The State of the State for Washington Latinos

It’s hard to get the personal stories of almost 3000 farm workers about housing conditions, employment issues, health and child care. But that’s exactly what the Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust spent most of 2006 doing. Last Thursday they presented a compilation of the state-wide survey results to a room of interest groups, ranging from representatives from Habitat for Humanity to the Washington State Farm Bureau to interested college students like myself. They presented some striking findings showing the important impact farmworker housing issues in Washington  have on the agricultural industy and the economy as a whole . The agricultural industry provides $2.30 in economic growth for every $1 invested in crops – or $8.4 billion a year – making it the largest contributor to Washington’s economy and all the more reason to make sure it is sustainable on economic, social, and environmental levels.

After conducting nearly 3000 interviews across the state, the Housing Trust was able to start pinpointing where the main issues are with housing conditions for farm workers in all different kinds of crops. Some of the more shocking findings included:

- over 1/3 of all farmworkers interviewed reported some kind of housing problem

- 6% of those interviewed live outside, in a shed, or in a car

- 91% of farmworkers said better housing conditions would encourage them to continue work in the agricultural industry

- 80% are without health insurance (slightly higher than the estimated 85% national average for farm workers)

The Trust works to provide more sustainable and humane housing conditions for Washington State’s  187,000+ farm workers and their families through various housing projects, including year-round, seasonal, and temporary structures. One of their main concerns right now is getting more private investments to fund these projects and get more input about the regionally specific and crop specific housing needs in different parts  of the state.

One of the current projects is going up within the next year in Franklin County. Despite some initial opposition, the Ringold “green” housing project that will provide seasonal housing for 96 farm workers has gotten State funding and plans are well in the making. There will be a “ground-breaking” event this October and the housing project is on schedule to be completed by June 1, 2010 – just in time for the harvesting season.