| Faculty and students at San Diego State University's (SDSU) Imperial Valley campus will be working with 17 community partners in Calexico, California to provide information, support, and services to low-income city residents who are interested in establishing their own businesses. The Calexico Empowerment Project (CEP), supported with HSIAC funds, will emphasize self-sufficiency, community development, and entrepreneurial instruction. Through the project, SDSU staff will develop the following: a business enhancement skills center that provides basic business instruction, an English communication skills clinic through which CEP participants can gain English language proficiency, and a microentrepreneurship resources center that supports start-up businesses. They will also develop a youth entrepreneurship partnership center that provides young people with business skills.
Calexico is located in Imperial County along the United States border with Mexico, approximately 55 miles west of Arizona and 120 miles east of San Diego. With a per-capita income that averages $8,606, this border town of roughly 26,000 residents is ranked among the poorest, most rural areas in the country. Unemployment is a critical issue in Calexico, which has been designated as an Enterprise Community by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The city has an annual unemployment rate of 30 percent.
Calexico is strongly affected by prevailing economic trends in Northern Mexico. Peso devaluations in 1994 and 1995 sent the city into a serious economic recession during which retail business activity dropped an estimated 50 percent. Limited job growth within the city has fostered increased poverty and social apathy, particularly among those residents who have substandard language proficiency and poor basic skills.
The Calexico Empowerment Project will help create 15 new microenterprises, offer training and services to 150 individuals, promote preparation and hiring of local residents for newly formed occupations, guide 80 high school-age students through business preparation classes, and help entrepreneurs share hard resources and theoretical information. Partners in the project include the Calexico City Council as well as the city's Police Department, Community Action Council, Recreation Department, Chamber of Commerce, Unified School District, Private Industry Council, Department of Social Services, and Housing Authority.
|
