Cultivating a Clientele of Farm Workers

It’s morning break at the Emerald Mist strawberry farm and workers are at rest between rows of bright red berries, making them easy pickings for the helping hands of Teresita Montoya.

The outreach worker is on the front lines of a new effort to deliver family services to Ventura County farm workers, scouring agricultural areas to spread the word about programs often out of reach for those who stoop in the fields.

“We are coming to places where we encounter the most need,� Montoya explains to the harvesting crew at the strawberry field just outside Ventura.

“We don’t charge for any of our programs,� she says. “We provide transportation and child care. We are trying to eliminate all of the obstacles that could prevent you from attending.�

Launched in the spring, the Harvest for a Better Life program offers parenting classes, couples counseling and other services to agricultural workers through a two-year, $350,000 grant from the California Endowment health foundation.

The program is run by the Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, in conjunction with a county project involving a network of volunteer health-care advocates.

The effort is unique locally in that it cultivates clients in the fields. Seven growers have agreed to allow outreach workers to visit their farms during the workday, setting aside time for laborers to learn about the services and even sign up on the spot for upcoming classes.

So far, about a quarter of the 78 people who have enrolled in parenting classes through the new program have been recruited directly out of the fields.

“Some growers might not like it, but I think it’s good information for the workers,� said strawberry grower Humberto Candelario, who has permitted outreach workers to visit his ranches three times since the program began in March. “If it works for the people, I say let them come.�

Much of the focus is on promoting stronger families and curbing domestic violence.

Program officials and violence prevention specialists say that does not mean there is more domestic violence among farm workers than among the population as a whole.

However, family violence has been linked to poverty, unemployment and other stress-inducing factors that often plague those who work the fields. Add to that the language barriers faced by many agricultural workers and their general lack of access to social programs, and officials say the outreach effort was all the more pressing.

“We’re hoping this opens the door to more services for this population,� said Harvest program manager Veronica Vera-Vargas, the daughter of a retired Oxnard farm worker.

“In the Latino culture, family is very important,� Vera-Vargas said. “So the question was, how could we make it stronger and preserve family unity?�