Retired law enforcement officer is fighting drugs, homelessness in Sandoval County

Exavier Aguilar, a retired law enforcement officer who served the state of New Mexico for 23 years, has been using his retirement to combat homelessness and drug abuse in Sandoval County for nearly a decade.

Aguilar, who retired from the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office in 2014, opened his own home and two additional properties to help people restart their lives.

“In terms of Sandoval County as the deputy sheriff here, drugs are something that are really bad,” Aguilar said. “So I decided to stay in Sandoval County to make a difference here.”

Aguilar spent most of his career in narcotics enforcement and witnessed firsthand how drug abuse plagues the homeless community.

"I saw that there is such a big demand for a lot of these men and women, destroying many families and there is really not much being offered to them," Aguilar said.

In response to these challenges, Aguilar founded One Day at a Time Ministry, a year-long program designed for homeless individuals, recovering addicts and those recently released from jail. The program requires participants to stay sober, pass drug tests and maintain steady employment. Its faith-based sober homes provide a solution for those struggling to stay sober from substance abuse.

“They’re reaching out to me, and I’m taking a chance on them,” Aguilar said. “If they don’t have a plan or a home to go to, they’re not going to make it.”

Aguilar hopes that his efforts will inspire others to open their hearts and homes to those in need.

"If you don’t give a person an opportunity, a second, a third, a fourth chance, you don’t know what you’re going to get out of it," Aguilar said.

His program has been successful in addressing the opioid epidemic and providing much-needed support to those struggling with homelessness and addiction in Sandoval County.

“We've got programs for men and women coming out of jails or prisons, and the program has been working,” Aguilar said. “We're going on 10 years here in this county now, and I want to thank each and everybody for having faith and believing that we can do something like this.”