When Carmen Rivera gets to work every morning, she checks her office for messages and then starts walking. She’s a social worker who goes door-to-door at the Everglades farmworker camp, which houses about 400 families, visiting residents and identifying needs. She rarely has time to sit down in her sparsely furnished office. But when the phone rings, she stops in her tracks.
Read the article Social Worker Helps Change Farm Camp
The Handmade in Immokalee sewing class was the topic of a recent article by Naples Daily News reporter, Maria Perez. The sewing class started in November 2015 and is led by fashion designer, Gwendolyn Gleason. Each week, she works with students who are interested in learning to sew, whether for their own family, or to…
Haven site May 5th, for construction of a 3,944-square-foot project consisting of 80 apartment units. The project is different than other projects, because it will also accommodate local low-income families. “We have different types of communities, and this is a family community where only 40 percent are for agricultural workers,” Kirk said. “The other (units)…
Proponents of a plan to provide permanent housing for South Dade farmworkers are not backing down from a key part that has come under fire in the last week. The housing plan developed by the Everglades Community Association includes the purchase of a trailer park in Leisure City that would provide temporary housing for about 1,500 farmworkers. Read…
“They’re beautiful homes. There are places for kids to play,” said Carmen Roqueta, director of Tenant Services for Everglades Community Association, which manages farm worker housing properties throughout Florida. “No one can ever believe that’s housing for farm workers.” Read the article Better Place
Without the stimulus funding, the project “would have died on the vine,” says Kevin Tatreau, director of multifamily development for Florida Housing Finance Corporation. “Stimulus allowed for less than 60% AMI, says Steven Kirk, President of Rural Neighborhoods. “We try to get as many units set aside for extremely low income so farmworkers can take…
Rural Neighborhoods’ President, Steven Kirk, testified before Congress in March 2021 before the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations at its Creating Equitable Communities through Transportation and Housing hearing. In answering the question as to how communities best apply a racial equity lens toward equitable development, he answered “no one…