The Borderlands fund, program and partners directly serve migrants and deportees in Tijuana with assistance to become self-sufficient.

Borderlands Projects

Albergues/Shelters

El Puente: This is a new shelter that currently houses 12 migrants. More construction is needed to meet full capacity including bathrooms. Borderlands donations  provide food, utilities, water and other operational support.

El Camino: This shelter currently serves 25 migrants and some are families. Borderlands provides limited support as needed.

Trauma Attention Tallares/Workshop

Encrucijadas – Cross Roads for Group Art Therapy: Shelter workers are taught how to offer art as trauma therapy to migrants and deportees.

Groundsville Community: Occupational therapy and creating sellable art. Education to produce sellable sustainable products

Manos Migrantes

This program brings together three shelters and the El Otro Lado offices for three weeks and four workshops for 30 people to be trained in massage therapy, food fermentation, solid shampoo and painting. The program has been successfully executed prior to Covid and will be an ongoing part of the Borderlands outreach. Budget: 30 people = $1500.00

Future Projects and Dreams

Promotion of micro businesses: Putting Manos Migrantes Workshops into practice. Capital or start-up funds are needed for the people that went through the above Workshops to get started in their businesses. Budget goal: $500 – 1000 per person for micro-business grants post-Covid.

We are also dreaming of a warehouse space for our job skills trainings, plastics recycling program and as a micro-business incubator.

Samuel Perez
Samuel PerezBorderlands Director of Field Operations
Samuel was born and raised in México City. At age 19, he left his hometown and lived in a human behavior experimental community in northern Mexico. He lived “legally” in Tucson, AZ for eight years and two in California’s central coast where he was exposed to experiences of immigrants and immigration. Since 2010, he has been a Tijuana based Urban Agriculturist, and deportees/immigrants rights activist. He promotes the switch from the old paradigm of helping in a vertical-charitable way that generates dependence, to a new horizontal-solidarity way which promotes dignity.
Julie Ethan
Julie EthanBorderlands Director of Development
Julie was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised in Minnesota where she and her spouse ran a family business. As a writer and organizational consultant, Julie is passionate about changing attitudes and healing divides especially with immigration issues. She works with organizations to maximize their resources and programs in a way that encourages and elevates everyone involved. In 2013, she received an M.A. from the University of San Diego in Peace and Justice Studies. She and her spouse live in San Diego.

DONATE TO BORDERLANDS PROGRAMS

If you prefer to donate via check, you can mail it to:

Attn: CrossPresence
255 20th Street
San Diego CA 92102.