Family Finds Shelter in Helpful Aid Workers
By Sarah K. Cron, 11.18.04

To those who pass by, the mound of wood and trash on the side of 2nd Street in Arcadia, Fla. would easily blend in with the other trash heaps piled up after Hurricane Jeanne’s devastation.

But to Valentina, this pile represents the last five years of her life. It is all that remains of her home. The front porch is the only structure still standing.

Today, she and her husband Jose and their two small children have taken shelter in the only room left in a trailer two doors down – what remains of her sister’s house. Their undocumented status makes it nearly impossible to get help.

During all three hurricanes, Valentina and her family stayed in a hotel, hoping for the best. But the day after Hurricane Jeanne ripped through their community, they returned to find their home demolished and all their belongings scattered for miles. Debris from the trailer still surrounds their yard.

“We were able to pull out a few things like clothes, but the majority of things were spoiled and destroyed,” said Valentina. “My husband kept saying, ‘I can’t believe it.”

The young family searched for another trailer to rent but soon found it an impossible task. One owner wanted $700 a month for an old two-bedroom mobile home, way too much for the area, let alone for Jose’s small income working on construction crews. Because they spoke little English and are undocumented, they simply walked away disappointed.

“Now I don’t have any money and my sister doesn’t have any money either,” Valentina said. “She’s loaned this to us so we could at least have a place to stay for the children.”

Valentina is not alone. Many undocumented workers have been taken advantage of by those who know the system far better.

“Because they are undocumented and they don’t have the legal status, they are afraid and they do what they are told to do which is a horrible situation,” said David Harris, chairperson for the Voluntary Organization Active and Disaster and Senior Pastor at United Methodist Church in Arcadia.

Harris has spearheaded a relief effort in Arcadia by bringing local churches and non-profit groups to the table to coordinate resources to best meet the needs of the community. His church is helping devastated community members through the often-complicated process of applying for federal assistance. Once the amount of federal assistance is determined for each case, volunteers at the church help meet the immediate needs beyond what the government can supply.

For the undocumented, very little federal or state assistance is available. But Harris said they are working together to help the people who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

“Some are cramming into whatever trailers are left. They are just trying to get by the best they can,” Harris said. “They have the most difficult road. That’s the frustrating thing, we see what’s going on, we see the abuse but there’s no power to deal with it because of their status.”

Harris mentioned an instance where another hurricane victim who did get a check from Federal Emergency Management Agency was told he had to give back half the check to the person who delivered it to him. The representative threatened to have him deported if he did not comply.

“He promised to get them a trailer but he took half their check and has not done anything for them,” Harris said.

Fear of being deported is also a factor in why many undocumented workers won’t even ask for help. Harris said many migrant workers left after Hurricane Charley because they knew federal agencies would be coming into the area. The impact this will have on the local economy of this rural town cannot be underestimated.

“We’ve got a problem in that regard because now a lot of the work force for our farmers is gone,” Harris said. “The effects begin to multiply all through the community. We won’t have the work force for harvesting. I hate to say this but we really need them here. They are a very vital part of this community and we need to be able to help them.”

Gricel Hernandez, a caseworker at Trinity UMC works closely with the Hispanic population in Arcadia. She has been working tireless weeks since the hurricanes tore through the area to help these workers through the bureaucratic nightmare that she said is often too discouraging for them to fight through alone.

“Many of them are numb,” she said.

Hernandez and her mother have personally visited these workers by going door-to-door to let them know there is help available.

“We want to help them and to provide some hope,” she said.

Valentina’s story is just one case pulled from a stack of thousands piled up on Hernandez’ desk at the church. But despite the workload, the smiling Hernandez said the work is just part of her job, a job she admits she is passionate about doing.

“I know it sounds crazy to say it, but I firmly believe God will help us help every single individual who needs it,” she said.

Hernandez has been helping Valentina with a repeal for Federal Emergency Management Assistance. Since both Valentina’s children were born in the United States, she would qualify for some assistance.

But for a young undocumented migrant worker who does not speak English, the process often involves a series of hurdles and endless red tape to break through. As for Valentina, she and her husband had no proof that they actually lived in her old trailer. Though they are trying secure proof that their belongings were in that trailer, Hernandez said her case is not unusual.

Since the hurricanes destroyed nearly everything they owned, Valentina and her children have found themselves sitting around with little to do and little relief in immediate future.

“I have no one to care for my children, and they wanted to charge me $10 a day per child to take care of my children,” she said. “I cannot work because I need to watch them.”

The circumstances have not fazed little Melissa, though, Valentina’s precocious 3 year-old who wore a pink ‘Angel’ shirt the day a few aid workers came to discuss the family’s needs. She continued to play in the rain, vying for the attention of those around her, including her mother.

“The children are so young they don’t really realize the difficulty,” Valentina said as she held her sleepy 8-month old girl, Jorge-Luis.

Aid workers, like Gricel and Clyde Stutts from Somebody Cares in Tampa, a local Operation Blessing affiliate, have given her some hope, though. As soon as Clyde learned of the family’s desperate need for shelter, he called some of his contacts to find trailer to give to the family. But it may still be a few weeks before the family sees it.

In the meantime, Valentina sits in the hot sun with her baby, blowing on her face periodically to keep her cool from the oppressive heat and humidity brought on by heavy rains.

“We see this as being very difficult because there is no place for us to even be with our children,” she said. “We’ve talked about what’s happened, but they are the ones who will suffer. Eventually this will all catch up with them.”