Censo 2010 / Census 2010
Homeless veterans face a daily battle in the streets of Los Angeles
Anthony Ortega is a homeless veteran who lived in the streets of Skid Row. He is currently living at the Union Rescue Mission shelter in downtown Los Angeles. Marlene Pantaleón / El Nuevo Sol.
By MARLENE PANTALEÓN
EL NUEVO SOLWalking the streets of skid row is a daily struggle for Anthony Ortega, a 30-year-old Latino homeless veteran who had been homeless for 10 years and has made the decision to seek help at Union Rescue Mission upon realizing he can do more than live a life filled with drugs.
On skid row, everyone has their own unique story, like the woman wearing three jackets and dragging a cart behind her or the old man in a wheelchair passing out in front of the trash can. Countless people sleep on the streets of their own battlefield and yet they’re all connected.
Ortega thought he had left the battlefield in the past once he left the military, but living on the streets of Los Angles was a war in itself. There he got addicted to marijuana and lived each day looking forward to the next hit.
“Living in the streets of skid row is a daily battle. It’s America’s own inside war,” Ortega said. “It’s poverty, and what better way to fight it than from the inside.”
Latina entrepreneur helps others succeed
Gracia shows off one of her company’s recent outdoor media campaigns. Linda Coburn/El Nuevo Sol
By LINDA COBURN
EL NUEVO SOLBack in 1987, an 18-year-old girl made her way up to Tijuana from Peru and crossed the U.S. border in search of economic freedom. Today, Patricia Gracia is an award-winning entrepreneur and a U.S. citizen who is starting a business incubator so other Latinas in the Santa Clarita Valley can be supported in pursuing their own opportunities.
The Power Women Business Center will open its doors in December on the bottom floor of the two-story building that houses Power Media Group, the company Gracia founded seven years ago.
“We bought the building last year during the recession,” said Gracia. “It was the best time to do that, and it’s also the best time to start a new business.”
Gracia’s experience trying to run a business from home was the impetus for the incubator. In 2001, she left her job working at Cruz/Kravetz Ideas, an advertising agency in Burbank with the goal of being her own boss. She installed a computer, fax machine and telephone in the soon-to-be nursery in her home. Yes, Gracia was pregnant with her first child at the time.
“I know how difficult it is when you’re doing business from home,” said Gracia. “There are always interruptions. We are not behaving the same way as when we are working from an office.”
La comunidad inmigrante se une al censo 2010
Por JACQUELINE GUZMÁN
Foto: NELSON LEMUS
EL NUEVO SOLA pesar de que son indocumentados, Beatriz, 26, y su familia planean llenar el formulario del censo 2010. Siempre lo han hecho y saben que es una de las maneras en que pueden contribuir con el país en el que viven.
La Junta de Vigilancia del Censo de E.U. reveló en un estudio que en el censo de 2000 cerca de 3 millones de personas se perdieron del recuento total y por lo tanto el Distrito de Columbia y 31 estados perdieron $ 4.1 mil millones en fondos federales. Las causas para no llenar el formulario difieren de cada individuo. Sin embargo, para muchos de los 12 millones de inmigrantes indocumentados es el mismo; el temor de que su información se de a conocer a las oficinas de inmigración o ICE.
En el Valle de San Fernando, hay una población estimada de 1.750 millones, incluyendo a muchos inmigrantes indocumentados que se enumeran como no-ciudadanos o de origen extranjero. Según el censo, es crucial que todos se enlisten, a fin de recibir más ayuda del gobierno y tener más influencia política y económica.
Beatriz (cuyo apellido no ha sido revelado por motivos de seguridad) vino a E.U. desde Perú con su madre y dos hermanas cuando tenía 17 años. Vivir en Northridge, California por casi una década le ha hecho darse cuenta de que en este país tiene más posibilidades de sobresalir. Esa es una de las razones principales por las que toda la familia desea contribuir, “Creo que el censo es un proceso que beneficiará a la comunidad, especialmente a las minorías, porque ayuda a determinar qué servicios son necesarios para las personas que viven en diferentes ciudades”, dijo Beatriz.
