Fighting a ‘Brain Drain’ by Degrees

For the last decade, Tony Espinosa has watched in frustration as college-bound classmates at Santa Ana’s Valley High School have abandoned their hometown for the safer streets and newer homes of Mission Viejo, Irvine and Rancho Santa Margarita.

“Because of the crime, some people don’t feel safe raising their families here,” said Espinosa, 28 and a Santa Ana City Council member who grew up in the working-class neighborhood around Raitt Street and Edinger Avenue.

“It’s disappointing that a lot of people who grew up here and went on to college decide to move out of the city,” he said.

“We need these people to be role models for children.”

That “brain drain” has long frustrated not just Santa Ana but other struggling communities. City officials say the trend robs neighborhoods of residents who could instill the importance of education in young people.

In one of the few programs of its kind in the nation, Santa Ana is fighting the exodus by offering low-interest home loans to college graduates who grew up in the city.

The Student Assistance Mortgage Program, established two years ago, offers as much as $30,000 as second trust deed loans to college-educated graduates of Santa Ana high schools. If the home buyer stays for more than 10 years, half of the loan is forgiven.

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Other communities with the same concerns have launched efforts to promote and encourage higher education. In Stanton, for instance, officials have paired youngsters with successful business executives in the area.

“It’s crucial that they have role models,” said Max Madrid, director of a Stanton youth program. “A lot of these kids have low self-esteem and don’t see a bright future. If they don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, they take a wrong road of drugs and crime.”

Santa Ana’s program, though, is one of the few to offer substantial financial incentives. The city has awarded 14 home loans since 1994, said Patricia Whitaker, Santa Ana’s housing manager. The city allocates $300,000 a year in redevelopment money to fund the program.

The exodus from older, blue-collar neighborhoods is spurred not only by the fear of crime, but by the fact those areas typically contain smaller homes and high-density apartments that are less attractive than the newer planned communities of South County.

Peer pressure is another factor.

Jose Solorio, vice president of a Newport Beach public relations firm, said his classmates at Harvard University expressed surprise when he told them of his plans to move to Santa Ana after earning a master’s degree in public policy.

“They asked whether there were any opportunities in Santa Ana and wondered why I wouldn’t want to live in Newport Beach or Irvine instead,” Solorio said. “I had to tell them that Santa Ana is a large, vibrant city with a lot of opportunities.”

Espinosa, a county probation counselor and Cal State Fullerton graduate who received one of the home loans, said the program is a good start toward drawing young professionals back to Santa Ana.

“A lot of people who grew up here genuinely like the city, but aren’t sure they want to live here because of the crime,” he said. “We need people to stay here and help make the positive changes.”

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Community activists point out that even Santa Ana’s poorest neighborhoods already have adults who serve as role models for children. An influx of college-education homeowners would complement that influence, they say.

Alfonso Chavez, who graduated with honors from Santa Ana High School in June, said his neighborhood south of the Santa Ana Civic Center is populated mostly by immigrants who work hard, but have only modest educations.

“Other than the teachers in our schools, there aren’t a lot of [formally] educated role models,” said Chavez, who became the first member of his family to attend college when he began classes at Cal State Fullerton last week. “I didn’t even know there was such a thing as graduate school until I went into junior high.”

He said he and at least some of his college-bound friends hope to stay in Santa Ana.

“Some people say there are better places to live,” he said. “But I grew up here, and I like the city. I feel I need to give something back to the people who live in my neighborhood.”