State of the New Mexico Workforce, Mental Health Hotline and Afghan Refugees Update

Federal unemployment benefits have expired in New Mexico. What other benefits are still out there for people who are struggling economically during the pandemic? What's going to happen to renters? Gene talks to UNM Law Professor Serge Martinez, and Teague Gonzalez and Felipe Guevara of the NM Center on Law and Poverty. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks with U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh about how the workforce is recovering after all the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two also discuss ongoing efforts to help out of work employees, and how the federal government is working with indigenous communities to make sure they're on the road to recovery as well. The Line opinion panel talks about a proposed mental health hotline, which will be implemented next year after then-President Trump signed a bipartisan bill at the end of his term to create a three-digit help line, allowing people living with mental illness to dial 9-8-8 in a crisis. New Mexico is in the process of planning its rollout. As thousands of Afghan refugees arrive at New Mexico military bases, the state is prepared to welcome some of them into its communities. Senior producer Matt Grubs speaks with Deputy Human Services Secretary Angela Medrano, who helps oversee the state’s Refugee Resettlement Program, about the next steps and what the federal government is – and is not – disclosing about refugee arrivals.