Athena R. Huckaby, MPH

10/28/2026

Have you ever cared about someone SO MUCH that you started trying to manage their life for them? 🙋‍♀️

I have. More times than I'd like to admit.

I recently attended an SBIRT training, and we had a conversation about autonomy that really hit home.

I spend a lot of time advocating for people with substance use disorders, but I also have my own experiences with substance use and dysfunction in my family and friendships.

And sometimes, even knowing everything I know professionally, I STILL find myself trying to fix things, solve problems, convince people to change, or steer them toward the choices I think are best.

It's incredibly difficult to watch someone you care about make decisions you believe may hurt them.

But people deserve the dignity of making their own choices. Even choices we don't like.

I'm learning that I can care deeply about someone, offer support, and have boundaries around what I'm willing and able to do.

There are approaches, including CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training), that can help families navigate these challenges.

I'm sharing this because I think it's important to acknowledge that even those of us who do this work professionally struggle with these things.

Does this resonate with you? How do you handle it when someone you love makes choices you wish they wouldn't?



Shirt by

10/22/2026

I was honored to be the recipient of the Larry Cottingham Award. Mr. Cottingham left behind a legacy of both service and humility and I am grateful to follow in his footsteps 👣

10/18/2026

Really looking forward to the Low Barrier Grajeda-Huckaby Housing Fund's event at The Hood!

The Hood New Mexico: a very important event Opening Doors, will happen Thursday October 22, 5-8pm.
If you’re curious and not sure why or how substance abuse and homelessness impact individual’s health and agency, please attend this fundraiser.
Local art silent auction, DJ Nervous, bites and a Photo Booth. See you then.

Behavioral Health Collaborative
Barrier Grajeda-Huckaby Housing Fund
Foundation of Southern New Mexico
Plus New Mexico

10/15/2026

Thank you to everyone who responded with compassion to my post about the little girl who died in Las Cruces and the support her family deserves. The family is now asking for help, and I want to share a way we can show up for them.

Their support page accepts donations and gift cards to help them through this devastating loss. If you’re able to contribute, please consider doing so. Sharing the link also helps connect them with people who may be able to give.

I wrote yesterday about how often we tell families to ask for help without making sure help is there when they do. Here is an opportunity for us to follow through and help this family feel supported by their community as they grieve.

Support the family:

https://www.supportnow.org/nancy-harvey

10/14/2026

I am heartbroken about the little girl who died in Las Cruces. Her family lives near my own family, so this feels close to home, and reading the cruel things people are saying about them has been awful.

People seem so certain they know who is to blame and what they would have done differently. I wish we put that much energy into making sure families have what they need to keep their children safe. We constantly tell people to ask for help, but someone still has to get through tonight while they wait for an appointment, an opening, or a decision.

We used to have a Child Crisis Center in Las Cruces where overwhelmed parents could get temporary care for their children. It closed in 2013. Families need that kind of practical help, along with safe housing, disability support, and treatment they can actually access.

I want to know how a family with CYFD involvement was still living in deteriorating apartments beside railroad tracks without adequate security or fencing. Who was assessing those conditions, and what help was available to make them safer? Given CYFD’s documented failures, those are questions we should be asking.

Caring about children means helping the people caring for them and making sure they have the resources to provide a safe home. This family is grieving a little girl, and they need our love and support. They do not have to prove they are perfect people to deserve that.

10/06/2026

LC3 Behavioral Health Collaborative is hosting OPENING DOORS, an evening of local art and community benefiting the Low Barrier Grajeda-Huckaby Housing Fund! The fund is held at Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico.

We already have several local artists donating pieces for the silent auction, plus music by DJ Nervous, bites, and a photo booth!

Admission is FREE and there will be plenty of opportunities to give, whether you bid on a piece of art, make a recommended donation of $20 or more, or simply help us spread the word.

WE ARE ALSO looking for an individual, business, or organization willing to MATCH donations made during the event. If that might be you, PLEASE REACH OUT!

The Housing Fund helps individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder access safe housing while they work toward stability in recovery.

Thursday, October 22 | 5–8 p.m.
The Hood, 3206 Harrelson St., Las Cruces

Scan the QR code to RSVP, or RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZifP-fioLKnD_sc1BECDpozFiOPEbOG0iEh66-1kTmzoP4w/viewform

Invite a friend! Come spend the evening with us!



cc: Deandra Rodriguez, FYI Plus NM & The Hood New Mexico

09/28/2026

In SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) training today. I was able to take this quote in more fully.

“Don’t try to make someone change. Create a conversation where they feel safe, supported, and empowered enough to explore change for themselves.”

I have absolutely tried to make people change. If I’m being really transparent, there have been times when I have tried to force change.

Especially when I care about someone and I can see them struggling, I can very quickly move into problem-solving, fixing, intervening, managing, and overfunctioning. I can see what I think would help, and then work way too hard trying to get them there.

This is something I’ve been working on personally for a while, so hearing it framed this simply in a professional training was impactful for me today.

I can listen. I can ask good questions. I can offer information, resources, rides, support, encouragement, and connection. I can help create the conditions where change feels possible.

But I cannot do someone else’s changing for them.

And boundaries are part of that, too. Supporting someone does not require me to exhaust myself, abandon my own needs, or keep doing more because they are not ready or able to do their part. I am allowed to step back. I am allowed to rest. I am allowed to take care of myself while still loving someone very much.

Sometimes the work is supporting another person. Sometimes the work is tolerating my own discomfort when I cannot fix what is happening.

Sometimes, especially if it's someone close to me personally, I may even need to take space.

I understand that support, boundaries, and letting go of control can all exist at the same time. Balancing all that is another thing. It's a journey, for sure.

09/10/2026

If we grew up around problematic alcohol use or other addictions, chaos, or dysfunction, some of the effects can follow us into adulthood.

People-pleasing, trouble with boundaries, feeling responsible for everyone else, difficulty trusting people, or being way more comfortable helping than asking for help are all common ACA traits.

Hope in ACOA meets every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at UCC Church, 1555 E University Ave. in Las Cruces.