September 8, 2007 'It's a dream come true' Farmworker families call Sitting in the family room of their new three-bedroom apartment, farmworker Juan Antonio Alvarez and his wife, Maria, marveled at their good fortune. "We never imagined we could live in a place like this," Maria Alvarez said. "It's like a miracle, a dream come true." Just two months ago, the couple lived with their two little boys and elderly parents in what they called squalor, packed into a run-down one-bedroom apartment in Independence. The family now lives in a spacious, two-story unit with a dishwasher and washer and dryer at Colonia Amistad, the first farmworker housing project built in Polk County. On Sunday, the Farmworker Housing Development Corp., the project's developer, will host a grand-opening ceremony at the 38-unit facility in Independence. The event will include food, music, dancers, games, a raffle, speeches and tours. Colonia Amistad is one of six housing developments in the Willamette Valley for low-income, Spanish-speaking immigrant farmworkers. One is located in Salem and four are in Woodburn. The projects emerged from campaigns by housing and farmworker advocates to give shelter to those who they say supply much of the muscle for the Willamette Valley's $2-billion agriculture industry. Like the other units, Colonia Amistad includes recreational facilities, a playground, a children's center, two small-child care centers, a computer lab and a community center that offers educational and outreach programs for residents. Unlike the other units, the Polk County project offers its renters free wireless Internet. The $6.5-million project is not subsidized housing, although it did receive $5 million in state and federal low-income housing tax credits and farmworker tax credits. To qualify, residents pay 40 percent to 50 percent of their monthly income toward rent, depending on the size of the apartment and the number of family members. Like many others at the pioneering farmworker housing project in Independence, Juan Antonio pays $550 per month, or 40 percent of his income, toward rent. The laborer's commune opened July 6, filling up almost immediately. It has a waiting list of more than 60 families, said Angelica Chavez, the complex manager. While Colonia Amistad is a great improvement from the toolsheds, condemned garages and shacks in which scores of farm laborers live, it's a drop in the bucket when it comes to meeting farmworker housing needs in Polk County, said Jaime Arredondo, a community organizer for Farmworker Housing and Development Corp. who works in Salem. A 2006 farmworker survey by the state found that more than 5,000 farmworkers in the Willamette Valley live in near-Third-World conditions. So far, only one other housing unit is in the planning stages. That one also would be in Woodburn. "We have plans to expand in Polk County and Salem," Arredondo said. "But first we need to work to educate lawmakers, social agencies, schools, growers, others in the agriculture industry and the media about the great need for more stable, affordable housing for farmworker families." The interest in farmworker housing complexes has largely been spurred by the belief that the low-wage farm work force has been hit hard by soaring rents and skyrocketing home prices. "That's why we're very proud of this project," said said Victor Merced, the director of the Oregon Housing and Community Services. "In the Mid-Willamette Valley, the Farmworker Housing Development Corp. is the leading developer of farmworker housing," he added. "They're a very credible group who develops and manages their properties. Not everyone does that." |