The Lower Rio Grande Valley

"The Valley is very pretty, very peaceful. We help one another. We stay involved with our culture and Mexican traditions because we are on the border, and that's really great. I really want my children to have these two cultures."

-Mirian Perez, Promotora

The lower Rio Grande Valley is a four-county area that forms the southern tip of Texas and is home to approximately one million people. Cameron, Hidaldo, Starr and Willacy Counties occupy almost 4,300 square miles and include the rapidly growing metropolitan areas of Rio Grande City, McAllen, Harlingen and Brownsville. Traditionally rich in agriculture, the Valley produces over forty crops, including aloe vera, citrus fruits, onions, sugarcane, cucumbers, sorghum, cotton and many others.¹ Located along the United States-Mexico border, the region represents a distinct blend of cultures - one that is difficult to fully describe.

Nearly 90 percent of the Valley population is Hispanic.² Many residents spend portions of the year in northern states, Mexico or other areas. Farmworkers who migrate for agricultural work are a significant proportion of the region's seasonal flux. The Valley is the permanent home of one of the largest concentrations of farmworkers in the United States; roughly one third of the Valley population depends on employment in agriculture.³ Other mobile residents include recent immigrants or United States residents who return to Mexico or other countries regularly. A smaller portion of the population includes "Winter Texans," or retirees from northern states who call Texas home during the winter months. In spite of these seasonal changes, a majority of the population lives in the Valley throughout the year.

The Valley population is growing (an average of 31 percent across counties from 1999 to 2000, compared to 13 percent nationally); yet the region has substantially higher poverty rates than Texas or the United States as a whole.^{4, 5} Many residents struggle with a lack of available employment or low wages, language and cultural differences and resulting health challenges. Many of these same residents rely on the characteristic strengths of the Valley: supportive families, strong community networks, shared culture and a persistent drive to create the best possible future for themselves and their children.

What are Colonias?

Colonias are unincorporated neighborhoods along the United States-Mexico border. Some lack water and basic utilities, but provide housing options and a sense of ownership to residents.

Economics and Work

Many colonia residents have trouble finding work, and much of the available work is seasonal.

Key Health Issues

Some health problems are more common in the colonias than in other parts of Texas or the United States.

Health Care

The population of the Rio Grande Valley has grown rapidly, stressing limited health care resources.

Community Strengths

Colonia residents face challenges and enjoy successes thanks to strong family and community support.

What are Colonias?

"A colonia is a group of homes that used to be fields. At the time when they were starting to build they didn't have any roads or utilities. When they started building clusters of homes they would call it a colonia - for example, Las Palmas, and it would stick. You go in a colonia and you can see a beautiful home, not a rich home, but a nice home, in the middle of poor homes. You look across the street and there's a house that's almost falling down. Or you might see a trailer attached to a little frame building."

-Genoveva Martinez, Program Specialist and former Promotora

Colonia is a Spanish term for community or neighborhood. Along the United States-Mexico border, colonias are unincorporated and unregulated neighborhoods where lower-income families build and own their own homes. They may or may not own the land. The term is often associated with a lack of public services, since some colonias lack water, roads, electricity or other basics. Homes within a colonia vary from small shelters made with found materials, to trailers to solid one or two-story homes. Like all communities, colonias evolve, grow and change, and conditions may vary greatly from colonia to colonia.

Colonias can be found in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Texas has the largest number of colonia residents with 400,000 to 500,000 residents.^{6, 7} The Valley alone is home to nearly 2,000 colonias and the bulk of the Texas colonia population.^{8, 9} Valley colonia residents are predominately Mexican and Mexican American (99 percent).⁷ Sixty-five percent of all colonia residents and 85 percent of those 18 years and under are United States citizens.^{6, 7, 10}

Colonias began developing as early as the 1950s for a variety of reasons and have grown rapidly as people settled in border areas seeking opportunities. Temporary farmworker housing became permanent, and developers sold off agriculturally worthless land for low payments under "contract for deed" financing.^{6, 11} These "developments" lacked basic utilities and water, but provided a sense of ownership. Developers were allowed to withhold or revoke deeds pending full payment, making it nearly impossible for residents to finance construction or improvements. As a result, residents built their own homes, gradually, as resources became available, a practical tradition that is still a source of pride among colonia residents today.

Colonias remain one of the only options for low-income residents unable to secure traditional mortgages or to pass credit checks and provide security deposits for rentals. Many colonias continue to lack clean water and adequate sewage and drainage.⁶ Half of rural colonias and 20 percent of urban colonias lack complete plumbing.¹² When available, the federal, state, local or private resources for improvements in the colonias are confusing or insufficient and fail to support colonia residents' ongoing efforts improve their own homes and neighborhoods.

Nonetheless, many colonia residents have organized over time, incorporated their communities and gained access to more services. The 1995 Colonias Fair Land Sales Act offers some protections to residents relying on contracts for deed to finance property, assisting in residents' efforts to bring roads and utilities to their communities.

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Economics and Work

"Families of the Valley go to Michigan, Florida, Minnesota; they go to various states. In the fall, many families begin returning to the Valley. They go north with the intention of working and making a little money to pay their debts and to buy clothes for their children for school. It's the only way to buy necessities and get ahead a little because in the Valley there isn't enough work."

-Lourdes Flores, Promotora

For residents without specific skills or training, work is very scarce in the Valley. Thirty-four percent of the entire Valley population lives in poverty compared to 15 percent of the Texas population and to 12 percent nationally.⁵ Unemployment rates in the colonias are two to three times state rates, and many sources cite rates up to 60 percent.^{6, 13} In addition, colonia residents report that year-round work is difficult to find; many primary occupations in the colonias are seasonal, such as farm and field work, construction and factory work. ⁶

Although farming is still an important part of the Valley economy, the number of people hired as farm laborers declined 45 percent between 1992 and 1997.¹⁴ Services, retail trade and state and local government now provide a greater proportion of the jobs in the region. Many farmworkers in the Valley depend entirely on their seasonal earnings from work in the Midwest or other regions.

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Key Health Issues

"Dilapidated homes, a lack of potable water or sewer and drainage systems and floodplain locations make many colonias an ideal place for the proliferation of disease. Texas Department of Health data show that hepatitis A, salmonellosis, dysentery, cholera and other diseases occur at much higher rates in colonias than in Texas as a whole. A lack of medical services compounds health problems in the colonias."

-Texas Secretary of State⁶

A variety of health problems occur at higher rates in colonias than in other areas of Texas or the United States. Some issues, like diabetes, may be related to higher prevalence rates among Hispanics in general. Other issues are related to water treatment problems, pollution, crowding, difficulties receiving health care services and a shortage of health resources. On the other hand, there is also evidence of strong community support within colonias, and residents may rely on one another to provide basic necessities, assistance and support. ¹¹

Diabetes is the single biggest health concern in the Valley, and in some communities it affects up to 50 percent of the population.¹⁵ Tuberculosis rates hold steady at double the national average in two counties in the region and have been increasing in a third county.¹⁶ Cervical cancer affects Hispanic women at twice the rate it affects non-Hispanic women, and Hispanic women with breast cancer are more likely to die than non-Hispanic women.¹⁷ Two counties in the Valley comprise a "High Morbidity Analysis Zone," an area in which there is a significant concentration of HIV positive individuals.¹⁸ Other prominent health concerns include maternal and child health, oral health, poor nutrition and obesity and a general lack of preventative care.¹² Poor water quality, the lack of public services (such as waste water treatment), lead exposure, pesticide runoff and poor air quality also impact many residents adversely.¹⁹ Such factors increase the frequency of water-borne diseases, respiratory conditions and skin problems.

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Health Care

"I never take my kids to the clinic there near my home. It's hard because if you don't have insurance, they don't attend to your kids at the clinic. I take them to Mexico, because they attend to them better in Mexico than in Texas."

-Alejandra Gonzalez, Promotora

Many rural parts of the country lack adequate health care services, and the Valley's fast-growing population stretches available health care resources. The entire four-county region is a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), which means there are more residents than available health and mental health professionals can serve.²⁰ The Bureau of Primary Health Care also designates Hidalgo, Starr, Willacy and much of Cameron as Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).²¹ MUA is combined measurement of available primary care physicians, infant mortality rates and percentages of a population in poverty and over age 65. Scores below 62 of 100 are designated as underserved. Even if more health services were available, Valley residents are largely uninsured, up to 41 percent compared to 15 percent nationally, and unable to pay for services.²²

Long distances, transportation problems and inconvenient service hours exacerbate the service shortage for many colonia residents. Other barriers include language differences, mistrust of the system, immigration status and an inability to forgo wages or risk job security in order to seek treatment. Those residents who receive health care services may also face classism or racism in the clinics and avoid return visits. Valley rates for preventative screenings fall short of comparable national averages.²²

The close proximity of the Mexican border enables residents to receive health care and medications in Mexico at a lower cost, and often, much easier than in the United States. Over half of area residents and over 70 percent of uninsured residents report seeking care across the border.²² Unfortunately, differing treatment protocols in Mexico and the United States and the frequent misuse of antibiotics can complicate health conditions or lead to drug-resistant illnesess.²³

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Community Strengths

"The Valley is home to me. I was born here. My parents are here. To many of us the Valley is home. Our culture - we're very united. That's what it is - you don't want to leave your family. The support of the family is really important. The border's right there and we just cross over and it's a different country - and our relatives are there. I like the life in the Valley. Looking to the future, I see myself spending the rest of my life there, on my porch, with my grandkids."

-Genoveva Martinez, Program Specialist and former Promotora

Existing community strengths help mediate problems and nurture hope. Colonia residents commonly support one another and benefit from what one researcher calls an "inordinate amount of social interaction."¹¹ Supportive families, compassionate communities and an unwavering commitment to building the brightest possible future are examples strengths found in the Valley and, especially, in the colonias. Shared Mexican heritage, language and faith also contribute to a strong sense of community and culture.

Most residents say they prefer owning in the colonias to renting in urban areas.¹¹ Apartments, for example, limit the number of people sharing living space, effectively prohibiting the common practice of providing shelter to friends and relatives. In the colonias, residents can add temporary or permanent structures whenever necessary. These close living arrangements also ensure that family and friends are nearby to offer support and assistance. In fact, most colonia children live with both parents and have extended family nearby, unlike the majority of children in the United States.

Like all communities, colonias develop and change. Colonias have grown and flourished out of residents' desire to seek new opportunities. According to one survey, 95 percent of high school students living in colonias say they plan to go to college.²⁴ Such aspirations provide evidence of residents' willingness to work hard and to have faith in their own abilities. Many colonias residents have worked together to improve their access to water, paved roads and other basic services. These gains are not made easily, but by uniting to address common challenges.

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How We Help

Promotores and Promotoras help their peers stay informed, access health resources and build healthier communities.

References

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