text: Healthcare & Child Welfare
  
  Healthcare is a human right, and I believe that all Las Crucens deserve high-quality, affordable access to healthcare, regardless of their socioeconomic status, gender, race, sexual orientation, pre-existing conditions, or any other social constructs that may be used to deny someone access to healthcare.
  
  We have seen a mental health and opioid addiction crisis sweep the nation, and Las Cruces is not immune to its effects. Poor and irrational decision-making at the state level has had dire consequences on the state of mental health care in District 3 and throughout our city. Individuals suffering from mental illness must have equitable and high-quality access to mental health treatment and resources in this city, and I’ll do everything I can to advocate and support initiatives to help those suffering from mental illnesses to get the treatment they need here.
  
  Additionally, our city has a steep mountain to climb when it comes to improving child welfare in our community. The products of poverty — the inability to access higher education, parenting programs, early childhood education, and early intervention programs — lead to awful outcomes for parents and families. Child abuse and child neglect are too rampant in our community.
  
  Access to early intervention programs such as home visiting, access to early childhood education, and access to affordable child care must improve to begin changing the course of what it means to be a child in the City of Las Cruces. I will fight to increase access to those programs and listen to the needs of families, parents, children, and child welfare advocates to make Las Cruces a better place to grow up and raise a family.