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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Organizers and Residents Score Victories in New Mexico Colonias
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Organizers and Residents Score Victories in New Mexico Colonias
by Kent Paterson*
A few short years ago, Veronica Renteria struggled to get back and forth to school from her home in El Milagro, New Mexico. Since buses didn't come directly into the community, Renteria and her classmates¾sometimes slipping in the mud and shielding themselves from the wind and rain¾were forced to trudge long distances in order to meet the bus that would ferry them to school in the adjacent town of Hatch.
Nowadays, though, schoolchildren have bus service almost at their doorstep. They can thank the efforts of Veronica's mom, Marta Jimenez, and others working with the Las Cruces-based Colonias Development Council (CDC). After years of organizing, half-paved roads running to the main highway, running water, and new telephone lines now reach El Milagro residents. Once depicted in the media as an "illegal" settlement bereft of any services, today El Milagro is advancing as a close-knit community in which the predominantly low-income, farmworker residents are putting down roots and raising their growing families.
But residents caution that much more remains to be done. For starters, many would live to move from their overcrowded mobile homes into regular houses. Take, for instance, Juan and Florencia Jaramillo, who live with their four children in a two-bedroom trailer. "The trailer is very small for all of us," remarked Florencia. "Let's see if something gets solved soon."
Another improvement that community residents hope they will see soon is the installation of a new sewage system. The state is currently involved in the permitting process. Ruben Nunez, the CDC's organizer in El Milagro, explained that construction of a new wastewater treatment plant is still at least several months down the road, pending the processing of paperwork and the location of a source of funding for the project.
Nunez said CDC members in El Milagro plan to follow the lead of another Dona Ana County colonia, Las Palmeras, which has built its own wastewater treatment plant. "If we can duplicate that model in another colonia, then we can expect to resolve more problems in the colonias," contended Nunez. If successful, he added, El Milagro's residents can then consolidate their own local organization and transmit valuable lessons to friends from other colonias who meet through the CDC. "In the future, they won't have to depend on the Council, and the Council can continue to work in more communities," said Nunez.
Founded in 1994, CDC is an offshoot of the Las Cruces Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, organizers from the Diocese's Social Action Ministry fanned out into Dona Ana County colonias, holding house meetings and listening to residents' dreams and aspirations. A grassroots organization eventually was born, and plunged into youth and daycare projects, citizenship education, and infrastructure improvement activities.
Building Off Successes in Las Palmeras,
Organizers Outline a "Marshall Plan" for the Colonias
One example of the CDC's work is in Las Palmeras, a dust- and wind-swept community of some 25-30 families located south of Las Cruces. Several years ago, some residents of the colonia met with CDC organizers. Together they charted a plan to address the community's most pressing needs-- water and sewer services. A partnership was formed with the private consulting firm Waterworks and $100,000 was obtained from the Small Town Environmental Program (STEP), a foundation-seeded outfit that grants money for infrastructure improvements in rural areas. A $400,000-dollar Community Development Block Grant rounded off a winning formula.
This year, Las Palmeras residents have water and are putting the final touches on the sewage treatment system. Neighbors donated their most plentiful resource-- sweat equity-- by physically helping to connect the system. "The community is the most important in the construction, because they put in the hours to do the work, to complete all the pipes," noted Waterworks project supervisor Abel Dorado. "Since we started digging and putting in the lines, we have almost 10 people volunteering every day, and we have to tell the people that we only need 4 or 5 daily."
Currently, CDC and allies are campaigning to help the residents of El Milagro and another colonia, Vado-IV, win what the people of Las Palmeras have already achieved. Calling for a comprehensive approach along the lines of the Marshall Plan, the group is seeking $3 million in federal money for the installation of utility services, road improvements and housing upgrades. The proposal has the support of one important church leader in New Mexico, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. "More than anything, it'll be a coordinated effort on the part of all agencies involved. Up until now, it's been piecemeal," he said.
The New Mexico Bishop credited CDC and colonia residents for helping to erode the media impression of their communities as rural slums hugging the desert's edge. "There's more awareness that the people are doing more of the work themselves and not just relying on state and federal assistance," explained Bishop Ramirez. "Stereotypes need to be broken down."
In the colonias, CDC organizer Ruben Nunez has noticed a significant change in the self-confidence of a largely Mexican immigrant population. "What I've seen is people who've become 'citizens.'" he added. "They don't have fear of the system now. They know they can go and have the power to change the system."
* Kent Paterson is a free-lance journalist based in Albuquerque, NM. Kent frequently travels throughout the borderlands and in Mexico.
Details of the Plan
(from "Colonias Restructuring Initiative Proposal," Submitted
to the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development by Dona Ana County Colonias Development Council, Las Cruces, NM, April
1998)
On May 29, 1998, colonias residents and CDC organizers held a press conference to announce the Colonias Marshall Plan and give residents a chance to talk about their communities. Bishop Ramirez, House Representative Mary Jane Garcia, and HUD Representative Mike Griego, and colonia community leaders Blanca Juarez and Blanca Gonzalez were among those who spoke at the event. Also on hand were county commissioners Gilbert Alpalaca, Lalo Medina, and Tony Schafer. State representative Shirley Baca could not attend, but sent a letter in support of the plan. Organizers were very pleased with the press conference. "It built more awareness of the situation in the colonias," the CDC's Ray Padilla explained. "It also helped dispel stereotypes about colonia residents." Padilla said the group should know by September whether or not HUD has approved their grant. They're feeling positive, he said, and eager to get started on the work ahead.
Background
· There are 37 colonias in Dona Ana County which make up 40% of the county's total population.
· 57% of Dona Ana County's population is of Latino origin; 60% of colonias residents are Latino.
· The median income in El Milagro Colonia is $13,100/year; the Dona Ana County poverty line is $17,487.
Details of the Plan
· Project duration: The project is intended to be two years in duration and to serve as a model for the eventual development of the remaining 35 colonias in Dona Ana County.
· Project Budget: $2,770,000 requested for Milagro and Vado-IV, New Mexico colonias (as defined by Cranston-Gonzalez Fair Housing Act of 1990).
1. $100,000 for community assessment and organization
* Study of demographics, housing market and infrastructure conditions.
Goal: Assess community needs.* Home visits, community meetings, and education about housing acquisition, family budgeting, social services.
Goal: Facilitate residents bringing homes into code compliance.*Strengthen organic community organizations (including 501c(3) status) and projects.
Goal: Establish institutions by and for the residents.
2. $150,000 for acquisition and reconstruction costs
* For existing properties in the communities.
* Preliminary land surveys, site preparation, architectural services, buying right-of-ways, etc.
* Will provide for 150 households at cost of $10,000 per household. 50% grant and 50% loan. Loan to be repaid into revolving loan fund;eventually to be used in other colonias.
3. $1,080,000 for affordable housing procurement
*Purchase 90 housing units at $12,000 per unit. Also 50% grant, 50% loan, with loan repayments going into revolving fund.
4. $90,000 for administrative costs (3.25% of total budget)
Excerpt from the Plan
"In order to transform colonias into viable communities, it is critical to recognize that the challenges and obstacles are formidable. Such a transformation requires a commitment comparable to a regional Marshall Plan, because the existing conditions touch upon every aspect of human life. The centerpiece of a colonias' transformation process is adequate housing and requisite infrastructure. In this equation human resources are perhaps the greatest asset and material resources the greatest obstacle to enhance the quality of life for colonia residents.
"It is proposed that the Task Force initiate a comprehensive transformation process in the communities of Vado and Milagro, to serve as models to the eventual development of the remaining thirty-three (33) colonias in Dona Ana County. Various Task Force members are already engaged in the two communities, as in many others, in the areas of education, housing, grassroots organizing, public advocacy, health and environmental issues. This project will serve to consolidate and enhance these individual efforts into a collective initiative. The thrust of the pilot project is to demonstrate the transformative power of matching human potential with adequate resources.
"This project will address the entire spectrum of housing-related and community development issues that afflict the two communities. Such an endeavor includes assessment of need, clearing legal property titles, infrastructure/housing development, community education, organization and empowerment. The goal is to develop individual and social capital through a community development process. Through organization and education, residents will articulate their needs and priorities and assess their own skills in responding to those needs. Public-private partnerships will provide the initial material resources and the necessary technical assistance to facilitate the process."
Sources for More Information
(For assistance in acquiring documents listed here, contact Susan
Smith or Julie Schneider at INCITRA.
Email: incitra@irc-online.org
Voice: (505) 388-0208.)
"Colonias: Problems and Promise," borderlines vol. 6, no. 1,
February 1998
http://www.irc-online.org/bordline/1998/bl42/bl42col.html
INCITRA Action Kit: Colonias
http://www.irc-online.org/bordline/1998/bl42/bl42inci.html
(for a hard-copy version, email request to incitra@irc-online.org or call (505)
388-0208.)
Key Contacts
(For more information regarding contacts listed here, contact Susan
Smith or Julie Schneider at INCITRA.
Email: incitra@irc-online.org
Voice: (505) 388-0208.)
Colonias Development Council
Email: cdcmain@juno.com
Voice: (505) 647-2744
Waterworks
Email: waterwrks@aol.com
Voice: (505) 988-4270