A Way of Life

There are 60,000 people moving into the City of Juarez per month. It is common to find two parents with three or four children living in a 12’ x 12’ cardboard shelter. These shelters have no heat, electricity, running water or sewer and are at an elevation which gets well below freezing in the winter.

Families in Need

A local community based group consisting of clergy, a local construction foreman, an accountant and the Southern Exposure resident leader select the family to receive the home. Selection criteria is based soley on need, the poorest of the poor. The new home replaces the previous pallet and cardboard shelter in the same location. While families are not required to make payments for the new home, they are encouraged to take ownership by paying whatever they can on a monthly basis, which is not to exceed more than 5% of their income. Because of the increasing violence against women in Juarez, over 30% of the homes built by Southern Exposure are for single women with children.

Typical Home

The typical home built by Southern Exposure is 20’ x 24’ with exterior walls made of concrete cinder block and a roof of 2’ x 6’ wood joists, insulted and covered with hot tar and asphalt roof material. Each home has two metal doors with a window and lock and two additional windows that open for ventilation.

In many cases an additional room has been added so that in the future there is space for a bathroom as water and sewer connections become available. Each of these homes cost around $4,000 to build which includes materials, plus the time and labor of the local crew. Southern Exposure is in need of individuals and/or corporations to sponsor one or more home builds.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE