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I feel like there should be more support to find better housing for farm worker families.

August 8, 2023 By Elena Bartolo Vazquez, ITF intern 2023

Elena Bartolo Vazquez, ITF intern 2023

Unfortunately farm work is not valued enough in this country; in South Carolina I saw how many migrant farmworkers had bad living conditions. What I mean by bad living conditions is that many of them have bad houses or trailers that don't have AC, [they] have water leaking, [there's] mold on the walls and are overcrowded. These things are just a few things that I noticed but [are many] more.

In one of my visits in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina I met a family who was living next to a tobacco field. The trailer had old wooden stairs,and the bottom of the trailers had materials that could be dangerous for the kids. The point of my visit was to do an activity with the kids, a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Unfortunately due to the housing situation we couldn't do the activity inside the trailer so the only option was to do the activity outside without a surface for the kids to paint and with the insects biting everyone. The two kids were really smart but they didn't have a place to get creative. The one year old recently had an arm surgery and was recovering. According to the family they have been living there for more than 3 years since their first kid was born but they were happy to live there.

Once we left the place I immediately started thinking that the place was not the best for the kids especially for the kid who recently had surgery. The family probably knows that this isn't the best place for the kids but it's the best they could do because farm work can't get you a good house. I feel like there should be more support to find better housing for farm worker families. I was not able to fix the housing situation but I was able to engage with the family and get to hear what they had to say. The internship made me realize that others won't do anything to help but there is always a light outhere that is willing to do something and to see changes, that light is the people who are out there helping, supporting, and advocating for farmworker rights.

Filed Under: Field Notes

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