TxLIHIS community organizer Gloria Romo and El Cenizo CDC director Gabriela Sandoval
In 2004, TxLIHIS hired a new staff person, Gloria Romo, to revive the Border Low Income Housing Coalition (BLIHC). Gloria is a South Texas colonia resident and former farm worker with a strong background in community organizing. After four months of orienting herself with the issues involved in her new job, Gloria completed the Midwest Academy’s community organizer training. TxLIHIS established an office with another colonia nonprofit housing group and the office has become the unofficial headquarters for the reorganization of the BLIHC.
Ms. Romo recently organized residents of Webb County's two largest colonias (combined population 9,000) to win a victory with their county government. With her assistance, 70 residents of Colonia El Cenizo formed a caravan and drove to a county commissioners court meeting where they successfully prevented an increase in their water rates. This community group has continued organizing around water issues. Recent activities include:
• Obtaining test results that reveal high levels of carcinogens in their water. This year, they successfully pressured county officials and the water company to clean up the water.
• Investigating the cause of inexplicably high water bills at the homes of single elderly residents;
• Convincing a Webb County Judge to pass a resolution declaring colonia La Presa an "emergency area," thus requiring state and federal officials to provide La Presa with much needed electricity, water and utilities.
• Researching why the school district appears to be collecting certain taxes from them in violation of a federal court order.
Ms. Romo has also conducted one on one meetings with residents of the Colonia La Hermosa to identify leaders and issues in that community. Although this colonia is within the city limits of Laredo, it lacks basic infrastructure such as water and sewage services and needs to develop a specific plan to address these problems. Residents are showing strong leadership skills in recent meetings with government officials and more neighbors have become encouraged to join the effort.
Using her experience as a former farm worker, Ms. Romo has identified farm workers representing several border communities who migrate to the fields of South Texas for work. Many of these workers struggle to build decent permanent homes in Border colonias. Generally the housing that is available in the South Plains is grossly substandard and located far from work centers. Her introductory discussions will serve as a precursor to establishing grassroots leaders within the migrant farm worker community.