Nidia Gallegos has worked as a resident relations specialist with Housing Opportunities and Management Enterprises, or HOME, the city’s housing authority, for two years. She has spoken to many residents during that time and was struck by the many cases of untapped potential.
Gallegos, who is based at the Johnson Community, 9000 Roanoke Drive, in Northeast El Paso, would recommend to residents options to improve their futures. She suggested they learn English, earn a GED, or enroll in college. Residents were not ready for that message, she said. In general, they lacked confidence, feared the unknown and were satisfied with the status quo.
Undeterred, Gallegos, a 2007 graduate of El Paso Community College, worked with her alma mater to schedule a full-blown recruitment event July 27 at the Johnson Community.
The event involved about 30 representatives from a dozen or so college departments who were there to answer questions and provide information about admissions, GED, campus life, financial aid, English Second Language programs, accommodations for students with disabilities, and much more. The event also included the participation of Tejano Jack, the college’s mascot, and the EPCC cheer team.
“We have to break the cycle of low income,” Gallegos said after she returned from knocking on neighborhood doors to invite residents to the community hall to learn more about their academic opportunities as well as to get some free food and EPCC swag. “Education is power. Education is the path toward a better financial life.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city and county of El Paso had poverty rates of almost 19% and 21%, respectively, in 2022. A poverty rate compares a person’s or family’s income to a minimum amount of income needed to cover basic needs.
Miguel Torres, left, an El Paso Community College recruiter, talks to Yvette Martinez and her son, Gabriel Martinez. (Daniel Perez / El Paso Matters)
Gallegos said that it was important to bring the college to the community because many of the residents were afraid to reach out for resources and would not seek help for themselves. HOME, formerly called the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, has a mandate to help residents with social, educational and economic opportunities. The organization oversees more than 90 residential communities that house over 52,000 low-income residents.
While the event was at the Johnson Community, paper and electronic invitations went out to residents of several other nearby HOME complexes and other Northeast neighborhoods.
Teresa Rivas, right, learns more about El Paso Community College’s academic options from Bertha Muñoz, an office coordinator of the college’s Language Institute. (Daniel Perez / El Paso Matters)
Among the residents that attended the EPCC event was Teresa Rivas, a health care worker who mainly assists senior adults at their homes. She said she was interested in becoming more fluent in English and earning a GED, which is an alternative to a high school diploma.
Rivas, 48, said that a hearing impairment and work schedule were the main reasons that she has not pursued those academic goals before now. She said a GED and the ability to speak English would allow her to pursue a degree or credential to become a nurse or massage therapist.
Gabriel Martinez, 20, who lives in a Northeast apartment complex near Dyer Street and Diana Drive, had put his education on hold to help his family. Now he was ready to at least consider college.
Martinez, who was homeschooled, visited every EPCC table at the event to learn more about the college’s programs to include financial aid. He was not sure about a major subject to study, but planned to take a college-administered test to learn which career might match his interests.
“I came to scout things out,” said Martinez, who was accompanied by his mother, Yvette Martinez. He left with a purple EPCC backpack filled with pens, a T-shirt, mini-notebook and phone charger.
“We did not know where to start,” Yvette Martinez said about enrolling her son. “Now we know.”
Michael Talamantes, EPCC director of Recruitment Services, said this event was the college’s fourth “Round Up” since spring 2023 and the first at a HOME property. He said the college was excited about the opportunity to educate residents about how college could transform their lives.
Talamantes added that these events remind people of the college’s commitment to the community and its different student populations from new high school graduates to family members to adults who stopped out for any number of reasons. While the number of community participants was small – 29 – he considered it a success and a benchmark for the next event.
“We’re bringing awareness,” Talamantes said. “This is the start of a new partnership that we believe will effect change among the residents.”
Gallegos, the HOME resident relations specialist, said that residents often tell her that part of the reason they do not pursue their education is because they are embarrassed to be older with limited schooling. For that reason, HOME and EPCC officials thought it was best to have the event at a HOME location where the residents could feel more comfortable.
HOME and EPCC representatives said they will review the data from the July 27 event and decide how to make the next one better. Both sides are committed to making this an annual event at a HOME site.
“I know (residents) want it,” Gallegos said. “I know they need it, and we’re going to make it happen.”
The post EPCC, HOME promote higher ed to residents of low-income housing community appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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