Justice on Wheels: A Group of Initiatives to Increase Access to Mobility for Farm Workers in Addison County, VT Above: ENVS0401 students, Jennifer Ortega (left) and Emilie Seavey (right) with Tim Mathewson (center), project partner and owner of Little City Cycles in Vergennes, VT ENVS0401: Environmental Studies Senior Seminar on Transportation Marginalized Mobilities Working Group Middlebury College Spring 2018 Project by: Jennifer Ortega - ([email protected]) Emilie Seavey - ([email protected]) Esteban Arenas-Pino - ([email protected] / [email protected]) Faculty Advisors: Mez Baker-Medard and Nadine Canter Barnicle Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 Table of Contents Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………... 3 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………….... 4 Farm Workers in Vermont ……………………………………………………....……...... 5 Transportation in Relation to Farm Workers in Vermont ……………...………………... 6 Previous Work …………………………………………………………………………… 8 Overview of Initiatives …………………………………………………………………………… 9 Objective #1: Bike Initiative ……………………………………………………………. 10 Objective #2: Ride-Sharing Initiative …………………….……………………………... 12 Objective #3: Institutional Memory / Communication Plans ……………..…………….. 15 Moving Forward/Recommendations ….……………...…………………………………………. 16 Future Work: Western Addison County Bus Route…………….……………………….. 16 A Brief Note on Forming Coalitions ……………..……………………………………... 17 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………. 18 Appendix I. Previous Projects ..…………………………………………………………………. 19 Appendix II. Rules of the Road Pamphlet ………………………………………………………. 21 Appendix III. Dial-a-Ride Brochure.……………………………………………………………. 22 Appendix III. Communication Plans ....…………………………………………………………. 23 Appendix IV. Other Sources ...…..……………………………………………………………… 29 List of acronyms: AAN - Addison Alliance Network ACTR - Addison County Transit Resources DPC- Driver’s Privilege Card CCE- Center for Community Engagement ICE - Immigration Control Enforcement MJ - Migrant Justice OSI - Office of Sustainability Integration Justice on Wheels| 2 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 Executive Summary The lack of universal access to transportation in the state of Vermont has left many communities in the state disconnected from the main hubs of food and commerce. Communities in Western Addison County, such as Shoreham and Orwell, are largely underserved and do not have access to the main public transportation routes offered by Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR). Although ACTR does offer route deviations and the Dial-a-Ride system, this is not sufficient to cover the transportation needs of these communities. Farm workers in Addison County face geographic isolation and systemic barriers that prevent their access to goods and services. Farm workers find it particularly difficult to access food retailers as well as economic, health, and legal services due to the lack of transportation options. In addition to the lack of transportation, cultural, linguistic, and racial barriers prevent farm workers from integrating in their communities. We believe that initiatives for transportation equity not only can help farm workers obtain greater access to goods and services, but also can allow them to further integrate themselves into their local communities and become part of the formal economies. The Middlebury College ENVS0401 Marginalized Mobilities working group has built upon previous projects that focus on increasing transportation options for farm workers in Vermont and specifically in Addison County. As predicted, the systemic barriers became a great impediment in the formation process for this project. However, after meeting with our community partners we narrowed our scope to three objectives: (1) Support current ride sharing initiatives in Addison County, (2) Create a yearly bike donation system that pairs local bike shops with farm workers, (3) Establish institutional memory for any initiatives past and present around mobilities for farm workers. Overall, this project succeeded at bridging gaps in communication between actors in the community involved in transportation. We identified funding, technical support, and sustainable partnerships as key factors for the success of transportation initiatives. We hope that future communication between our partners will ensue and that further outreach can expand current services and limit the gaps in transportation for farm workers in Addison County. Justice on Wheels| 3 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 Introduction In the spring of 2018 one of the Environmental Studies Community-Based Practicum sections (ENVS0401a), focused on the theme of sustainable transportation. The class was divided into four working groups that focused on transportation innovations, public bus ridership, biking initiatives, and equitable transportation access. Our working group decided to focus on farm workers in Addison County, as this group’s access to public transportation remains limited and private transportation options do not have the capacity to meet the current needs of the farm workers. Our project consisted of collaborating with numerous partners in varying degrees to not only build upon already existing projects, but also synthesize what we believed to be effective methods for connecting farm workers with sustainable forms of transportation. Our project partners, listed below, gave us great insights into the current state of transportation in the county: ENVS 401- Marginalized Communities Working Group Project Partners Migrant Justice Community activist organization based out of Burlington, VT. ACTR The Addison County Transport Resources Organization Addison Alliance Community organization in Middlebury, VT that provides transportation and Network English Classes to farm workers JUNTOS Student Organization at Middlebury College that organizes around immigration issues and community building for farm workers. Porter Hospital Open Provides access to healthcare services, free of charge, for those who Door Clinic experience barriers to obtaining such services. Little City Cycles Bike Shop in the town of Vergennes, VT Frog Hollow Bike Shop in the town of Middlebury, VT Mountain Club Student organization at Middlebury College that focuses on access to outdoor recreation In this report, we first introduce transportation connections for farm workers in Vermont. We then describe the various projects we synthesized and built upon during the semester to begin to address transportation access inequity. Finally, we conclude with future goals for the continuing projects and suggest future steps, emphasizing sustainable coalition building and community engagement. Justice on Wheels| 4 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 An Overview of Farm Workers in Vermont As of April 2008, Vermont had 7,300 farms.1 These farms grow a variety of foods which include, but are not limited to, to apples, corn, nuts, and legumes.2 One of the largest and perhaps the most famous commodities produced in Vermont is dairy, which occupies more than 80% of Vermont’s farmland.3 Agriculture in Vermont contributes $516 million dollars to the state economy,4 to which farm workers contribute heavily. Migrants compose approximately 5% of Vermont’s population,5 and compose a significant portion of the farm worker communities across the state. The organization Migrant Justice claims that approximately 1,500 migrant workers work in Vermont’s dairy farms.6 Many farm workers do not work in safe and healthy environments, and 40% of farm workers interviewed by Migrant Justice stated that they never receive a day off.7 Professor Daniel Baker, from the University of Vermont, reports that Latino dairy workers in Vermont work on average 69 hours per week.8 Baker also notes that “twenty-five percent of Vermont’s Latino farmworkers report having to use hand signals to communicate on the job, and the potential for miscommunication heightens the risk of injury.” This risk of injury is heightened by the lack of access to health care. The research available can be indicative of the experiences of many farm workers in Vermont, whether they are migrants or not. According to the Middlebury Open Door Clinic, the top two medical issues for farm worker visits in 2017 were dental issues and musculoskeletal reasons.9 Specific injuries farm workers face include deteriorating oral health. In addition, “pain, sprains, and dislocation were most frequently reported from repetitive motion injuries; for single events, cuts or tears were most frequently reported, followed by fractures or crush injuries.”10 Seventy-six percent of Latino dairy farm workers in Vermont noted that the last time they went to a clinic was in Mexico,11 which implies that many farm workers have not been to a clinic in several years. In fear of policing and 1 2017 State Agriculture Overview: Vermont. April 2018. Accessed: April 2018. Web: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/Ag_Overview/stateOverview.php?state=VERMONT. 2 United States Department of Agriculture. National Agricultural Statistics Service. Accessed April 2018. Web: https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/. 3 Kosakowski, Alison. Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets. “New Study Highlights the Value of Vermont's Dairy Industry.” Accessed: April 2018. Web: http://agriculture.vermont.gov/pr/new_study_highlights_the_value_of_vermonts_dairy_industry. 4 New American Economy. “The contributions of new Americans in Vermont.” August 2016. Accessed: March 1, 2018. Web: http://research.newamericaneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/nae-vt-report.pdf 5 American Immigration Council. “Immigrants in Vermont.” 2017. Accessed: March 1, 2018. Web: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-vermont. 6 Migrant Justice. “About” 2017. Accessed: March 1, 2018. Web: https://migrantjustice.net/about. 7 ibid. 8 Baker, Daniel. Latino Dairy Workers in Vermont. Food and Farms. 2013. 9 Doucet, Julia. Middlebury Open Door Clinic Outreach Nurse and Case Manager. Personal communication. April 10, 2018. 10 Arcury, Thomas A.; Quandt, Sara A. Delivery of health services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Annual Review of Public Health. 2007: (28): 345-363. 11 Ibid. Justice on Wheels| 5 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 detainment, farm workers will utilize less health care facilities.12 Many farm workers also do not reveal their health needs to their bosses in fears of that they will be perceived as unable to do physical labor. Furthermore, the lack of access to transportation for farm workers can increase their sense of isolation in the state. Approximately 40% of farm workers in the United States suffer from depression, while 30% suffer from anxiety.13 Multiple factors, such as unpredictable housing, separation from their home country, separation from families, and a lack of sense of belonging in their communities in the United States, result in such mental health issues. Transportation and farm workers in Vermont The lack of access to transportation also limits the access farm workers have to basic needs, like dental care, medical care, and food. As a rural state, Vermont has limited public transportation options. As Figure 2 shows, current bus routes are not accessible to all Vermont residents due to spatial limitations of the service. A recent study found that most food retailers and residential homes in Addison County are separated by 5-10 miles.14 Thus, access to transportation is integral for farm workers who typically live by the farms in remote areas. Figure 1. ACTR bus route connectivity in Chittenden, Addison, and Rutland counties. Note that the majority of Western Addison County lacks adequate bus service. 12 Baker, Daniel; Chappelle, David. Health status and needs of Latino dairy farm workers in Vermont. Journal of Agromedicine. 2012: 277-287. 13 Arcury, Thomas A.; Quandt, Sara A. Delivery of health services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Annual Review of Public Health. 2007: (28): 345-363. 14 McEntee, Jesse; Agyeman, Julian. Towards the development of a GIS method for identifying rural food deserts: geographic access in Vermont, USA. Applied Geography. 2010: (30): 165-176. Justice on Wheels| 6 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 In 2014 the state of Vermont passed bill S38, which grants people who do not possess proper documentation the opportunity to obtain a driver’s privilege card (DPCs).15 While the bill has greatly increased access to transportation, the process to obtain a driver’s license remains complicated and language barriers remain an issue within the tests administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In addition, a law approved in December 2017 strengthens police collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; news reports have also shown that DMV employees in Vermont have collaborated with immigration agents in the past.16 Our project partners have also made us aware that in fear of further policing by authorities, many farm workers in Vermont have desisted from acquiring driving privilege cards. To address their transportation needs and lack of access to resources, farm workers in Addison County have formed an informal ride-sharing system. Many workers give each other rides in their personal vehicles. However, some drivers have taken advantage of the lack of transportation and provide rides for a fee that is sometimes egregiously high. Our project partners have reported that some drivers abuse the workers’ situation and overcharge for rides. Regardless of these barriers, farm workers have identified a series of activities, such as celebrations and events, that would allow them to better integrate into the broader communities in which they live and work. We have learned that workers are interested in greater transportation access to attend events at nights and on the weekends. The workers would like to have more transportation to and from celebrations such as the ‘Día de los Muertos’ dinner hosted by JUNTOS, or to the Mexican consulate whenever it is in session. Farm workers would also like to have greater connections to town centers, retailers, and other services where they can shop and deposit remittances for money. A new bus route into Western Addison County and greater access to driver’s licenses would be the ideal solution to address the lack of accessibility to transportation in Addison County for farm workers. However, as mentioned above, both goals have great structural barriers that could not be fully tackled by this project. However, this project did attempt to improve current modes of transportation and exposed new initiatives that can alleviate the transportation needs of farm workers. 15 Vermont General Assembly. “S.38 (Act 74) An Act Relating to Expanding eligibility for driving and identification in Vermont” June 4, 2013. Accessed: March 1st, 2018. Web: https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2014/S.38 16 Migrant Justice. “ICE to Vermont DMV: "We're going to have to make you an honorary ICE officer!’ ” October 2016. Accessed February 2018. Web: https://migrantjustice.net/news/ice-to-vermont-dmv-were-going-to-have-to-make-you-an- honorary-ice-officer. Justice on Wheels| 7 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 Previous Projects for Farm Workers in Addison County Efforts to address the lack of access to transportation and other goods and services for underserved demographics in West Addison County are not new. After gathering information from a series of interviews with Middlebury faculty, community members, and farm workers, we were able to consolidate past and current projects into a larger and more comprehensive overview of key players in this field (see Appendix I). An analysis of these different projects and organizations helped us identify ways in which we could build sustainable projects that could continue past our graduation. Previous and currently-existing projects and organizations consisted of everything from volunteer-based ride- sharing programs, to mapping projects, to bike giveaways, to smartphone apps. Key differences exist between short-lived projects and the projects and organizations that continue to thrive. We identified sustainable partnerships between organizations, substantial funding, and technical support as crucial factors for the longevity of our projects. Therefore, from the beginning of the project, we knew that the goal was not to create a shiny new initiative. Rather, we viewed our project as an opportunity to not only build upon previous projects, but also to create connections between individuals and organizations that had already proven sustainable, well-resourced and long-lasting. Justice on Wheels| 8 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 Overview of Initiatives Since the start of our project we identified driver’s licenses and additional bus routes as the ultimate solutions for the lack of access to transportation for farm workers in the county. While buses can provide a sustainable option of travel, driver’s licenses grant the workers a greater level of autonomy that best matches their needs. However, both initiatives had many limitations that this project could not overcome. As mentioned earlier in the report, Vermont offers Driver’s Privilege Cards (DPCs) to those who do not possess the proper documentation to obtain a driver's license. Migrant Justice, one of our project partners, emphasized the need for workers to attain their DPCs to gain greater independence and autonomy. While we agree that autonomy in movement was, and continues to be, our primary goal for this project, we also recognize there are limitations around obtaining DPCs. The driving tests must be administered in English, which is not the first language of many farm workers. Not all workers have access to formal documentation required to prove their identities. Staff at the DMVs do not have the cultural training to serve this population and workers already fear their association to police authorities. These can create great anxiety for workers. When compounded with the current political climate and subsequent rising xenophobia across the country, it is safe to conclude there are many seemingly invisible barriers around DPCs. Our efforts to advocate for a bus route did not yield results either. When we first started our research on transportation access for farm workers we assumed that we could lobby local bus companies to expand their services. Since most of the county’s farms are located in Western Addison County, we believed that additional routes into this area would be the solution. However, we soon realized that transportation is not a one-size-fits-all issue. We realized that a bus service would not be a cost-effective solution as there is a lack of overlap in the worker’s free time. Farm workers’ schedules vary according to the time of year and the production needs of the farm. Workers tend to have staggered work schedules and sometimes work upwards of 14 hours per day with only a few hours off in between shifts to eat and sleep Once we realized these barriers would be too great to overcome our group reassessed and sought more personalized options. Our group constructed upon the following current initiatives that systematically deconstruct and address the various intersecting issues facing farm workers in regard to transportation. The proceeding sections will provide brief overviews of accomplishments and deliverables produced by our team throughout the semester. Justice on Wheels| 9 Middlebury College ENVS 401 | Spring 2018 Objective #1: Bike Initiative While long-distance commute by bike is not feasible or safe for many folks in Addison County, particularly amateur cyclists, many roads in western Addison County are bikeable for amatuer and intermediate cyclists (Figure 2). Access to bikes can increase the sense of mobility for the workers who wish to move between farms. Sometimes workers have family or friends in neighboring farms and biking rather than walking could make the distances less burdensome. The bike initiative seeks to increase access to localized transportation for farm workers through (1) A raffle giveaway of coaster bikes, and (2) the future formalization of bike maintenance workshops. It is important to notice that the sustainability of this initiative rests on the ability of our project partners to (1) maintain good communication, and (2) obtain future funds to pay for bike parts. Figure 2. Bike Level Traffic Stress (BLTS) Connectivity for Addison County in towns with the greatest number of commercial farms. BTLS was assessed by measuring daily traffic load, designated speed limit for motorized vehicles, presence/absence of road shoulder, and width of road shoulder. Road marked in green are designated as the most comfortable biking experience for adult cyclists, our target age demographic. Credit: Maria Celes-Abragan. We have planned this bike initiative as an annual giveaway. Based on the time limitations of this course, we felt that it was best to start this initiative on a small scale and start out with three bikes. For this initiative we connected Migrant Justice, Frog Hollow Bike Shop, Little City Cycles, JUNTOS, Middlebury Mountain Club, and the Middlebury College Spanish Department. We have planned that every year, three used bikes will be donated by Little City Cycles to Justice on Wheels| 10