Who Will House the Farmworkers?: An Examination of State Program
Author: Housing Assistance Council
Date Published: 1986
Periodically, the American conscience is aroused by media attention to the deplorable housing conditions suffered by farmworkers and their families as they journey from farm to farm, sometimes hundreds or even a thousand miles from home, to earn a living and to put food on the tables of each of our households. Concerned people may drive past workers toiling in the fields and sympathetically question why they continue to work under a scorching sun, often with no sanitary facilities or potable water in sight. Others may observe from the roadway some ramshackle accommodations, the temporary "home" of a migrant family, but few ask what we as a nation, or a state, or a community are doing to change this anachronism of 20th century employment. This report responds, in part, to the question, "Who will House the Farmworkers?" It addresses how the federal government is responding to the current lack of sanitary housing for farmworkers and, in greater length, it explores the efforts of some key agricultural states to improve farmworker housing conditions within their boundaries. Various state activities are examined, including studies, enforcement of housing standards, and actual program resources.
Date Published: 1986
Periodically, the American conscience is aroused by media attention to the deplorable housing conditions suffered by farmworkers and their families as they journey from farm to farm, sometimes hundreds or even a thousand miles from home, to earn a living and to put food on the tables of each of our households. Concerned people may drive past workers toiling in the fields and sympathetically question why they continue to work under a scorching sun, often with no sanitary facilities or potable water in sight. Others may observe from the roadway some ramshackle accommodations, the temporary "home" of a migrant family, but few ask what we as a nation, or a state, or a community are doing to change this anachronism of 20th century employment. This report responds, in part, to the question, "Who will House the Farmworkers?" It addresses how the federal government is responding to the current lack of sanitary housing for farmworkers and, in greater length, it explores the efforts of some key agricultural states to improve farmworker housing conditions within their boundaries. Various state activities are examined, including studies, enforcement of housing standards, and actual program resources.
