Good evening, everyone.

It's October 20th, 2025, the 40th meeting of the 26th Council will come to order.

All councillors will be present at some point.

Councillor Baca is going to be here a little bit late.

We're going to begin with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance in English and then in Spanish.

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this evening if needed.

With regard to decorum in the chambers, we want tonight's proceedings to be as civil and respectful as possible.

Please do not make any personal attacks and please no applause, snapping or other outbursts during the meeting.

Thank you, Madam President.

We're going to start with a proclamation recognizing domestic violence awareness month.

And I'm going to invite Teresa Garcia, Chair of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission, Sheree Alapat, co-chair of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission, and Mary Ellen Garcia, Executive Director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, to come down to the podium as we all do our lines from the proclamation and ask Councillor Sanchez to get us going.

Thank you so much, Councilor Feblecorn.

Whereas in 2022, the Albuquerque City Council unanimously passed the domestic violence and sexual assault DVSA Commission ordinance, creating a permanent survivor-centered body to strengthen prevention, intervention, and accountability in response to domestic and sexual violence.

And whereas now in its third year, the DVSA Commission continues to bring together survivors, advocates, service providers, law enforcement, the courts, health care providers, and community partners to identify gaps, recommend solutions, and ensure the city's response is trauma-informed and effective.

And whereas since the adoption of the ordinance, the DVSA Commission has advanced key initiatives, including the implementation of new restraining order packet to make filing more accessible, the unanimous vote to implement a lethality assessment program to identify and respond to high-risk situations, ongoing training for Albuquerque community safety responders, and the expansion of hotelling options to provide safe shelter for survivors in crisis.

And whereas the D VSA Commission has also accomplished incorporating their new mission and vision statement with the support of City Council unanimously approving the funding request to hire a coach and support the foundational documentation and whereas these achievements reflect the ordinance's purpose of building a coordinated survivor-centered response that reduces barriers, amplifies his community voices, and promotes safety, dignity, and healing for those impacted by violence.

And whereas there is an urgent need for co-sheltering options that keep survivors and their companion animals together, understanding that many individuals delay or forego seeking safety out of a concern for the well-being of their animal family members and whereas during domestic violence awareness month, we honor the resilience of survivors, recognize the dedication of advocates and partners, and reaffirm our commitment to ending domestic violence and sexual violence in Albuquerque.

Be it proclaimed that the council, the governing body of the city of Albuquerque, hereby proclaims October 2025 as domestic violence awareness month in Albuquerque.

And calls on all residents to stand with survivors, support prevention and intervention efforts, and work together towards a safer, more just community.

Be it proclaimed that this council, the governing body of the city of Albuquerque hereby proclaims October 2025 as domestic violence awareness month.

Um, I'm sorry, that's already been said.

So thank you all for being here, Madam President.

If um, I announced three of you, but I would love for you to all introduce yourselves and then if anybody would like to make a quick statement.

Thank you so much for that, Council President, Vice President, Council members.

It's an honor to be in front of you all.

Um we just finished our commission meeting upstairs with also a change on our commission.

And so, as you all know, with the email that I send, um, this is my last time.

My I am termed out along with my co-chair Cheche Ali Pat from the New Mexico Asian Family Center.

And so it's been an honor to present in front of you all.

All of your support has really been a huge support for us and our in our community across the board.

Thank you for the funding in the 2,250,000.

Thank you for the support with the lethality assessment.

We have the restraining order that's brand new that's being implemented.

None of this work would have been possible without you all and your support and just being our advocates as well and making room for us, even last minute with your policy analysts.

It's been an honor to serve with you all, so thank you, and I'll um call on my co-chair.

Thank you so much.

Maraming Maramin Salamat.

October is very important to all the survivors and the advocates that are sitting here, but are also the commitment that you also have and have given us in support of culturally specific care, community care, and survivor justice, because we know survivors deserve better.

Survivors deserve all that they can for justice and for safety, however, they do define that.

And we are here as nonprofit organizations, as advocates, as community-based organizations, and the collaboration that we've had done, not to say it was ever easy, but remembering how you also acknowledged how much we worked very, very hard to make that happen.

And we are just grateful for the ongoing support that no matter what elections or not, that you're continuing to have that commitment for all of us.

So thank you so much.

Let me just briefly introduce the new chair and co-chair, Amy Um McKendrick from Safe House, New Mexico, and also Tiffany Hiron from the Coalition to Staff Violence Against Land Movement.

We look forward to working with you and continuing the work of the DBSA Commission.

Madam President, Madam Vice President, uh members of the City Council, my name's Mary Alan Garcia, I'm the chief executive officer of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Um, I would like to thank the City of Albuquerque and the City Council for always getting it right when it comes to our most vulnerable populations here in Albuquerque and Berleo County.

We know that survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence are some of our most vulnerable populations, and the city of Albuquerque always puts survivors first.

And we here at the coalition on behalf of all of our members are working very diligently in the entire state to ensure that there's adequate funding and adequate resources, which we know that there are not.

And so we are going to continue to call on you as leaders in our communities to ensure that our providers are meaningfully and adequately funded so that they can continue to do the great work that they are doing.

And I just want to echo that it is October and it is domestic violence awareness month, but I want us to not forget that domestic violence does not end October 31st.

It doesn't start October 1st, it doesn't end October 31st.