CONTACTS:
David Limón Saldivar (760) 398-7261
Directing Attorney, CRLA Coachella Regional Office
Ilene J. Jacobs (530) 742-7235
CRLA Director of Litigation, Advocacy & Training
Leticia De Lara (760) 863-8211
Legislative Assistant, Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson’s
Office
COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA. California Rural Legal
Assistance, Inc. (CRLA), representing 30 low-income mobile home park
tenants, almost all farmworkers, and Riverside County Supervisor Roy
Wilson announce today that they have reached a voluntary agreement,
approved by HUD, resolving disputes about farmworker housing and mobile home
park code enforcement and housing discrimination based on national origin.
Settlement of the fair housing claims will
provide $21 million in much needed housing assistance and community
services for farmworkers and other rural poor in eastern Riverside County.
HUD conciliated the enforcement agreement after
the farmworkers filed fair housing complaints against Riverside County.
Tenant fair housing complaints alleged that
Riverside County discriminated against farmworkers and others residing in mobile home
parks on the basis of their national origin, Hispanic, by engaging in
selective and discriminatory code enforcement activity.
Rita Benitez and neighbors in a Thermal mobile home
park received County notices ordering them to disconnect all utilities and
move their mobile homes out in 30 days, or face being sued and forcibly
evicted.
"I felt scared and angry and didn't
understand because I did nothing wrong. Why was I being treated like this?
I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I couldn't believe the County
would treat people the way it treated me. I remember thinking that if I
were White and spoke better English, the County would treat me
differently.", said Benitez, who filed a fair housing complaint.
Maria Hernandez, residing in the park with her
husband and three children was so frightened by her notice that she sold
her mobile home at a loss, moved in with relatives in an overcrowded mobile home
and eventually was forced to rent an apartment that the family could not
afford.
"My husband and I were very sad to have to
sell our mobile home. We put a lot of money into it and lost it all. When
I think about what my children had to go through when we left, moving away
from their friends and going to a different school, living in such a
crowded place with no privacy, and being hungry sometimes because we
didn't have enough money to pay for food, I start to cry.", said
Maria Hernandez, who also filed a fair housing complaint.
Sotero Bautista and his wife, residing in a mobile home
park in Thermal, were sued by the County."It makes me upset when I
remember the way the County was treating us. I'm happy to learn the County
recognized that it made mistakes and is now willing to make up for those
mistakes. I never thought I would be able to own a house. The thought of
being able to afford one was always just a dream and now the County is
making it possible", said Mr. Bautista.
HUD investigated the complaints and concluded
that the allegations had merit and that they were sufficient to establish
violations of both Title VI and Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964. HUD also recognized that through the leadership of Fourth District
Supervisor Roy Wilson, once alerted to the complaints, took immediate
action to modify its policies and procedures to provide greater protection
to mobile home park residents and safeguard against similar County action
taking place in the future.
"I view these proceedings as having provided
us an opportunity to improve upon our policies and procedures and the way
we communicate with and receive input from the community. This is really a
win-win situation for all the parties involved.", said Fourth
District Supervisor, Roy Wilson.
Jose Padilla, CRLA Executive Director, said
"Riverside County Supervisor Wilson should be commended for his
leadership in reaching a settlement agreement that will benefit migrant
and seasonal farmworkers, and other workers in the Coachella Valley, who
are the backbone of the County’s agricultural economy and contribute so
much to its wealth and prosperity."
"Code enforcement too often is motivated by
discrimination against the people who own and occupy the housing, rather
than by genuine health and safety concerns, and exploits the most
vulnerable communities in this country such as migrant farmworkers and
recent immigrants who suffer the terrible impact of eviction and
displacement", said Ilene Jacobs, director of litigation for
California Rural Legal Assistance.
Riverside County has committed $21 million over
the next 10 years, some of which will go directly to benefit the 30
individual mobile home park tenants who filed the complaints. The major
part will go to support programs designed to benefit the community of
farmworkers and other low income individuals and families.
Riverside County will apply for all available
local, state and federal funding to be used to build housing for
farmworkers and other rural poor, help create a non-profit organization to
build quality mobile home parks in the eastern end of the County, continue
to fund and support three additional mobile home and manufactured housing
projects in the communities of Coachella, Mecca and on land located on the
Torres Martinez Indian Reservation, fund and support a stick-built housing
complex in Coachella, fund housing programs in the next 10 years to
benefit farmworkers and other low-income families and individuals, fund a
Farmworker Service Center in downtown Mecca which will serve as a one-stop
facility where farmworkers can go and receive information on available
housing assistance programs as well as receive health, social service and
other educational related assistance and information. The agreement
anticipates breaking ground on this project by early October, 2000.
"For farmworkers, access to information and
services too often is beyond their reach. The Farmworker Service Center
will bridge this gap and provide farmworkers the opportunity to take
advantage of programs and services to improve their lives and living
conditions. Farmworkers deserve no less.", said David Limón Saldivar,
Directing Attorney for the Coachella Regional Office of CRLA.
Greater protection will be available to mobile home
park residents under the settlement agreement, in which the County also
agreed to continue to improve code enforcement policies and procedures,
use bilingual notices, hire a sufficient bilingual staff to meet the needs
of the Hispanic community, training staff about fair housing laws and
working with people with diverse backgrounds and cultures, fund fair
housing community education and outreach and related activities.
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