ALBUQUERQUE – The poet laureate of New Mexico’s largest city is helping organize a poetry reading fundraising for the victims of the El Paso mass shooting.

Michelle Otero will convene Thursday a group of New Mexico-based poets at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque to honor the victims. The event also will include a vigil.

Otero says the gathering is a way for writers to help with the healing process amid the anxiety felt among many Latinos.

Proceeds from the reading will go to the El Paso Shooting Victims’ Fund.

Earlier month, police say a shooter, who is white, opened fire at an El Paso Walmart, killing 22.

Investigators believe the alleged gunman wrote an anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant online rant before the shooting.