Domestic Locations

International Locations

• The average yearly income of a Mexican person is 4 times less than a person from the United States.  The average household income is $7900 per year.  The official unemployment rate is 3.2%, but the percentage of people who are underemployed is probably closer to 25%.
• 16% of Mexican children (ages 5-14) work for a living.
• Less that 30% of Mexicans will graduate from high school.
• There are 62 phones per 100 people and only 17% are internet users

Juárez, Mexico, the fourth largest city in Mexico with an estimated population of 1.5 million people, sits directly across the border from El Paso, Texas. El Paso and Ciudad Juárez comprise one of the largest binational metropolitan areas in the world with a combined population of 2.5 million people. In fact, Juárez is one the fastest growing cities in the world. More than 60,000 people cross the Juárez-El Paso border every day making it a major port of entry and transportation for all of central northern Mexico. The city has a growing industrial center which is made up in large part by the more than 300 assembly plants located in and around the city. According to a recent New York Times article, Ciudad Juárez “is now absorbing more new industrial real estate space than any other North American city."

Along with the thousands of people who cross the border legally on a daily basis, there are also many immigrants who cross illegally in order to find work or a better life. Of course, once a person gets across the border, they are immediately homeless and need assistance.

Community Partner:
Somewhat dilapidated and run down, located on the fringe of ‘El Segundo’, El Paso’s biggest barrio, and some 10 blocks from the Mexican border, this two story, triangular, red brick building has been home to thousands of refugees and homeless poor. This building, this house of hospitality, this sanctuary, is known as Annunciation House.

Annunciation House began in 1978. It was founded by a small group of young people from El Paso who were searching for a way to serve the poor based on the Gospel. They were committed to a lifestyle that would be simple and lived in community; to working and living in solidarity with the poorest of the poor; and to offer their work or services for free and receive no monetary compensation in return. In order to better understand the insecurity and vulnerability in which the poor find themselves, it was decided that no government or permanent funding sources would be sought or accepted. Instead Annunciation House would be supported by spontaneous, voluntary donations.

In 1977 the second floor of an old building that was owned by the Catholic Diocese of El Paso became available, and on February 3rd, 1978, five young people moved in. After an initial period when most of the work revolved around cleaning and fixing up the building, a call came asking the group if they would be willing to take in an undocumented teenager who had been living on the streets. In accepting this young person two decisions were made that would end up defining the work of Annunciation House. One was that Annunciation House would be a house of hospitality for the homeless poor. The second was that Annunciation House would primarily work with the undocumented, the most excluded sector of the local community: the poorest of the poor.

Over the years Annunciation House would host as many as 100 guests at any one time.  During the 1980s and early 1990s the house served mostly people from Central America fleeing the violence and political turmoil that affected the region during that period. Since then the house has also served migrants and refugees from Mexico, Latin America, and other countries throughout the world.