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Philip Galaviz, a 79-year-old veteran, nearly lost his home to foreclosure in sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Northeast Heights last year.

After a costly battle with stage 4 cancer, he had fallen behind on his house payments, and the mortgage company was closing in.

That鈥檚 when a friend suggested he contact New Mexico Legal Aid.

鈥淭hey got on it right away and contacted the mortgage company,鈥� Galaviz said. 鈥淎nd the mortgage company was adamant about the fact that they were going to continue and were really pressing.鈥�

But by December, legal aid attorneys had helped negotiate a trial payment that helped Galaviz keep his house.

He鈥檚 one of thousands of state residents New Mexico Legal Aid assists every year 鈥� part of a larger national network of free legal service agencies providing free assistance to qualifying veterans, seniors, families and even children across the U.S.

Since last year, the Trump administration has slashed millions in funding at the Legal Services Corporation, which helps support hundreds of civil legal aid agencies across the country.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico Legal Aid had grown to a staff of around 120 employees due to increased American Rescue Plan Act funding.

But funding cutbacks since last year have reduced the staff to around 85 today 鈥� almost half of which are attorneys, according to Sonya Bellafant, executive director.

Despite the smaller staff, she said New Mexico Legal Aid is streamlining its services to 鈥渁ddress any gaps in service that would have existed as a result of the reduction in workforce.鈥�

A series of statewide 鈥渓istening sessions鈥� New Mexico Legal Aid held in 2025 revealed the greatest need is in the state鈥檚 rural areas, where , according to New Mexico鈥檚 Indicator-Based Information System.

Bellafant recently rehired Malcolm McPherson, a former New Mexico Legal Aid attorney who worked out of Taos, to oversee its services in northern New Mexico. In this region, Legal Aid maintains offices in Santa Fe and Taos and may soon reopen a space in Las Vegas.

鈥淢y hope is to raise our profile back to where it used to be, move into the future in terms of how we work,鈥� said McPherson, who also spent 17 years in private practice in rural upstate New York.

As much as 85% of New Mexico鈥檚 attorneys practice outside of rural areas, according to the State Bar of New Mexico, leaving much of the state鈥檚 population with limited access to legal help, especially when it comes to housing stability, family law and consumer protection.

New Mexico鈥檚 agencies have also helped several victims of the 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire appeal to FEMA for disaster relief for lost homes and damaged lands caused by the state鈥檚 most destructive wildfire. Many claims related to the disaster remain unfulfilled.

鈥淲e all have to focus on consistently doing more with less, which is what we鈥檝e always done,鈥� McPherson said of the organization and the sometimes yearslong legal advocacy work it will perform on behalf of a single case.

To help reach more rural New Mexicans with a reduced staff, Bellafant and McPherson plan to lean on videoconferencing, but also intend to conduct tours of the farther-flung corners of the state to advertise their services in mobile, vehicle unit.

鈥淗ow do we get them the information to know that we exist and how to access our resources?鈥� Bellafant said of their goal. 鈥淲hat does that look like with regard to access?鈥�

New Mexico Legal Aid also recently added three new attorneys to its sa国际传媒官网网页入口 office, at 505 Marquette Ave. NW.

Before she became executive director of New Mexico Legal Aid in April 2023, Bellafant served as executive director of 603 Legal Aid in Concord, New Hampshire, where she also worked as adjunct professor at University of New Hampshire Pierce School of Law.

Bellafant says she believes in legal aid because she is, in important ways, a product of it.

Growing up in Detroit, she said her mother was in an abusive relationship in her early 20s, with three daughters at home, when a legal aid attorney guided her mother through a divorce and securing child support for Bellafant and her sisters.

The same attorney succeeded in encouraging her mother to continue her education, a path Bellafant and her sisters followed.

鈥淚 am a walking, living, breathing example of the impact of attorneys like Malcom and Cassie Fleming, for instance, and David Benavidez,鈥� Bellafant said, crediting some of her legal staff.

When Galaviz recounts nearly losing his home last year, he gets choked up.

鈥淚t practically brings me to tears,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know, I鈥檓 going to be 80 years old next month, and I鈥檓 a veteran, and that鈥檚 no way for a mortgage company 鈥� as greedy as they are 鈥� to practically put me out on the street.

鈥淚 was in a helpless situation,鈥� he added, 鈥渁nd (New Mexico Legal Aid) was such a blessing to me.鈥�

John Miller is the sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.