Farmworkers Self-Help, Inc.

In late July, Teen Dream Team, the Rez House kids and a special group of dear friends from the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Savannah, Georgia came together to give My Other House a makeover inside and out. Weeds were pulled and walls were painted with a Mexican flair. Why do so much to a building that we do not yet own? Because we have faith!

I did not intend to write a book here but this is what happens when you wake up at 2am with so much on your heart. I had planned to start work on our newsletter but our great strides and accomplishments seem so small in retrospect to what has happened here. I struggle to think of how we can fix the problems here, and they are our problems again, not the sheriff, not the County Commissioners, and not our neighbors. This is ours and we need to face it and take ownership and work toward a solution.

Our annual Cinco de Mayo parade and fiesta was a huge success this year. As the parade rolled down Calle de Milagros, over a hundred people lined the street in hopes of catching candy and beads from one of the participants in the parade. Several floats carrying neighborhood children were spaced throughout the parade which finished at Resurrection Park and festivities were soon under way.

Expressions of hatred and xenophobia toward immigrants, at an all-time high, are producing widespread fear in the Latino community. Unfortunately, the echo of a hate-filled climate is now making its way through Congress. Anti-immigrant forces in the House are capitalizing on fears and stereotypes to push the SAVE Act, a bill that would throw more money at our broken immigration system instead of engaging in the hard work of meaningful reform.

FSH Executive Director Margarita Romo took members of our Teen Dream Team group to Tallahassee to witness first hand how our State Government works. They got to sit in on a meeting of the House Committee on State Affairs on Tuesday. During the two-hour public hearing, sponsors of six immigration bills urged members to tough immigration laws despite opposition from business and agricultural groups that rely on undocumented workers.

When people talk about immigrants they are very passionate but they don't often have all the facts. Yes, undocumented workers are here illegally and that does indicate flaws in our current border security system but there is a bigger picture that often goes unnoticed or gets lost in the hatred.

Members of our Teen Dream Team have been in Tallahassee during the current legislative session to learn about how our government works and to have a little fun. The important lesson for the kids is that they can make a difference and it is important for their voices to be heard in the halls of government. The trips have been both educational and fun.

When Pastor Jefferson Cox of Salem Lutheran Church in Orlando offered to bring two doctors and several nurses to hold an open clinic for the children of our community we were excited. While our clinic is open at least one day each week, it is not often that we are able to provide wellness check-ups for our farmworker children.

Farmworkers Self-Help joined the Farmworker Association of Florida and Florida ACORN in kicking off the Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign in Florida. The campaign is a national effort by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. The Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign is bringing together low-wage working families from across the country to develop an agenda that voices issues that concern families.