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Thoughts from our CEO
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the UnidosUS annual conference in Chicago, Ill. Our organization has sent a contingent to this conference every year for as long as I can remember. We are the Idaho affiliate of this national organization, which like our own organization, grew from the civil rights struggles in the 1960s. We share a common story; we are both organizations that recognized the need for a Hispanic voice, a Hispanic agenda for change, and the need for social and economic justice for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers and other Hispanic immigrants and families. As organizations, we both came into existence to be strong, steady voices for our people and for civil rights and economic equality. In 1968 the Council of La Raza was founded with seven local groups/affiliates. In 1972 the organization became the National Council of La Raza, with nearly 300 affiliates. This is one year after the Idaho Migrant Council came into existence. Becoming an affiliate of the National Council of La Raza was one of the first actions we took when we became a non-profit. Our Leaders then, as we do today, understood the importance of being part of a united national voice for our people.
Similarly, in the early 2000s, both organizations went through a rebranding (name changes) to help define us within the context of a changing community. In the early 2000s, NCLR recognized that many Hispanics were millennials, second and third-generation immigrants, for many a historical/family connection to the migrant/farmworker experience and struggles. Many members of our communities continue to struggle as migrant/seasonal farmworkers. Still, many more members of our Hispanic communities face the struggle of racial and economic injustice in the new pathways that they are creating for our Latino youth. So, in the 2000s, NCLR became UnidosUS, and we became the Community Council of Idaho.
I confess that sometimes, I wonder about all this rebranding/changing and worry that we are not remaining true to being that strong (sometimes angry) voice, militantly working for civil rights and social justice. That we as organizations should be placard-waving demonstrators on the streets, as so many groups are doing today. That we should be across the street from them, making noise and struggling to be heard above the fray. However, when I looked at the agenda of meetings, sessions, and events at this year's annual conference, I realized that together (UnidosUS and CC Idaho) are doing more than placard-waving. We are empowering our communities and individuals to be able to make real change, empowering them to be the vehicles for economic justice, empowering our communities to move forward, make real changes, and grow.
Many of the sessions at the conference dealt with political change within our country, but next to them were sessions on "Home Ownership," "Navigating the Future of Work; Pioneering Inclusion for the Latino Workforce," "Shaping the Future: Empowering Immigrant Professionals to Drive Workforce Innovation," and there was a pre-conference session, "Shaping the City: Latino Employment and Settlement Patterns in Chicago." What I realized during this conference is that we are no longer the organizations working to just be heard; America's Latino communities are vibrant, exciting, and growing communities. Communities with a broad diversity of needs, and as organizations serving all generations of Latinos, we need to see them in all that they are. To be able to really be an agent of empowering our communities, we need to see them and know them. Our country's Hispanic demographics are changing, and the struggles of farmworkers (and farmworker communities) are one aspect of today's Latino communities and culture. We need to be able to "see" who we are as farmworkers, second and third-generation Latino's new immigrants, and because Latinos marry outside of our community more than any other ethnic population, we need to serve our communities to empower our multi-generational families. We are the face of America's future!
Join us in the effort for our farmworkers to ilvaite their working conditions. So many agencies have joined; we can all make a difference.
Since 2017, the year Community Council of Idaho launched Familias Unidas Immigration Legal Services (FUILS), we have assisted over 800 individuals through the Citizenship application processes, including reviewing eligibility, filing required materials and forms, and representing the individuals in all hearing and court reviews.
Our Gala Committee is well underway for this year's event. As mentioned, the gala will be held on November 17th at the Barber Park Events Center. There are many opportunities to show your support for this much-needed service in Idaho. We hope you will consider participating in some way to make someone's immigration journey possible. More information to come soon.
Our Head Start program provides full-day bilingual school readiness education to the children of farm workers. We have nine centers throughout southern Idaho. The program provides family involvement and information that benefits the entire household.
Community Family Clinic team visited centers from Aberdeen to Weiser to screen children for lead and hemoglobin. 46 children were tested!! This test was done for children who hadn't been tested, children 12 months and up. Thank you, CFC team!!
MSHS is collaborating with Roy Villasenor to coordinate pesticide trainings for Head Start parents. Thank you, Roy!
Employment & Training is part of the soul of our organization. This program assists Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers, low-income individuals and families, by providing the vehicle for individuals to move from the migrant stream into the mainstream through education, emergency assistance, and job training.
We are so proud to every year be a part of graduation night. THANK YOU to the entire Employment & Training Team for making graduation a special occasion for our students and their friends and families.
With over 100 students graduating throughout the state this year the drive and commitment that I see from the lens of our staff is always humbling.
We hope our students use their degree to get a better paying job, or to go on to get a college degree. Whatever they choose to do, we wish them the BEST. Congratulations to ALL our Graduates and staff for their support!
Since 2005, the mission of the Community Family Clinic (CFC) has been to provide affordable primary health care services to individuals and families in the communities we serve. We now provide pharmaceutical services at discounted prices to those who qualify.
Our clinics are doing some amazing work! Their expansion is progressing by leaps and bounds. The Rigby Clinic will be opening very soon; more details on the grand opening will be available soon. Along with this new clinic, they will be offering a new service, dental care. We have recently hired a trusted dentist to keep Eastern Idaho smiling, more details on this soon, as well.
The Community Council of Idaho is a significant provider of affordable housing and housing developed to meet the local needs of farmworker families. We provide affordable housing to migrant and seasonal farmworker families, transitional services to homeless and single individuals, and low-income families in rural communities.
ALL tenants in Phase 2, 3, & 4 have found new housing. We congratulated our site housing staff on their diligence, professionalism and empathy as they worked to place our residence in new house that met their need. Some purchased homes, some found rentals with other agencies and others transferred to openings we had on site.
Our Farmworker properties have been doing extremely well. Long-term vacancies have been filled as the needed repairs have been completed except for one at Project Hope. We are looking into how we can get this unit completed. We are at 3% vacancy across all properties.
We are fortunate to have an amazing team at CC Idaho. As our CEO mentioned, we are continuously growing in the services we offer and the locations we serve. Our team welcomes those who want to significantly impact the Idaho community while making a great living accompanied by a robust benefits package and compensation. So, visit our openings page; we are sure there is a spot for you!
If you would like to find out more about the services that we offer in your community or feel that you might be eligible for one of our services, please feel free to visit our website or contact us directly at 208-454-1652. Let one of our Team members help you explore all that we have to offer.
If you would like to donate
It is with the help of individual and corporate donors that we can provide many of our services to our communities. If you would like to help us continue to serve, then please follow this link, and donate to the Community Council of Idaho. Lend your help in allowing us to continue to serve farmworkers and low-income families.
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