Unemployment rates in the Latino community in Arizona are at 11.1 percent, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, but work programs in South Tucson are attempting to lower that number.
With Arizona's unemployment rate at 9.1 percent the job market is scarce for many Arizonans. However, the Southside Presbyterian Church has a program, Southside Worker Center, which formed in 2006 to help people living below the poverty level find day work. SWC officials help documented and undocumented workers find day-labor jobs throughout the South Tucson and Tucson community. Raul Alcaraz Ochoa has been working at the center as a volunteer education coordinator for the past year and a half.
"The goal of the center is to uplift the conditions of day labor workers here in Tucson and the community in general," Ochoa said.Because the center does not ask for documentation, some employers are more reluctant to use the service. Ochoa said during arguments and consideration of SB1070, and then the passing of the law, some employers stopped coming to the center for workers.
"We always get the brunt of a lot of what's going on economically and politically," Ochoa said. "It is always magnified here."
Workers, such as Jorge Rosas, who has been coming the center since it opened, have been hit hard by the lack of jobs. Rosas, who sends all his money to his family in Mexico, said there are not enough employers for all the workers and this makes it hard for them, as well as their families, to live. Rosas said he lives at different missions and keeps his living costs very low so his family can have more.
"We're here as immigrants, we come in and out of these areas looking for a better life," Rosas said. "I wish we could all find stable jobs and earn enough money to send home."
To the center, helping the community means educating the members through classes and work. These classes include, rights when being stopped by police, rights when being detained, how to represent yourself in court and proper wages when working. To become a member of the Center, participants must attend an orientation, a "Know Your Rights" training class and pay the $5 monthly fee. The money from the fee goes to support the centers operating cost.
"SB1070 is forcing underground labor, where it's more exploitable, where there can be more abuse to the workers," Ochoa said.
Another program, which recently left South Tucson but is still operating in Tucson, is an elderly work program. The Senior Community Service Employment Program helps documented people 55 and older in receiving the training necessary to obtain jobs. This program offers training in fields such as, computer skills, housekeeping, dietary aid and home repair social service. Peter Kang, SCSEP coordinator, said the program works with the Pima Council on Aging.
"I think it's a win-win for the community and a win-win for the participants to get the training that they need." Kang said.
The program had to leave its location at the Sam Lena Public Library, 1607 S. 6th Ave., because of low funding from PCOA. The funding for the program was cut 40 percent from last year, which meant that the program itself had to experience cuts as well. According to a 2011 workshop, Assessing the Impact of Severe Economic Recession on the Elderly, the elderly noticed their retirement plans in jeopardy and this motivated senior citizens to return to work. Their return to work has kept the unemployment rate for elderly at a lower rate.
"We're hoping that the Department of Labor doesn't cut our funding again for this coming fiscal year," Kang said.
Now the program is located at the Rio Nuevo One Stop Career Center, 340 N. Commerce Park Loop, and the Council on Aging Foundation Legacy Gift Center, 8467 E. Broadway. However, Kang maintains the feeling that Sam Lena was the best location for helping people in the program.
"The Sam Lena Library was close to a lot of seniors living downtown," Kang said. "It offered them a place to go that's not so far from where they live."
