A place for Chris, a place for every teen

One week, Chris Carnero wanted to be an actor. Another week, he was going to be a pilot, perhaps flying off to Paris. Then something else would capture his imagination, and the 13-year-old would be off in an entirely new direction.

His mother, Janel Carnero, remembers those ever-changing ambitions with affection. Chris was a boy with plenty of interests and a world of possibilities ahead of him. Now, as she works to create a teen center in his honor at Mesilla Valley Mall, those interests are helping shape her vision for a place where other young people can discover their own possibilities.

"Chris was the typical 13-year-old that changed his mind every week," she said. "And so, for me, the rotating sponsors and rotating opportunities is Chris, too. Because every week he would have a brand-new passion."

Inside the mall's long-closed movie theater, Carnero envisions a place where teenagers can explore everything from aviation and filmmaking to welding, cosmetology and entrepreneurship. There will be room for games, art, homework help and simply spending time with friends.

It's an ambitious undertaking, one that has been years in the making. And while the idea for a teen center predates Chris's death, the project has taken on a profoundly personal meaning since he was fatally shot in March. Carnero has spent the months since his death advocating for changes in the juvenile justice system and looking for ways to make something positive emerge from her family's tragedy. The teen center offers another way to do that.

"It's helping my mind, it's helping my heart," she said of her work with young people. "I need to see as much good as I can."

For years, Carnero and others in the community had been searching for a building where teenagers could gather, learn and explore their interests. They looked at dozens of possibilities, but the costs of acquiring, renovating and maintaining a facility repeatedly stood in the way.

Last year alone, she estimates, they considered at least 15 buildings. None worked out. Then, in July, Mesilla Valley Mall general manager Loretta Pina invited Carnero to look at the former theater space. What she found exceeded anything she had imagined.

The sprawling facility includes multiple former movie auditoriums, an upstairs area and space that could be used for media activities. There was room for workshops, entertainment, educational programs and gathering places.

There was also the question of how anyone could afford such a facility. Then came an extraordinary offer. The mall would provide the space under a complimentary 10-year lease.

Carnero could hardly believe it. The location itself seemed almost ideal. Teenagers already frequent the mall, and transportation routes bring young people to the property. Parents know the location, and the former theaters hold memories for generations of Las Cruces residents.

Now she hopes those spaces will become part of a new generation's memories.

The plan calls for retaining the sloped floor of one former auditorium to preserve something of the movie theater experience. Other areas would be leveled and renovated to accommodate different activities.

Carnero estimates it could take nine months to a year to complete the work, although she is eager to begin as soon as preparations are finished. She has some enthusiastic volunteers waiting to help, the teenagers themselves.

In conversations with hundreds of students at Las Cruces middle schools and high schools, Carnero has been asking what they would want in a place of their own. The answers have gone well beyond video games and places to hang out.

Some want to learn how to do hair or nails. Others are interested in welding, aviation, aerospace or the film industry. Some want opportunities to learn about running a business.

Carnero envisions rotating programs in which professionals from throughout the community introduce teenagers to different careers and skills. A young person might spend one month exploring cosmetology, another learning about aviation and another discovering how movies are made.

The center could also offer opportunities to learn entrepreneurship, including making products, selling them and understanding how businesses operate. The teenagers have made another request. They don't want to wait until the center opens to become involved.

"They want to come and help clean up," Carnero said. "They want to help put in the lights. They want to help take out the floors and learn how to do it. They want it to be theirs."

That means finding ways for young people to participate in the renovation, help select colors, create artwork and influence the activities that eventually fill the building. Carnero is also organizing a rotating teen advisory board so the young people who use the center will have a continuing voice in how it operates.

"Because as adults, we think we know what they want," she said.

The center will also have an adult governing board, and Carnero has been reaching out to organizations and businesses throughout the community for support. She has discussed potential partnerships with the Boys & Girls Club, Families and Youth Innovations, Big Brothers Big Sisters, New Mexico State University and other organizations that already provide services or opportunities for young people.

Rather than competing with those organizations, she hopes the center can help connect their programs and resources, allowing teenagers to move among different opportunities throughout the community.

The Home Builders Association and construction companies have expressed interest in helping with renovations, while other businesses have discussed providing equipment, materials or programs. Carnero said approximately $800,000 in potential support has been identified, although the organization has not yet begun accepting money. Much of the work now involves organizing those commitments, establishing the governing structure and preparing the facility for renovation.

The community response, she said, has been one of the most encouraging parts of the experience. Las Cruces has always been a place where people are willing to help, she believes, but sometimes bringing everyone together can be difficult. This time, she said, the enthusiasm has been immediate.

Helping children is not a new pursuit for Carnero. She remembers the years when she was a single mother, struggling financially and doing what she could to provide for her family. As her circumstances improved, she began finding small ways to help other children.

Sometimes that meant volunteering with a school parent organization. Sometimes it meant supporting an activity or a family in need. And sometimes it was as simple as making 20 burritos.

"That's about what I can do this month," she recalled thinking. "But, you know, next we can do a bit more."

Little by little, she became involved in more programs and organizations focused on helping children. That commitment eventually became a central part of her life. The death of Chris has changed the direction of some of that work, but not the underlying purpose.

Carnero is also pursuing legislation she calls Chris's Law, which she hopes will be considered during the 2027 New Mexico legislative session. The proposal is intended to address juvenile sentencing and accountability while expanding the use of counseling, family intervention and other support services.

She believes the justice system needs to do more than punish young offenders. It also needs to address the circumstances that contributed to their actions and provide opportunities for meaningful change.

The teen center represents a different approach to helping young people, giving them opportunities, encouragement and connections before they find themselves in trouble. Carnero hopes to bring professionals from throughout the community into the facility, introducing teenagers to careers and experiences they might never otherwise encounter.

For some, it might be the first time they meet a pilot, a filmmaker, a welder, a nurse or a business owner. For others, it might simply be the first time someone encourages them to believe they could become one.

"A lot of them do need to see it because they can't picture themselves in those positions," she said.

Her hope is to give every young person as many mentors and opportunities as possible, helping them find something they can be proud of and excited to pursue.

The project will take time. There are floors to remove, rooms to renovate, partnerships to organize and money and materials to secure. But after years of searching for a place, Carnero finally has one.

And she wants to make sure it reflects the young people who will use it. She also plans to recognize other children who have died, working with their families to determine meaningful ways to honor them within the center. The connections to Chris will be woven throughout the activities and opportunities.

Chris never had the opportunity to discover which of his many dreams he might ultimately pursue. In a building where generations of Las Cruces residents once watched stories unfold on a movie screen, his mother hopes other young people will find the inspiration and encouragement to begin creating stories of their own.