{"id":14209,"date":"2025-12-30T10:06:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T17:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ive-lived-it-valeria-alarcon-pushes-for-state-funding-for-rural-tribal-health-councils\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:33:06","slug":"ive-lived-it-valeria-alarcon-pushes-for-state-funding-for-rural-tribal-health-councils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ive-lived-it-valeria-alarcon-pushes-for-state-funding-for-rural-tribal-health-councils\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019ve lived it\u2019: Valeria Alarc\u00f3n pushes for state funding for rural, tribal health councils"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Valeria
Valeria Alarc\u00f3n, executive director of the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils, hosts Public Health Day at the Legislature in 2024. Courtesy photo<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A native of Ecuador, Alarc\u00f3n immigrated as a child to the U.S., where her family endured public health challenges they hadn\u2019t encountered previously, including on-the-job injuries, substance abuse and violence.<\/p>\n

A cancer diagnosis brought on financial hardship when she was in her 30s.<\/p>\n

Now 50, Alarc\u00f3n serves as the executive director of the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils, an organization dedicated to supporting a statewide network of county and tribal health councils that provide on-the-ground health care and coordination in communities across the state, especially in rural areas.<\/p>\n

The alliance and the councils themselves are dedicated to solving some of New Mexico\u2019s toughest public health problems \u2013 from high rates of chronic disease to lack of access to care \u2013 with Alarc\u00f3n particularly persistent in her pursuit of adequate and recurring state funding for the councils.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a woman of color, cancer survivor in this field of work, it feels like all of my life experiences are more than medicine to inform the work that I do \u2013 because I\u2019ve lived it,\u201d Alarc\u00f3n said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Welcome to America\u2019<\/div>\n

She knew her life had changed drastically within 24 hours of arriving in the United States.<\/p>\n

At 10 years old, Alarc\u00f3n left what she called a \u201cprivileged\u201d life at her grandparents\u2019 home in Ecuador to reunite with her parents, who had been building a business in the U.S. The family started living together in Boston in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n

As her parents endeavored to build their lives in Boston, Alarc\u00f3n said she faced violence both in her community and at home as her father struggled with substance use. When her mother was injured on the job, Alarc\u00f3n, then 11, served as her translator for legal documents and mediation.<\/p>\n

She summed up the experience: \u201cWelcome to America.\u201d<\/p>\n

After starting a career in New Mexico\u2019s nonprofit sector as an adult, Alarc\u00f3n was diagnosed with thyroid papillary cancer in 2009; the disease already had spread into her lymphatic system. The diagnosis came months shy of the passage of the federal Affordable Care Act \u2013 a time when many people went without health insurance due to lack of affordability and coverage exclusions for preexisting conditions.<\/p>\n

As she prepared for a several-hour surgery to remove two dozen cancerous tumors from her neck and sternum, and then a six-month post-op recovery period, Alarc\u00f3n said, \u201cI could not get health insurance. I had to clean out my savings to take care of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she faced a recurrence in 2011, the Affordable Care Act coverage was a lifeline. \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t been for that, I would have been in another wave of financial distress,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When the cancer came back a third time, Alarc\u00f3n opted to seek specialty care out of state. She said she\u2019s still battling with insurance companies to ensure her follow-up screenings are covered.<\/p>\n

Alarc\u00f3n learned wellness isn\u2019t distributed equitably.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we can do better,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cWe have expertise. We have community solutions. That\u2019s why I get behind health councils, because they\u2019re doing so much good work. \u2026 That\u2019s why I don\u2019t back down. That\u2019s why I\u2019m relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fighting the fight<\/div>\n

Margaret Chavez, the coordinator of the Hidalgo County Health Council who runs a resource hub for bootheel communities, describes Alarc\u00f3n as a cheerleader \u2013 a \u201cfirecracker\u201d in favor of health councils, trying to ensure they have the resources they need.<\/p>\n

Chavez is focused on teaching youth about caring for their own mental and behavioral health. Her efforts include substance use and suicide prevention. She instructs high school seniors how to use naloxone, a medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.<\/p>\n

The health council\u2019s focus could change at a moment\u2019s notice, Chavez said, as Hidalgo County grapples with emerging public health challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be equipped. We\u2019ve got to be educated. We\u2019ve got to be ready \u2013 and for that to happen, we\u2019ve got to be funded,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one thing that Valeria always makes sure, that even the ruralist of the rural areas are acknowledged and taken care of,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

But finding funding for health councils hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n

During the 2025 legislative session, Alarc\u00f3n advocated for $43 million from the state to support 43 rural and tribal health councils and to help more communities establish their own councils.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers allocated less than a 10th of that amount, offering $4 million for health councils to help implement behavioral health reforms.<\/p>\n

It marked Alarc\u00f3n\u2019s third session at the Roundhouse advocating on behalf of the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils. She had joined the organization shortly before the 2023 session and has been working to increase state funding for the councils ever since.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s happening, albeit slowly. The organization won a $3 million appropriation for health councils in 2024, then $4 million in 2025.<\/p>\n

Former Rep. Anthony Allison, a Fruitland Democrat and member of the Navajo Nation who worked closely with Alarc\u00f3n on legislation to fund the health councils, said, \u201cI believe they are a necessity, especially in the very rural areas \u2013 and, as we know, most of Indian Country is in rural New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allison said Alarc\u00f3n was instrumental in gathering data and testimonials to demonstrate the benefits of health councils in communities across the state, from Raton to Las Cruces.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do what she does, a person has to have a big heart and a lot of compassion and understanding. And that\u2019s what Valeria\u2019s got,\u201d Allison said.<\/p>\n

Alarc\u00f3n said she\u2019ll be back during the 2026 legislative session. The alliance is hoping for an increase to $8 million \u201cat the bare, bare, bare minimum,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Advocating for health councils isn\u2019t the only thing the alliance does. It convenes stakeholders from all parts of the health care system for regular Community Collaborative Forums, designed to connect community advocates, health councils, nonprofits, philanthropists, care management organizations and state agencies with a shared goal of improving health in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

The alliance also hosts Share New Mexico, a comprehensive directory of more than 14,000 social and community programs across the state. The resource serves as a central hub to direct people in need of services \u2013 ranging from help paying for basic needs to educational mentorships to in-home health care.<\/p>\n

Her work may be challenging \u2013 health councils and the alliance are trying to solve deeply rooted public health issues \u2013 but Alarc\u00f3n is sticking with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat keeps me going is our community and what I know our communities are facing every single day \u2013 both from my own lived experience but from the work that I get to learn from health councils,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Searchlight New Mexico is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that seeks to empower New Mexicans to demand honest and effective public policy.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valeria Alarc\u00f3n, executive director of the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils, hosts Public Health Day at the Legislature in 2024. Courtesy photocca A native of Ecuador, Alarc\u00f3n immigrated as a child to the U.S., where her family endured public health challenges they hadn\u2019t encountered previously, including on-the-job injuries, substance abuse and violence. A cancer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,61,561,138,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-14209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-health","tag-native-american","tag-new-mexico","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14209"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19386,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14209\/revisions\/19386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14209"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=14209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}