To us, “social and economic mobility” means achieving tangible personal agency – building within each person a genuine self-value and competency that enables them to rise above the poverty and negative expectations that surround them. The TigerMountain strategy empowers adults and youth via our agriscaping initiatives. They work alongside capable hard-working professionals as volunteers who encourage and mentor them through every step.  These programs also culminate in the development of good professionals – participants leverage the skills and morals they’ve learned to build an honest life for themselves, free of criminality and desperation, and have the skills to earn a living wage. 

For non-participant community members, SEM also means finding genuine nourishment in the food we grow – we are what we eat, after all.  TMF initiatives also address food scarcity in this food desert area of Phoenix, AZ plus empower the economically disadvantaged participants with job skills to enable them to earn a living wage.  In this 80% recidivism area, TMF participants also enjoy an 85% rate of NOT returning to jail, or entering the justice system in the first place!  We use an Asset Based Community Development model that gives community members a hand up, not a handout.