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USDA awards Catholic Charities $6 million
for farm worker housing project

by Judy Bokorney
Web Site Editor

Venice—Catholic Charities Housing, Inc. was awarded $6 million by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development on Friday, April 21 for the Casa San Juan Bosco farm worker community housing project in DeSoto County outside Arcadia.

The check presentation was held at the Catholic Center in Venice with representatives from the offices of U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, U.S. Congresswoman Katherine Harris, and HUD along with DeSoto County commissioners. Guests also included representatives from area growers such as the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association and Peace River Growers Association, Catholic Charities, the Diocese of Venice and the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Governor Jeb Bush sent a letter to mark the occasion.

Casa San Juan Bosco is an answer to the lack of affordable, quality housing in DeSoto County for seasonal farm workers and migrants. The 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.

“The partnerships forged are indicative of the wide support Catholic Charities has to do this project,” said USDA Rural Services State Director Charles Clemons. “Florida government is keenly aware of the iniquities of affordable housing in the State of Florida. This is an emergency situation. People need a safe place to rest their heads at night,” he said.

“Casa San Juan Bosco is core to the mission to provide good housing for the underprivileged we serve,” said Jack Martin, chairperson of Catholic Charities Housing. “We are indebted to USDA for recognizing the need to provide farm worker housing in Arcadia. We owe more than thanks but a commitment to develop a project that meets expectations,” he said.

Catholic Charities President Peter Routsis-Arroyo said when Hurricane Charley ravaged DeSoto County in 2004, around 60% of the farm worker housing was destroyed. “There was a need for housing prior to the hurricane. 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 childcare, education and employment training, health care and home ownership training. 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 will construct the Casa San Juan Bosco community in three phases where eventually almost 700 people will be able to live in the single- family 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. Casa San Juan Bosco will feature a community center, play area, park, soccer and baseball fields and a nature preserve. 

“Casa San Juan Bosco is simple,” said Sister Cathy Buster, SP, vice president of Catholic Charities Housing. “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.

For more information about Casa San Juan Bosco, contact Sister Cathy Buster at 941-349-0318.

Photo: (left to right) Chair of Catholic Charities Housing Jack Martin, Chancellor of Diocese of Venice Dr. Volodymyr Smeryk, Vice President of Catholic Charities Housing Sister Cathy Buster, Vicar General of Diocese of Venice Rev. Edward Moretti, Catholic Charities President/CEO Peter Routsis-Arroyo, and USDA Rural Development State Director Charles Clemons.