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Ground blessing event launches construction
of unique farm worker housing project

By Judy Bokorney

Web Site Editor

Arcadia—A one-of-a-kind farm worker housing project will be constructed on 86 acres of rural land here in early 2007. A formal ground-blessing event took place on Saturday, October 28.

Over 300 people attended the ceremony to witness Bishop John J. Nevins of the Diocese of Venice perform the ground blessing  for the Casa San Juan Bosco farm worker housing project located at 2316 S.E. Hillsborough Ave. in Arcadia. Catholic Charities Housing Diocese of Venice, Inc. is building the $21 million development.

Casa San Juan Bosco is an answer to the lack of affordable, quality housing in DeSoto County for seasonal farm workers. The single-family homes will exceed national building practices by including child safety and other measures of the Healthy Homes Initiative, and the energy efficiency and disaster resistance standards recommended by the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing.

Farm workers are the backbone of the agricultural industry in Southwest Florida. When Hurricane Charley ravaged DeSoto County, a large portion of low-income housing was destroyed. Many farm workers and their families found themselves with no decent place to live. The most needy of the community suffered even more.

Around 60% of the farm worker housing was demolished by the hurricane, according to Peter Routsis-Arroyo, president of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. “There was a need for housing prior to Hurricane Charley. Out of the devastation, this project was born,” he said.

The development offers a rural community incorporating ingredients that help farm workers to build greater self-sufficiency. Casa San Juan Bosco will offer on-site education and employment training, health care and home ownership training, and eventually a childcare facility run by the Redlands Christian Migrant Association. These supportive services will initially help stabilize agricultural workers and their families, then increase their skills to earn a living wage, and finally to assist each family into home ownership.

Catholic Charities Housing Diocese of Venice will construct the community in three phases where eventually almost 700 people will be able to live in 125 homes. The housing project, designated for farm workers, will be the first in Arcadia that is not employer owned and one that encourages the goal of self-sufficiency for tenants. To qualify to rent a home, one family member must earn 51 percent of their wages as a farm laborer. Rent is determined on a sliding scale based on the family income. Casa San Juan Bosco will feature a community center, tot-lot play area, village green plus a park, soccer/baseball field, and a nature preserve.

According to Sister Cathy Buster, SP, vice president of Catholic Charities Housing Diocese of Venice, the two-, three- and four-bedroom homes will be able to withstand winds up to 200 mph. In the event of a hurricane, the community center will have its own back up generator and the capacity to provide food and drinks, and act as an emergency assistance location for residents.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development awarded $6 million to Catholic Charities Housing Diocese of Venice to develop the community. In addition, Florida Housing Finance Corporation, through various loan programs, also provided a major portion of the funding. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA), a trade group for growers, recognized the importance of supporting farm worker families by donating $200,000 toward the project. Sister Buster said the United Methodist Church of Arcadia and Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Boca Grande both donated money from their hurricane recovery funds “to be supportive of those who labor in the fields to provide food for our tables.”

“Casa San Juan Bosco is simple,” Sister Buster said. “It is not just a housing complex, but a community. A place where parents can come out to watch their children play in a safe environment, where families can be good neighbors and where helpful services are just outside their doorstep,” she said.

The development received its name from the legacy of San Juan Bosco (St. John Bosco), who was an Italian priest who founded the Salesian Society in the 1800s, which now cares for thousands of underprivileged youth through compassion and education all over the world.

The ground blessing also featured various speakers representing governmental offices, housing agencies, growers associations and a farm worker family, along with a fiesta and musical and dance entertainment. The Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association, Gulf Citrus Growers Association, Catholic Charities Housing Diocese of Venice, Inc. and the Redlands Christian Migrant Association are sponsored the event.

For more information please call Catholic Charities at 941-488-5581.

Photo: This architectural drawing depicts what a typical home will look like in the Casa San Juan Bosco farm worker housing project.