Blind man Pays It 4ward to an ‘Angel’ at work

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In tonight’s Pay It 4ward, we’re recognizing a man who’s trying to make downtown a better place for anyone, and everyone.

On the corner of Second and Silver sits “Silver Street Market” and inside you’ll find Albert Chavez.

“Albert is probably the most amazing man on God’s green Earth,” said Ernie Esquibel, Pay It 4ward nominator.

High praise from his friend of more than two decades.

“He has a heart for others, and I know it’s hard for him sometimes, and I tell him ‘I pray for you every day that you’re gonna be OK’ and he goes ‘no I’ll be OK,'” said Esquibel. 

Because Chavez is exactly where he wants to be, in the heart of downtown helping others.

“When he catches someone stealing he often tells them ‘You don’t need to steal it, just ask me, and I’ll give it to you,” Esquibel said. 

Besides his hyper local downtown community, he also prioritizes the blind community. 

Esquibel lost his sight a few years ago.

“A sighted-person who’s a member of the National Federation of the Blind, he has helped us with conventions and chapter meetings, and he gives back all the time,” he said. 

So, it was time to Pay It 4ward with $400.

“You mean not only so much to me, but to the community downtown, to the National Federation of the Blind, for everything that you do for your customers, for your employees – we are truly grateful to have you in our lives,” said Esquibel. 

“Thank you very much, I appreciate that,” said Chavez. “I want to help anybody who needs help, I do what I can.”

Chavez has been working at the market since it opened in 2016, and he’s a familiar face in the neighborhood.

“I know a lot of the homeless people down here not by name, they know who I am, I don’t know who they are but again if I can help them that’s what I do,” said Chavez.