November 21, 2009

Guadalupe Social Services = Trust

Officials say connection with the Catholic Church is key to confidence of migrant community.

BOB REDDY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC VENICE BUREAU EDITOR

Posted: 10.23.09

IMMOKALEE | One word is synonymous with Guadalupe Social Services: trust!

People who need help in this rural agricultural community trust the Catholic Charities program to treat them fairly and without bias, no matter the need. People trust Guadalupe Social Services because it is a program of the Catholic Church, a focal point in their lives. (The Guadalupe Center, which sits on the same property, has no affiliation with the Catholic Church.)

The Catholic program offers a variety of help to those in need, including food, emergency financial assistance, tutoring, immigration services and counseling.

AVERAGE DAY

On a recent Tuesday morning more than 50 people, young and old, some with children, some using walkers, formed a line around the offices of Guadalupe Social Services, some getting there as early as 7 a.m.

Jorge de la Rosa said he was in front of the offices early to ensure he got inside to talk to a counselor about a letter he recently received. He said he does not read English and needed someone to translate the forms so he can receive medical help at a nearby clinic for an injury he received picking tomatoes in the spring.

“I have nowhere else to go,” de la Rosa said through a translator. “Without these wonderful people, I would be lost.”

Others were in line to receive a bag of groceries for their families, while still others needed financial help to pay a utility bill. All of them had nowhere else to go for this type of help.

Inside, the small staff and volunteers gathered and planned out their day. With a large crowd outside, it was clear anyone who arrived after 9 a.m. (the time the offices officially open) would not be receiving help that day. On this day, 59 families would be seen.

“We have a big crowd today and we will do what we can,” said Program Director Ninfa Drago during the morning pep talk. “We look to God for guidance as we help those in need. We look to God for strength for those we help and also for everyone who is here to do his work.”

Drago then went to the lobby and addressed the gathered crowd she had let inside, explaining that the staff and volunteers would get to everyone who had been given a number and asking the clients to be patient. She directed the younger men to stand, allowing the women a chance for a seat.

Desilus Nicholas, a caseworker, repeated the statement and instructions in Creole, as everyone settled in for the long day.

“We average about 50 families a day,” Drago said. “Most are here for food, (others) for financial help. We have to limit the number based on the donations we receive from our benefactors.”

As the numbers were called, names were asked for and entered into a database. Clients were then assigned a caseworker, who would learn about what was needed on that day.

Two times a month, officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Social Security Administration visit the offices to provide help as well. “People trust that they will not be arrested or face problems here. Unfortunately that isn’t always the case somewhere else,” Drago said.

CASE WORK

“We listen to everyone who comes in our doors,” said Marie Vega, a caseworker. “We talk to them to learn where they are at now, what their needs are and how we can help. We don’t judge them. We want to help and try to do in any way possible.”

Food distribution consists of a bag of groceries including beans, pasta, cooking oil and other items, and is limited to once a month. Financial assistance for rent or utilities is limited to once every six months.

Vega said many of the people who come into the offices don’t need food or financial help, but advice or other types of support, such as translation services or answering of questions about housing or help that might be available through other agencies.

Vega specializes in helping young mothers or women who are pregnant. She ensures they are getting prenatal care or care for their child. She keeps two photos on her office wall of what she calls her special cases.

One is a mother who has two boys who were both born deaf. The father left after the second boy was born and the mother has been struggling. Vega has been able to connect the family with the Collier County School District and Health Department, which can offer sign-language courses for the boys. Since the mother does not know English, the only type of sign language available in Collier County, she is now getting tutored to learn English.

The second picture is of a family with a young son who was born without arms or legs. “He is a special boy and they are a great family,” Vega said. “They went through so much but have stayed together and are doing well. Without the services we have here, who knows what would have happened? I know they wouldn’t still have their son.”

Jim Kean, who has been a volunteer at Guadalupe Social Services for 14 years, said he is rewarded each day he comes into the offices knowing he is making a difference.

“This is unlike other charity organizations,” Kean said. “The people we see are not people who want charity or who sought it as an easy way out. They come here as a last resort and we help make a real difference in this community.”

HISTORY

Guadalupe Social Services started serving the needs of Immokalee in 1980 with the goal of reaching out to help those who are suffering, who are the neediest and who are the most vulnerable.

Nearly all of the people who come to the program are migrant workers or the families of the workers.

Drago said she is from a small rural community in Mexico herself, but never saw living or working conditions like she has seen in Immokalee.

“The hardship of the people here, especially in America, is shocking,” she said. The fieldworkers are at the mercy of the farm cooperatives and the big companies who buy the crops, such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Publix.

According to the latest information from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, tomato companies pay Immokalee farmworkers 40 cents to 50 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick, virtually the same rate they made in 1978. They often work 10-12 hours a day in the Florida sun. At today’s rate, workers would have to pick more than two-and-a-half tons of tomatoes just to earn the equivalent of Florida minimum wage for a 10-hour workday. According to a University of Florida survey, Immokalee pickers make an average annual income of just $6,574. They pay income taxes like everyone else in the United States, but receive no health insurance, no sick leave, no paid holidays, no paid vacation and no pension, and are denied the right to overtime pay and the right to organize. All of the pay is based on availability of work and ideal growing and picking conditions, which is rarely the case, according to the coalition.

To add to the problem, area landlords charge high prices for seasonal rent: $150 per week for a one-bedroom apartment for a family; or $50 a week for a single man to live with nine others in a singlewide mobile home.

In addition to low wages, the work conditions are below standard, with men working in fields which were recently sprayed with pesticides and offered no way to clean off before arriving home to their children, according to the coalition.

REALITY

The families who seek help from Guadalupe Social Services are hardworking people who are caught in a system that treats them poorly, Drago said.

“If they had their way, they would come here for the growing season and return to their native country,” she said. “They are given promises of wages that never materialize so they are forced to stay. Then they follow the work when the season is over, leaving the mothers and their children behind. It is a yearly cycle that never ends.”

Drago said she gets upset with people who visit her offices and when they see men and women gathered around in the shade, question why they aren’t working. “When there are no crops, there is no work,” she said. “It is very simple. These are proud people. It takes a lot for them to come to us. Because of our connection to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish we are trusted and respected in the community. I wish we weren’t needed.”

Like the other programs in Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Venice, Guadalupe Social Services relies heavily on its benefactors and volunteers to survive and meet the needs.

With six paid staff members and 40 volunteers, Drago said it is a bare-bones operation. About 70 percent of the operation is funded through the help of about 1,500 benefactors, who send donations of varying amounts throughout the year. She sends out a monthly letter to keep people updated on the program and to send out a wish list of needs.

“Without their support we wouldn’t be able to help anyone,” she said.

Anita Gamez said Guadalupe Social Services saved her family. She has three young children, ages 5, 3 and 2, and her husband follows the crops to find paying work. Money is always tight and she also works in the fields when she can find work and find someone to care for her children.

“I was so desperate because everyone else turned me away,” Gamez said through a translator. Guadalupe Social Services “didn’t turn me away and I was able to keep going and keep my house and keep my children healthy. I don’t know what I would have done without the wonderful people here.”

 

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