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Wednesday, October 1, 1997
By Mark Maiorana
PATAGONIA-Patagonia resident Dr. John Arnold started
Project PPEP in 1967
as a college student with a $19,000 grant and 30 years
later the project has grown to be an $ 11 million a
year social services agency focusing its efforts in
rural Arizona.
"We started in Sahuarita in 1967 and at that time
we had a '57 Chevy school bus we converted into a school
on wheels and that's how we got the name Portable Practical
Educational Preparation. We would take the bus to farm
labor camps and provide practical education like how
to give and take money at the grocery store, how to
drive a car, citizenship, language. Now 30 years later
a lot of the dreams of those original farm workers have
come to be realized," Arnold said.
He said his father worked for AAA and he grew up in
Mexico with a different language and culture. He was
a member of a South Tucson church were he would go out
on church bus ministries and act as an interpreter since
he spoke Spanish. That combined with seeing farm workers
come to the area from Mexico gave him the idea to start
his program.
PPEP was formally incorporated in 1969
and set out a number of goals including community economic
development, affordable housing, services for the developmentally
disabled, education for youth and other programs that
continue today."We're kind of on key with what
we started," said Arnold. We operate the largest
micro business loan program in the United States. Our
affordable housing program is a national model that
incorporates the private sector in allowing first time
homebuyers to get a loan for affordable housing. We
have 14 charter high schools
which is the largest charter school program in the nation
for at- risk students who are coming back for a second
chance to learn. We have group homes in rural areas
so those people don't have to leave their environment
and go to a big city. Just a lot of social services."
In addition, PPEP spearheaded the health clinics in
southern Arizona, donated a van to the Patagonia Food
Bank and supports the Patagonia Youth Activities Council.
"We provide $14,000 in funding to the Patagonia
area. In each community we like to put seed funds in
there and let the local groups be autonomous,' Arnold
said.
PPEP receives funding from a number of sources such
as the federal government, State of Arizona, Pima County,
where PPEP is based, local governments, private donations,
and grants from foundations.
Arnold said he never thought the program he started
would grow to be as big as it is today. "No, actually
it's quite incredible. I just finished a 5,000 mile
road trip to oversee our housing program and made a
site visit to New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado
and Idaho. The program provides technical assistance
for housing in rural areas. Ninety-percent of our programs
are in Arizona but we've shared beyond."
PPEP programs have also become a model at the international
level with officials from other countries regularly
paying visits to observe the micro business and affordable
housing programs among others.
It has been cited five times in the Congressional Record
for its self-sufficiency programs that have been used
as national models.
PPEP has a board of directors made up of people from
rural areas and has an advisory board of officials from
20 businesses and seven banks which Arnold says gives
the organization the best advice in running its programs.
Looking to the future, Arnold added, "I think
as we look into the next century PPEP will be more private
sector oriented.
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