the guidance, resources, and community connections needed to build long-term independence.
Sherra Hester, SNMCAC’s Executive Director, has held leadership positions at the agency for 21 years, becoming HR Director in 2003 and Executive Director in 2013.
What makes your organization unique?
SNMCAC provides a variety of services to a variety of age groups. Our programs serve low-income children beginning at age 3 as well as our community’s senior citizens (the young at heart).
What aspects of SNMCAC are you most passionate about?
ALL OF IT! We care about the people in the communities we serve from the “baby-threes” in our Head Start classrooms to those “young at heart” engaged in our senior programs and everyone in between.
How do you encourage the community to become or remain involved in your outreach?
SNMCAC is always looking for new ways to inform the community about the programs we offer and ways to get involved with the organization. Whether it be utilizing our services, volunteering at the agency in some capacity, or applying for one of our current job opportunities, SNMCAC has so much to offer. We are making a difference in the communities we serve, and we want you to be a part of it! Call us at 575-887-3939 to learn more.
Please share any other info you would like to communicate to your community!
Please call 575-887-3939 for more information about enrolling your child in Head Start. Our exceptional staff can tell you if your family meets the income requirements, how to enroll in the program, and answer any questions you may have.
Southeast New Mexico Community Action Corporation (SNMCAC)
1915 San Jose Blvd | Carlsbad, NM 88220
(575) 887-3939 • www.snmcac.com
M – TH • 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Article written by Gillian Ford and originally published in Focus on Carlsbad 2025 Fall edition.
