zlacker

>>toomuc+(OP)
That's wild. New Mexico is fairly notorious for having terrible medical and social safety net stuff.

I have a friend that had a daughter that lived there, and had serious mental health issues, and I'd hear nightmare stories about how bad the state was for that.

I have family with similar issues, in New York, and they get an amazing amount of state support.

>>ChrisM+X5
This is paid for by the oil and gas boom in Southern NM.

The medical situation is getting worse by the year, though. I don’t think it’s just a matter of shoveling more dollars

>>lp251+i7
I went on a road trip through Southern NM a couple years ago. Highly recommend stopping at Gila National Forest - it's a certified "dark park", remote enough from sources of light to see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

One thing that struck me - towns down there had a template. 90% of towns we drove through were just a blood plasma "donation" center, a dollar store, a gas station, and a cemetery. Very bleak existence out there, oil and gas boom notwithstanding.

>>pbk1+zb
That is a very common pattern. Probably 90% of poor rural America is like that. And the lucky towns have those stores, others not even.