Looking at Jimmy Lujan, it is hard to imagine the trials he has faced.
Lujan, a member on the board of directors for Health Care for The Homeless, sits smiling next to his wife Shawna and 5-month-old daughter Akiya.
Life for Lujan was not always so hopeful, he said. Until three years ago he was one of the many people experiencing homelessness on the streets of Albuquerque.
Lujan, 55, was raised in northern New Mexico and worked as a licensed funeral director and embalmer for 27 years, he said. That changed in 2006, he said, when his wife of 13 years was murdered.
“I just gave up, lost everything. I could not even work. I ended up on the streets,” he said. “Anybody can become homeless; it never even dawned on me that I would end up on the streets. Just never did, but things happen. It can change a life.”
He spent three years living on the streets, facing the dangers of a life without adequate shelter, he said.
“(I was) living on the streets, behind dumpsters, or even sometimes parks — wherever I could find any kind of safety,” he said. “It is dangerous to live out there. People get jumped or people get murdered; people get hurt, just because you are homeless.”
Beyond the threat of violence, Lujan also dealt with drug and alcohol abuse, he said.
He is now six years sober and has been housed for three, he said. His recovery began in 2006, when a friend introduced him to ArtStreet at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, he said.
ArtStreet is a program through which people like Lujan can produce art free of charge and even sell it, he said. The program holds shows all year throughout Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
The artists, mostly homeless, take home 100 percent of any profits made from their work, he said. An artist his whole life, Lujan renewed his passion through the program and even made some money for himself, he said.
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“It is therapeutic, there is no doubt about it. I can paint for hours and hours and I feel good when I am painting. Visions that I see in my head, I can actually put on a canvas,” he said. “There were times I would sell a painting, make a hundred bucks. I could rent a room for a couple of nights and have some dinner and have a shower to myself, or go out and buy clothes.”
Once he got involved with ArtStreet, Lujan began accepting AHCH medical assistance and jump-started his road to recovery, he said.
He got an evaluation and received the medications and therapy he needed to get back on his feet, he said.
Anita Cordova, director of development, planning and evaluation at AHCH, said Lujan was recognized for his commitment and offered him a position on the board of directors.
AHCH tries to recruit board members who have used their services and overcome homelessness, she said, to better inform their work.
The board of directors determines programming, what works and what does not, deciding where funding should go, she said.
“We need consumers to help us inform that, but you can’t just throw someone into the board. It can be intimidating, and we have a lot to learn too, so the exchange of growing together is really important,” Cordova said. “As we learn, hopefully they learn and we learn from them. It’s a partnership that Jimmy has thrived through, and now gives back in such a way that helps the organization excel, not just succeed.”
Lujan thanked AHCH for his recovery and the opportunity he now has to give back to those in need, he said.
“AHCH was, to me, the foundation of God’s grace — to get on my feet. Because without the therapy, doctors, ArtStreet, I would not be on my feet now. It is just grown and grown,” Lujan said. “You cannot get any other resources until you have got the bare basics. These people will help you with the basics, so progression can start from there in enriching lives.”
After serving on the board of directors for two years, Lujan is an example that there is hope even in the darkest of times, he said.
Surrounded by his family, Lujan wants those who suffer to know they are not alone and all is not lost, he said.
“Do not be afraid to get help; do not be afraid to ask for resources. Resources are the most valuable thing a person on the streets can have. That can help you with your mental health, your physical health. That can help you get into housing, which is half the battle,” Lujan said. “We want the public to be aware that people can get better. A lot of people want to get better, they want to get housed, want to work.”
Aside from AHCH, Lujan volunteers at Project Share, and he can often be found playing guitar for the people at Community of Hope, a Methodist ministry for the poor, on Sundays, he said.
Matthew Reisen is a staff reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
