For someone who has suffered a serious setback, such as a house fire or the loss of a job, it can seem that there is nowhere to turn.

Life is put in limbo while trying to rebuild a home or search for a new place of employment. Therefore, it has been a comfort to over four decades of Artesians to know that in these times of hardship, there is a friendly face willing to lend a hand.

Geraldine Bennett has been serving the community with Artesia Emergency Relief since April of 1960. At that time, the organization was known as Artesia Welfare and was part of the Community Chest program.

Emergency Relief operated out of one small office with the Artesia Chapter of the American Red Cross, which Bennett headed from 1960 until the national organization’s decision to close all smaller chapters in 2001, and, at one point, the Health Department.

Bennett says her favorite part of heading a charitable organization is the insight into human nature that 41 years on the job have afforded her.

"Over the years, we’ve helped a lot of people over a lot of rough spots," Bennett said. "You know people so well after that many years."

Bennett was born and raised in Missouri. She and her husband, Bill, came to Artesia in 1949.

Bill, who passed away in 1979, worked as a professional photographer and teacher at Artesia High School, where he also served as a dedicated supervisor of the DECA program. He also was an early member of the Red Cross board and authored the organization’s chapter bylaws.

Bennett has two children, Bill Jr. and Sheree. Bill Jr. received his doctorate in molecular biochemistry and biophysics from Yale University and now works in laboratories in Hamburg, Germany. Sheree works at Yates Petroleum with the Agave Energy Corporation.

Bennett’s job as director of Emergency Relief is an involved one, but her true love of helping others makes her duties worthwhile.

She is in charge of taking families’ applications, reviewing them, determining what the organization can do with the situation in terms of level of need and availability of assistance, and fulfilling whatever needs she can. She also manages the food bank, located in the Emergency Relief office at 103 N. Sixth St.

Emergency Relief offers one-time-only assistance to families in the event of an emergency, such as sudden unemployment or the loss of a home to fire or other disasters.

Some of the most common forms of assistance include a deposit on a utility, a limited deposit on a rent payment, or supplies from the food bank.

"This isn’t a hand-out, though," Bennett stresses. "We never give cash. We give vouchers for deposits and vouchers for groceries, if we don’t have the necessary supplies in the food bank."

If she has a question or needs guidance on a particular case, Bennett does have the Artesia Emergency Relief board to turn to.

"But if she thinks it needs to be done, we go with her recommendation," says Jo Lynn Hope, Emergency Relief board member, of the board’s faith in Bennett’s decision-making abilities.

The organization does not just provide for needy families, however. During the gas heating crisis of three years ago, Emergency Relief, in conjunction with the PNM Good Neighbor Fund, was able to provide utility assistance for some people who never thought they would be turning to the organization for help.

In addition, Emergency Relief is currently striving to provide services the community was accustomed to receiving from the Red Cross, including a CPR and first aid program, with a possible water safety program in the works.

In her spare time, Bennett occasionally assists her daughter, who is also a photographer, but for the most part, her work with Emergency Relief is her hobby.

"It keeps me alert and interested in life," Bennett says. "It’s a very interesting job."

"It has been a pleasure to work with Geraldine, because I’ve been on boards where you weren’t sure how the money was being spent and if it was being spent appropriately, but with Geraldine, that’s never an issue," says Hope.

"I really believe that if we did not have her, we would have to close the organization. I don’t think there is anyone else who could give what she has given to the organization, and I think we would be hard-pressed to replace her."

Artesia Emergency Relief is open from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., Monday - Friday. It is a non-profit organization, but donations are accepted.

In the future, Bennett hopes to continue with her position at Emergency Relief and with what makes her life rewarding – helping people.