The Community We Serve
The people we serve face countless barriers to social inclusion and opportunities in the United States. Take one of our instructors for example. A foreign-born Spanish speaker, she first came to the Chavez Center as a day laborer. Like many Monument area residents, she faces political, social and economic isolation. With few pathways to build her skills and become job ready, she was in survival mode – struggling to keep alive and healthy – and not in a position to help herself, let alone others.
Resilient, hardworking and determined, she continued to seek ways to improve herself and her children’s lives. She and other members realized the advantage of learning technology skills, and took it upon themselves to start what has now become our Technology Program. As a result, she is now an instructor at the Center, has run her own successful business for 4 years, and gives back to the community by volunteering here and at her daughter’s school.
Through the Chavez Center, she was able to connect with other nonprofits when life became extremely difficult, struggling like many others with domestic violence, her immigration status, and much more. Her story inspires and drives our goal, which is to empower people with the tools to overcome their barriers and limitations in order to step into a brighter future where they are engaged in the community and self-sufficient.
Here are some statistics about the community we serve:
- The Monument community is among the poorest and most densely‐populated areas in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Three elementary schools support the resident community of more than 30,000. They report an average of 92% children of color -- predominantly Hispanic -- and over 80% socioeconomically disadvantaged.
- 60.9% of Latinos in the Monument are foreign born, and roughly 1/3 of the population speaks little or no English.
- With a 10.4% county-wide unemployment rate, those living in the Monument are 1.5 times more likely to be unemployed than those elsewhere in the county.
- California’s digital divide shows that Latinos lag behind all other groups – only 65% use the Internet. The situation becomes more serious for those whre foreign-born, speak only Spanish, and are low-income like those in the Monument.
- Day laborers in the street find themselves very vulnerable as they face insufficient work, very low wages, crime and exploitation.
The need in the community is great. That’s why we’re making the move to transform and empower individuals, families, and the entire community.
Get more facts about the community we serve.
