Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources

---

Martita Martinez-Bravo, Executive Director

Friends of Fieldworkers is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to befriend farmworker families in Ventura County by supporting, celebrating, and advocating for them. The families referred to us have experienced some form of crisis or trauma, including the death of a child or loved one, cancer, illnesses, sexual abuse, housing insecurity, or displacement due to home fires.

The County of Ventura employs about 42,000 farmworkers and their work is vital to the County’s $2 billion-a-year agricultural industry. Residents living in Ventura County and people across the United States and other parts of the world, all benefit from the labor of our farmworkers. The average income for Ventura County farmworkers is about $22,000 a year and given our housing crisis, the farmworkers we serve typically reside in converted garages or dwellings that are not up to code and not always safe and/or inhabitable. 

Our farmworker families unfortunately are so desperate to find housing, like many others who face housing insecurity, that most tend to reside in substandard conditions. Many share dwellings with multiple families in an effort to make ends meet at the end of every month. Children living in these circumstances do not have their own room, bed, or a designated space to do their homework. Impacting their social-emotional wellbeing, children typically do not engage in at-home “play dates” with their peers as there is no accommodation in their living quarters to make this available. 

Clinical research suggests that people who reside in crowded housing tend to have worse educational and behavioral health outcomes compared to those who do not. Among adults, crowding has been linked to an increase of stress and aggression, increase in social isolation, and weakened relationships between parents and their children. In children, crowding has been correlated with lower scores on standardized math and reading exams. Crowding may also result in sleep interruptions that affect mood and behavior. Children living in crowded housing also tend to display more behavioral problems at school.

Farmworker families typically sleep on the floor or on inflatable mattresses. Upon waking hours, they place their mattress on the walls and fold their blankets to make space for a table or a living space area. Additionally, their dwellings typically do not have heaters to keep them warm and some seek to turn their stove on to stay warm in the winter. 

A few years ago, under the direction of former and longtime Clinicas del Camino Real CEO, Roberto Juarez, the community was informed that farmworkers were living under mobile homes. Under his servant leadership, the federally-qualified health center took action to attend to those families and provide temporary transitional relief. To say that the housing crisis significantly impacts the most vulnerable in our community is an understatement. While temporary relief is helpful, we are in desperate need of long-term housing solutions that can assist farmworkers and their families as they contribute significantly and greatly to our vibrant economy across Ventura County. 

The City of Oxnard is home to many farmworkers. Data from 2022 indicates that deaths from residential structure fires in Oxnard are five times greater than the average in the state of California. Furthermore, 75% of the residential structure fires that Oxnard Fire Department responds to have no working smoke alarms. We have collaborated with the leadership under Oxnard Fire Department and the Red Cross to help attend to this issue, but we know that dwellings that are safe and up-to code are the correct path moving forward.

As we drive around Ventura County, we often see farmworkers working in the distance and portrayed as a landscape. In reality, farmworkers have families who share joys and struggles, as we all do. The Ventura Ranch development would provide a long-term solution, providing safe, smart, and sustainable living conditions for farmworkers and their families who vastly contribute to our Ventura County economy and vibrancy. 

Friends of Fieldworkers joins SOAR in support of this project and we hope that all community members can come together to have a vision that includes sharing our community with the hands who feed us.