Sarasota Herald Tribune

November 19, 2004

Survey shows agencies what help is needed

By SELINA ROMÁN

PALMETTO -- Long days, poor pay and difficult working conditions are on-the-job hardships faced every day by this region's farmworkers.

But results of a survey released Thursday revealed these workers endure additional problems after they leave work.

The survey conducted by a committee of local social service agencies showed that farmworkers also suffer from a lack of quality housing and access to health care and education. The workers also indicated a need for more places to wash their clothes, phone home and relax after work.

While local agencies knew that such needs existed, the survey proves their theories. And, they hope, the results will enable them to better serve the farmworker community.

"It's like opening a can of worms," said Maria Matos, compensatory program specialist at the Mary Simpson Strong Full Service Center.

The survey's results will lead to a better understanding of a group that lives in the shadows because of its members' migratory lifestyle and often undocumented status.

Now, Matos said, local agencies can use the information to write grants to create and improve services for farmworkers.

Some of the findings surprised advocates. For example, of the farmworkers surveyed, none of them owned their own home.

"There's gotta be farmworkers who own, but we didn't find any," said Chris Talcott-Roberts, a housing specialist with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She said that fact could pave the way for programs that get farmworkers into safer, permanent housing.

Talcott-Roberts led the survey that lasted nine months and surveyed 525 farmworkers and their families. The entire process, from writing the survey to processing results, spanned two years.

About 18,000 farmworkers live in Manatee County, and many are single men working on their own. Advocates said that's usually a hard group to track because they move around a lot compared with families whose children attend local schools.

The study surveyed single farmworkers who said they'd like to see more laundry facilities, pay phones and parks in which to play soccer.

The study also found that 63 percent of families with young children didn't use day care because of cost and availability. Families also said they need child-care services on the evenings and weekends.

"It pays to have this data," said Pat Johnson with the Whole Child Project. "It's powerful."

Talcott-Roberts will release more detailed results Dec. 16 during a community meeting at the Manatee County Civic Center. To attend, call 749-3030 by Dec. 3.

Housing plan

On a related front, the county's attempts to build farmworker housing in unincorporated Palmetto are slowly progressing.

The 20-acre site on Canal Road, across the street from Tillman Elementary School, is being cleared so more wetlands studies can be done.

Rob Rogers, executive director for the Manatee County Housing Authority, said three previous studies have stalled the project. The studies that show where sensitive wetlands are located contradicted each other. Crews are clearing the property so the next study will be more accurate.

Architects are designing the project, but neighbors will have a voice on the design before site plans are submitted to the county.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the Manatee housing authority a $3 million grant to build about 76 units for farmworkers.