Sarasota Herald-Tribune

December 17, 2004

Farmworker survey uncovers substance abuse, housing woes

By SELINA ROMÁN

PALMETTO -- Nearly half of Manatee County's farmworkers say alcohol and drug abuse is a major problem in their community, according to a recent survey.

But Manatee County lacks the services to help them, say farmworker advocates who administered the nine-month survey.

The survey's findings could help local government and service providers establish a plan to help farmworkers with substance abuse problems. And they don't want to stop there.

The survey commissioned by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Latino Community Network pinpointed needs and problems within the farmworker population.

The survey queried 525 farmworkers and their families.

For example, Christine Talcott-Roberts of HUD said the findings create a perfect opportunity for creation of a substance abuse program for farmworkers.

The survey said the 18,000 farmworkers in Manatee County also suffer from a lack of affordable housing and child care, 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.

The survey results were heavy on statistics but light on specific recommendations.

Federal officials who released the results said the onus is now on the county and local service providers to use the information to make real improvements in the lives of the workers.

"You need to decide as a community how to address every one of these components," said Karen Jackson-Sims, of HUD.

The release of the survey results completes a two-year process of trying to shed light on issues affecting the farmworkers.

In 2002, farmworker housing became a hot topic after a local grower was cited for housing his workers in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Workers lived with raw sewage, rodent infestations and hazardous electrical connections.

Earlier this year the county demolished the Trail Motel and Mobile Home Park, which housed many farmworker families, for code and structural violations.

Federal officials urged local advocates and service providers to make the survey work for them by writing grants and creating programs.

For years, agencies that serve farmworkers knew of their needs, but that knowledge didn't translate to government officials who could help the workers.

María V. Zavala of the Whole Child Project said advocates and agencies that help farmworkers need to combine their efforts to have an impact on the community.

"We have a history of fragmentation in this community," Zavala said. "Instead of working collaboratively, we may run to get funding to fill our own little corners."

Jackson-Sims said completion of the survey itself is evidence that people in Manatee County can work together.

HUD featured the survey in a national publication about farmworker communities because no other community in Southwest Florida has done a survey.

Tim Parks, a county planner who disperses Community Development Block Grant funding, said the survey will help him develop programs and facilities such as laundries and parks that will benefit farmworkers.