(bright upbeat music) - Coming up next on this special Labor Day edition of "Arizona Horizon."

We'll learn about a massive development plan near the TSMC plant in Northwest Phoenix.

Also tonight, a local effort to help with shortages of veterinarians and vet techs.

And we'll hear about a program designed to give formerly incarcerated women a fresh start in the job market.

Those stories and more next on this special edition of "Arizona Horizon."

- [Announcer] "Arizona Horizon" is made possible by contributions from the Friends of Arizona PBS, members of your public television station.

(bright upbeat music) - Good evening, and welcome to this special Labor Day edition of "Arizona Horizon."

I'm Ted Simons.

A massive $7 billion housing, retail, and business development is being planned near the TSMC Microchip Plant in Northwest Phoenix.

It's called Halo Vista and it's being described as a city within a city.

It'll potentially bring thousands of jobs to the area.

We learn more from Chris Mackay, the Community and Economic Development Director for the city of Phoenix.

What is Halo Vista?

- Halo Vista is a 3,500-acre development that's west of I-17 and north of the 303 up in, kind of across from Deer Valley in North Phoenix.

- Northwest corner, then.

- Northwest corner.

- And we're talking $7 billion development.

- That's correct, that's correct.

Surrounding TSMC's $65 billion development.

- Yes, I got east, west, and north sides, kind of almost a horseshoe there.

True?

- Yes, absolutely.

Yes.

- Okay.

You're calling it a city within a city.

Why?

- You know, when you look at Halo Vista, this was an area that is about 12,000 acres.

So when you think about that, it's nearly twice the size as Anthem, just in the sheer size of what's known as Biscuit Flats, which was a Pony Express Out Station back in the 1800s.

And it is truly going to be this city within a city, 12 million square feet of industrial, 3 1/2 million square feet of office flex space, and 500,000 square feet of retail.

And then residential amongst it, you can live and work right there.

- Does everything have to support that microchip facility?

- It doesn't.

So it really is a science and tech park, more of a standalone.

We expect other primes that complement TSMC to come into the area.

It isn't just about their supply chain, but that was the idea- - [Ted] Yeah.

- Behind Halo Vista.

But it doesn't absolutely have to support their supply chain.

We expect a number of other large manufacturers to come into the area.

- Yeah, but most of all, they'll be aligned with TMSC in some sense.

- Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, that was the plan when we brought them here back in 2019.

- Are there any restrictions whatsoever on non-tech businesses?

- There really aren't, because there are a lot of non-tech businesses that support tech businesses.

So when you think about architecture, or engineering, or design firms, they're really more about a service-related sector than they are others.

There could also be companies that are sheerly office or others that are there.

There aren't restrictions on what type of companies can go in there.

- What type of housing is forecast?

- Most of the housing that's forecast in the area will be for rent multifamily.

But there are also some plans for some for-rent condos and townhouses, that type of thing.

- And now, are there restrictions, not the kind of restrictions in the past, but I mean restrictions in terms of the type of structure being built?

Does there have to be a certain amount of rentals, a certain amount of for-sale, and these sorts of things?

- So when you look at the area that's north of the 303, there won't be any for-sale residential.

The for-sale residential is planned to be south of the 303 in an area that's still state land and will come out later.

The multifamily that's planned to be there is much more of transitional housing.

When you think about a workforce coming into a market or moving forward, that's really what that's planned to be.

- I was gonna say, some of those workers out there probably won't be there for very long, they just maybe need a short-term rental, or a year, or six months, or a year and a half, that kind of thing.

Is that what the focus is here?

- Absolutely, so when you look at a lot of major tech companies across the world, that's what they attract near them is to provide for that transient workforce.

- Retail, restaurants, these sorts of things?

- Absolutely, so globally recognized retail and restaurants, grocery stores, others in that particular area.

- [Ted] What kind of timeline are we talking about here?

- So they should start their infrastructure construction about summer, and infrastructure's about a year long.

So, we'll see vertical construction start on the first of the industrial and retail buildings in early 2026.

The whole park, being 3,500 acres, is planned to be about a 25-year build out.

- How much does all of this cost the city of Phoenix?

- You know, the interesting thing is, is this is an area that was planned for for-sale residential, no jobs.

And when we attracted TSMC, we kind of changed our focus into a science and tech park in this area.

Our advantage is, is that what the development themselves are building all the infrastructure and putting all of the buildings up at their cost.

What the city's planning to do is the sales tax that they create, sharing part of it back to build the public infrastructure, 43rd Avenue, 51st Avenue, the construction of Dove Valley, off ramps on the freeway, those type of things.

- So, in terms of a return on investment, what are you seeing here?

How does the equation work?

You've kind of just explained it a little bit, but- - Right.

- Is there more to it?

- So when we look at this area for return on investment, we are more than 35 to one on our return on investment, and we expect an ultimate build out, about 62,000 jobs, just in the Halo Vista area.

And the 35 to one is not counting TSMC, which is so astronomical.

I don't know if we measure numbers that big.

- Yeah, yeah.

As far as transportation is concerned, anyone on I-17 going past or can see it, they know it's big.

You also wonder, "Holy smokes.

What's gonna happen when a lot of vehicle..." Are you prepared for that?

- You know, I think that's why we're really looking at the residential south of the 303 and at the Biscuit Flats area in the Norterra and Deer Valley.

The idea of our villages is to create an area where people can live and work.

They don't have to jump on the 17, or the 51, or the 101.

They can work right in those areas, and an ultimate build out, as we planned Halo Vista, that really is the plan.

- All right, so again, Halo Vista.

We're talking northwest corner of I-17 in the Loop 303, and I mean, shovels should be moving here relatively soon.

- People should see things moving very, very shortly.

- All right, Chris Mackay, Phoenix Community Economic Development Director.

Lots going on.

You are on this show an awful lot talking about some pretty big things.

- So much going on and so much fun.

- Good to have you here.

- It's a pleasure, thank you.

(truck horn honking) (lighthearted music) (bright music) - [Narrator] Drive a few miles north of Strawberry on Highway 87, nearly 20 miles on rugged forest roads along the edge and into the deep woods, atop the Mogollon Rim, then scamper 500 feet down the southern edge of a rocky canyon, and you'll come upon a monument to the Battle of Big Dry Wash. (bright music) The site looks much as it did on July 17th, 1882 when a party of over 50 Apaches under Natiotish waited to ambush cavalry led by Captain Adna R. Chaffee.

The troops were guided by legendary Scout Al Sieber, who discovered the Apaches' trap and warned the soldiers.

The Apache had no idea that they were now surrounded, outnumbered, and they had lost the element of surprise.

(horse neighing) (horse clopping) (weapons firing) Nearly half the Apache were killed, including Natiotish.

Only two troopers died in the melee.

The names of the cavalry that took part in the fight are listed on the back of the rarely-visited massive stone monument, including Lieutenant Thomas Cruse who won the Medal of Honor.

The Battle of Big Dry Wash was the last battle fought between the Apaches and Army regulars.

(somber music) (bright music) (bright music continues) - There's a shortage of veterinarians and vet techs in Arizona and around the country.

The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges says it would take 50,000 vet techs to fill the current nationwide shortage.

Western Maricopa Education Center, or West-MEC, is looking to help address the issue.

We spoke to Hailey Adams, an instructor at West-MEC, and West-MEC student, Sedona Price.

How bad is this vet shortage?

- [Hailey] It's pretty bad.

- How'd it get that way?

- Pretty bad.

- What happened?

- I think there's a lot of different factors.

The veterinary field is very emotionally and physically taxing.

They also don't make a lot of money.

So a lot of veterinarians and veterinary technicians leave 'cause they can make more money elsewhere.

Both career paths have a lot of debt, too.

- [Ted] Yeah.

- So if you talk... You know, put that on top of that and on top of that, it causes a lot of exit in the field.

- Are the shortages something new, or has it been building for a while?

- I've been in the field for 20 years, and I think it's kind of been consistently that way.

- [Ted] Really, it's always been that way?

It's always been- - Yeah.

So I think it's building and getting worse, but it's always consistently been short.

- And Sedona, you kind of want to get into this line of work here.

What got you interested?

- I've always been interested in animals and helping them, and then West-MEC has just like helped me see what I actually wanna do in the vet field.

- [Ted] How do they do that?

What have they been involved in?

- We have like our own clinic at West-MEC where we have animals from Halo come in, and we get to do intake and surgery on them, and it just like shows you what it's like to actually work in a clinic.

- [Ted] Yeah, is it what you expected?

- Not really.

- [Ted] How so?

- It's really cool to see like all the process.

Like, there's a lot that goes into doing a surgery on an animal or doing an intake on an animal.

It's like obviously, in the clinic, it's a day to day thing, and we take a whole week to do it.

And we get to really like get to know our animals and start to like see their personalities come out.

- Yeah, and Hailey, that's what we're talking about here.

This is the process, you gotta learn this, huh?

- Exactly.

Yes.

Yep, they get a ton of hands-on experience around.

- Yeah, yeah.

So domestic animals, exotic animals, large animals.

- So we have three different campuses at West-MEC.

All three campuses have dogs and cats that they focus on primarily.

There's a little bit in exotic animals, but our Southwest Campus in Buckeye, they have an extra large animal component.

- And as far as kind of Sedona referred to this, assisting vets in surgery, that goes on, running lab tests, obtaining vitals.

- [Hailey] Yep.

- All that stuff goes on with the students.

- They do.

Yes.

And then just basic husbandry since those animals live with us for a week.

- Yes.

- They learn how to feed them the proper food, they learn how to clean and care for them.

And then they also do some training, too, which is really awesome.

- Well, I saw that externships are offered.

What's an externship?

- Yeah.

So an externship is where a student actually goes and works out in an animal hospital.

We require 100 hours, and that allows our students to sit for their certification exam at the end of the program.

So they're actually working with us, building the foundation of those skills, and then they go out to the clinics, and they hopefully build those skills further, and they see more things while they're out at externship.

- Have you done an externship?

- Not yet.

- Not yet, huh.

So you're building toward that?

- Yeah.

- Also, and you tell me, is this is not just, you know, how to be around an animal.

So, part of your career, I would imagine resume building is involved, making sure you get all the right things.

Is that true?

- Yeah, we... At the beginning of the school year, we built our resumes, and we did like mock interviews to prepare us for when we actually go to our clinics and interview for our jobs.

- [Ted] Yeah, and college credits, are they involved here as well?

- It's high school credits.

- It's high school is...

But can college credits be involved, too?

- So we do have a partnership with Mesa Community College and also Pima Medical Institute, where students that wanna go the veterinary technician pathway, they actually can enter those programs a little bit ahead.

So they don't automatically get those credits, but if they decide to go one of those programs, they don't have to take those classes.

- That's a good point you brought up.

There's vet techs and there's veterinarians.

What's the difference here?

- So the best way to kind of compare it is veterinarians are doctors, veterinary technicians are like registered nurses.

And then our program prepares veterinary assistants, which are similar to certified nurse assistants, or CNAs.

- Interesting, so there's a certification process involved?

- [Hailey] Yes.

- And how is that involved?

- So the certification process is a little different for all three of the pathways.

Veterinarians, you know, get their doctorate degree.

Veterinary technicians, and it depends on what state that you live in, Arizona's a little bit different, you can actually work in an animal hospital and be a veterinary technician without any like formal education.

But for instance, like I'm a certified veterinary technician so I've got a little bit more background and I've taken that certification exam, you would need a two-year associate's program to sit for that task.

- Interesting, interesting.

- And then veterinary assisting, it's a national certification, but it's not required throughout the state.

So really, it's resume building and experience that benefits our students.

- And so before we go, Sedona, I gotta ask you, what's your favorite part of the program so far?

- That's hard.

I think working with the animals, definitely.

Doing the intake and getting to know them.

- [Ted] Yeah.

- And working with them.

- [Ted] Do you have to kind of keep your emotions in check sometimes?

- Yeah.

- [Ted] Is that difficult to do?

- Sometimes, yeah.

'Cause we had these puppies who came and lived with us for like two or three months, and like getting...

Try not to get attached to them- - [Ted] Oh, boy.

I'll bet.

- While we took care of them and like nursed them.

- Yeah, well it sounds like a great program.

Congratulations, and good luck on your career path there.

And Hailey, thank you so much for joining us and talk to us about West-MEC and this veterinarian program.

Sounds fun.

- Yes, it's fun.

- Good to have you both here.

- [Hailey and Sedona] Thank you.

- Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona is offering a construction training program that teaches real-life skills to those hoping to work in the construction field.

Producer Shana Fischer and photographer Ron Bruce tell us more about the program that's providing the tools needed to build a solid career.

(hammer thudding) - [Shana] Building a home is a lot like building a career.

(tool whirring) It's all about the foundation.

Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona's Construction Training Program provides a window of opportunity for those looking for a new career.

Kurt Vehr is the program's field instructor.

- Some of them are actually coming out of prison, some of them are coming out of dead-end jobs, some of them are coming out of high school and not really knowing what they want to do.

- [Shana] The comprehensive 12-week program includes classroom study, learning building regulations and how to read blueprints, along with in-the-field work, where trained professionals teach various aspects of construction.

Air Force Veteran Supreme Brock was searching for his next step.

- Without this program, I would still be a little confused as to what route that I want to take.

- [Shana] In addition to training, Brock and the other participants earned national construction certifications and a small stipend.

They're also given the chance to interview with companies looking to hire apprentices.

- Well, one of the benefits of this program is that they take the construction industry as a whole and they place it right in front of you to where you can dissect it.

And that way, you can make a clear decision on what path you want to take.

- [Shana] Micro-credentialing programs, like Habitat's, are a great way to get on the inside track to finding the perfect job, says Amber Smith.

Smith is a CEO of Pipeline AZ, an organization that connects job seekers and employers.

Despite the fact there are two open positions for every job seeker, she says finding a job today is a challenge.

- Why?

Why are these people still not connecting into the jobs, and why don't we have 0% unemployment?

It's a complex question.

Right now, skills just are not aligning with what employers need.

We have a massive disconnect right now and not enough people to be able to address the issue.

- [Shana] Smith adds there are other factors making the job hunt difficult, including online job searching, which can be confusing and daunting.

And once you do find the job, it often comes with a salary that doesn't keep up with the rising costs of rent, transportation, or childcare.

Adding to the frustration, the fastest growing job sectors in Arizona, like medical, tech, and construction, which also often come with the best pay, demand high-level specialized skills that can't be learned on the job, which leaves a majority of applicants out in the cold.

Habitat's Kurt Vehr says that's what makes their program so successful.

- We like to think that we're giving them is that hand up to enter the workforce at a stronger position than if they had not had our program to begin with.

- [Shana] However, Amber Smith warns job training and higher salaries will only go so far in alleviating the labor problem.

She believes lawmakers must work together on issues like bringing more quality jobs to Arizona.

- It's not a partisan issue.

Creating jobs means reducing poverty, and it also means being able to have industry thrive by filling positions.

- [Shana] For Supreme Brock, all of this means he'll have the tools he needs to succeed at constructing a better future.

- My goal, once I leave this program, is to be a certified electrician and go right into an apprenticeship program.

So I look forward to joining the workforce and being an asset to the company that I choose.

(hammer thudding) (compelling music) (compelling music continues) (compelling music continues) - Finding work and housing after incarceration can be a challenge.

St. Joseph the Worker is partnering with several organizations to provide a 30 to 45-day transition program for women looking for help in reentering society.

We learn more from Daren Strunk, Chief Operating Officer of St. Joseph the Worker, and Kimberly Carney, a graduate of the program.

Good to have you both here, thanks for joining us.

- Yeah.

Thank you for having us.

- Thanks for having me.

- Daren, we'll start with you.

This Workforce Villages Reentry Program.

Give us an overview.

- So, you know, I met with their Executive Director of Televerde Foundation and we were talking about... We had talked about our Workforce Villages 90-day Program on here previously.

And so we were touring that, and she said the real need for their graduates coming out of their program was just a place where somebody can decompress, and catch their breath, and get a job.

'Cause usually, that timetable is about, you know, it could be three weeks, four weeks, somewhere in there.

And so giving them the time to do that, get a supportive environment going.

And so we were able to use... We had a couple of houses that the Andre House, which is another nonprofit, that we weren't really serving a purpose at the moment.

And so we said, "Why don't we do this program here?"

So we kind of did it on the back of a napkin, the parking lot, in December of 2023.

And we got it going in February of '24.

And so, and since then, it's been one of our most successful programs.

- And Kimberly, again, this 30 to 45-day soft landing.

Talk to us about how important that is.

We got the 90-day, once you're employed, you kind of transition and you kind of do the 90-day, and we'll get to that in a second here.

But that soft landing period, how important is that?

- It was life-changing, honestly.

Having been released more than one time, I've seen both sides.

So the other side is having to go to maybe a halfway house where you're pressured into getting a job right away or you owe them money, and there's just a lot of pressures, and it really makes it hard for you when you're transitioning out.

So when you have the soft landing and you have somewhere you can go, and feel comfortable, and you're really with people that are part of your tribe, and they give you the time to find your job, it's life-changing.

- Yeah, and what exactly... How do you go about it?

When Kimberly came into the program, what was she exposed to?

What is the goal?

- Well, the goal is like, initially, you're trying to welcome them into the house.

And so it's a safe and supportive environment, where it just, for the first couple days, that transition out of incarceration back into the real world.

And while Televerde does a great job of preparing the women inside with some... You know, you can go through live classes and different skills and you...

But the time you come out, that's really where the rubber meets the road.

- [Ted] Yeah.

- And so we're there and making sure that people are turning in applications, and on track, and getting good job leads with different employers.

And so that you're really... 'Cause the application, to interview, to start time can be, you know, two, three, four weeks sometimes.

- And learning how to do that kind of thing, that's important.

Having the right clothes for an interview, that would, I think, would be important.

Is that offered here?

- It is.

It is.

Making sure that you have interview clothes, that you're interview-ready.

And then also, like he said previously, they give you the right leads for the jobs as well.

- [Ted] Yeah, yeah, so that's a 30 to 45-day.

What happens when you transition to this other facility, this 90-day facility?

What happened there?

- Yeah, so we call it The Villages.

It's actually a two-bedroom apartment that you would share with another person.

And it's kind of freeing.

It's your first space to yourself, and you're able to, you know, work, build a routine, get used to living by yourself, and, you know, cleaning up yourself, things of that nature, so yeah.

- Yeah.

Becoming self-sufficient, I think, is the goal.

- Well, that is the whole goal, is self-sufficiency.

And during our 90-day program, we also have all of our clients take our Personal Finance 101 class.

That really reinforces sticking to a budget, debt navigation, saving strategies, understanding your credit score, and things that you can do about it in the future.

We also have them go through our Meal Prep and Food Budgeting class because that is the number one way that people are kind of having money go out the door.

So we're really teaching them different smart shopping strategies.

And it's also to really get their cost per meal under $5 because everybody's got more time than money, and so we're really teaching that skillset.

And The Village's apartments are fully stocked, so they're able to practice this and put it into practice so that when they exit into their own apartment, they have the skillset to be successful.

- Now, have you exited into your own apartment?

- [Kimberly] I have.

- You have?

- Yes, I did that on the 18th.

- Alright, what was that like?

- It was exciting and kind of scary at the same time.

I'm, like, "Where am I gonna get furniture?

What am I doing?"

But it was definitely...

I couldn't have done it without the Televerde Foundation and St. Joseph the Worker.

Actually sticking to a budget and saving the money to get my own place, like, it was good.

- Did you make friends in the process?

And are those friends looking at you now and saying, "Well, I can do that, too."

- Yeah, absolutely.

I actually started the journey with somebody that we became very, very good friends in the foundation home, and she's just excelling so much.

And then I'm also still communicating and letting people know like, "Hey, this is something that you should do when you get out.

Like this is a very good, very good program."

- It sounds like it's such a good program.

Do you have some folks that don't wanna leave?

- Well, I think it's... - I don't wanna (indistinct).

- There is people, you know, you get comfortable and you don't fear change a little bit.

But I think each stage, like at the 30 to 45-day housing program, there's a curfew, and so there's a little bit more, you know, kind of restriction then you get into your own place.

And while we don't allow visitors, you're there to kind of work, and save money, and build that muscle, you're really setting yourself up for each stage of just getting into that next step where you're gonna have self-sufficiency.

Because the goal for Kimberly and anybody that comes into the Workforce Villages program is to save the majority of your paycheck.

So you're saving 80% of your paycheck.

The goal is to save $5,000, so that you have your own money to get into your own apartment at market rates.

- Well, it sounds like a successful program.

Goodness gracious, successful program for you and for St. Joseph the Worker.

Daren Strunk, Kimberly Carney.

Congratulations Kimberly.

- Thank you so much.

- Congratulations, Daren, good to have you both here.

Thanks for joining us.

- Thank you.

- Thanks, really appreciate the time.

- You bet.

And that is it for now, I'm Ted Simons.

Thank you so much for joining us on this special Labor Day edition of "Arizona Horizon."

You have a great evening.

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues)