Vital Spaces, PNM, New Mexico Gas Company Partner to Pay Outstanding Utility Bills for Santa Fe Residents

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES, January 27, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Many Santa Fe residents are facing the consequences of unemployment and a slowed economy, including housing and food insecurities and the stress of mounting debt and unpaid bills. To help ease the financial strains caused by the pandemic, Vital Spaces is partnering with PNM and New Mexico Gas Company to help pay off the balances of outstanding utility bills for Santa Fe residents in need, as identified by the City of Santa Fe’s CONNECT platform. New Mexico Gas Company and PNM will support community members in need by providing financial assistance for their outstanding bills through the Heat New Mexico Fund and PNM COVID Customer Relief Fund. Vital Spaces’ “Power to the People” Utility Fund will pay the remaining balances.

“We will get through this together is a phrase many people hear during the pandemic and this partnership is a prime example of exactly that,” said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources chairman, president, and CEO. “While PNM offers financial assistance to customers statewide, this special effort by Vital Spaces provides utility bill help to Santa Fesinos struggling to make ends meet. We hope our partnership will lift some of the financial burden of COVID-19.”

Vital Spaces’ utility fund has already raised over $86,000 through private donations ranging from $11 to $20,000. Anyone who wishes to help their neighbors get through this winter can go to www.vitalspaces.org to donate to the fund.

“With the current fund and the generous support of PNM and New Mexico Gas, I estimate that we can help approximately 500 Santa Fe families,” says Jonathan Boyd, founder of Vital Spaces. “I urge our community to keep donating to this fund so we can reach every single resident who needs our help.”

Currently, over 600 residents have reached out for help through CONNECT, and more are reaching out every day. Any resident of Santa Fe who is experiencing financial hardship and is behind on their utility bills can seek help through the City of Santa Fe’s CONNECT website, www.santafenm.gov/connect.

“We are inspired by the good will in the community and are grateful that we could partner with Vital Spaces to help our neighbors and support this generous fund,” says Ryan Shell, President, New Mexico Gas Company.

“It has already been a long and difficult winter for so many Santa Fe residents who have been economically impacted by the coronavirus,” says Councilor Signe I. Lindell, early supporter of this program. “This is a wonderful collaboration between private citizens and our public utility companies to help our fellow neighbors during these unprecedented times.”

Press Contact:
Nina Koh
nina@vitalspace.org

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About Vital Spaces
Vital Spaces is a Santa Fe-based 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to sustain and enhance Santa Fe's cultural vibrancy by creating affordable spaces for artists working in all media to create, present, connect, and teach. Our focus is on fostering a collaborative creative community and supporting people, ideas, and art forms that are underrepresented in Santa Fe's commercial art scene. www.vitalspaces.org

About PNM
With headquarters in Albuquerque, PNM is the largest electricity provider in New Mexico, serving more than 530,000 customers in dozens of communities across the state. PNM is a subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company also headquartered in Albuquerque. For more information, visit PNM.com.

Nina Koh
Vital Spaces
nina@vitalspaces.org