Pledge to Vote for Colonias!

There are over 1,000 colonias in the Rio Grande Valley. Over 200,000 residents live in these unincorporated neighborhoods that lack basic infrastructure like streetlights and adequate drainage. Let’s begin changing that with our voices, and with our votes.

We can make county officials pay attention to colonias if they see that lots of voters care about colonia issues like streetlights and drainage. Right now it looks like at least one county commissioner race will be decided by only around 1,000 votes. If those 1,000 voters say they care about colonias issues, don’t you think county commissioners will take note?

Make your commitment to vote for colonias issues today!

Join LUPE’s vote campaign to improve our Valley! We call on voters throughout Hidalgo County to show their support for colonia issues by filling out our voter pledge. The pledge says, “Today, I make my commitment for my family, community and country. In these elections, I will vote for: Streetlights, Drainage for all, Drivers licenses for all, Equality in investment in neighborhood infrastructure, Recovery of unpaid wages.”

With a race as close as 1,000 votes, every voter has the opportunity to impact the positions of the candidates. If we can show the commissioners our voter pledge demonstrating 1,000 voters that care about colonia issues, you bet they are going to do what they can to show their support for colonias. And colonias will be able to influence the position of the commissioner, no matter who wins.

Join your voice with colonia residents by making your commitment to vote for colonias today.

No child should wait for their school bus in the dark

Many of the over 76,000 colonia children waiting for the bus on their first day of school next week will be doing so in the dark.

Without streetlights in their neighborhoods, colonia parents worry that their kids might get hurt while they wait for the bus, board the wrong bus, or be left by a bus that can’t see them waiting.

Will you help us change that by sharing this image?

Claudia from Colonia Pueblo de Palmas loaded her daughter onto the bus in the dark early in the morning. Without streetlights Claudia couldn’t properly see the bus number and had put her daughter on the wrong bus.

Public Light Campaign unveiled in County Commissioners Court this past Tuesday

Elda Gonzalez, resident of Tauros 14, announces the regional Public Light Campaign at last week’s Hidalgo County Commissioners Court meeting.

The Public light Campaign is now in month three and progress has been made with over 3,000 individual petitions signed, and other community groups and churches continuing to sign on their support.

Download the petition and ask your church, business or organization to sign.

LUPE leaders, along with members of ARISE, TOP, and START, have organized to increase support in our communities. In our 1,000 colonias lacking streetlights we continue to have unsafe conditions and unacceptable number of preventable fatal accidents. Because of this, members have met with county officials over the past month to bring close attention to this issue.

LUPE members, with support from ARISE, attended Commissioners Court April 23rd and for the first time addressed the campaign publicly in front of the commissioners. Much of the discussion was based on

Looking back with joy, looking forward with hope

A message from LUPE Executive Director Juanita Valdez-Cox:

Dear friends,

The year is winding down and holidays are right around the corner. As you prepare for time with family, office parties, gift giving, or just relaxing over the días festivos, we invite you to look back on all that we’ve accomplished together this year. Thanks to our staff, volunteers, allies, donors and supporters like you, La Union del Pueblo Entero has had a number of amazing victories. Here’s just a sample:

– After an 8 year campaign, won the installation of streetlights in 13 Hidalgo County colonias. Organizing with the Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE) initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, LUPE members worked with Hidalgo County Commissioners and their precinct staff to fund and install the first of what we hope will be many more streetlights to come.

– With great joy and fighting spirit, around 800 members of LUPE and sister organizations marched through the streets of San Juan to celebrate the birthday of Cesar Chavez and, at the same time, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Farm Workers.

After years of organizing, a park now carries her name

Children of colonia El Jay in front of recently named Teresa Barrera Park

In recognition of her 26 years organizing for improvements in her colonia and her tireless efforts to give a better life to those around her, LUPE leader Teresa Barrera received the honor of having a park named after her. The park, which was built in 2007 in the San Juan area colonia El Jay, will now carry the name of Doña Teresa and serve as a reminder to the community of what can be accomplished when we organize.

The park is only one of many improvements that Doña Teresa and the colonia El Jay committee achieved over years of organizing. When Doña Teresa and her husband Inocencio Barrera moved to the colonia in 1986, the neighborhood had nothing but lots and simple homes made from any material available. It had no running water or paved roads, and certainly not a park. She remembers telling her neighbors that even though she came from a poor ranch in poverty-stricken Mexico, even the ranch had better living conditions that her new neighborhood. From the start, Doña Teresa was animating her neighbors to speak up for the needs of the community.

Doña Teresa Barrera (center) poses with family in front of park sign bearing her name.

Now, after tireless years of organizing, the colonia benefits from paved roads, running water, streetlights, mailboxes, school bus stops, and even a park, an improvement that most colonia residents only hope for.

Teresa Barrera Park was built in 2007 under the authority of Commissioner Tito Palacios when colonia El Jay pertained to County Precinct 2. This year, because of redistricting, colonia El Jay passed to Precinct 1. Commissioner Joel Quintanilla renamed the park in Doña Teresa’s honor.

Colonia El Jay is an example of what is possible when we are persistent, work hard toward a goal, and above all organize together. ¡Sí Se Puede!

We’re starting to see the light! – First round of streetlights to be installed this month!

UPDATE: By the beginning of this month, all three precincts had completed installation of streetlights in the 13 colonias. We are celebrating these victories along with colonia residents. For pics from these celebrations, visit our facebook page.

Colonia residents pose after winning a portion of Precinct 3 budget for installation of streetlights.

This month, Precinct 3 is taking the important first step down the enlightened path toward justice for colonia residents. Starting January 23rd, colonia residents will see the first round of streetlights installed in five colonias, starting with colonia Pueblo de Palmas.

LUPE residents worked with Precinct 3 Chief Administrator Dr. Mona Parra on the plan to install solar-powered streetlights in the five colonias north of Alton, including Pueblo de Palmas, Buena Vida, Mi Sueño, La Homa Meadows, and El Flaco. Precinct 3 found funds to purchase the lights via a federal grant and amended the county budget to pay for their installation.

Continue reading about the victory at lupenet.org

Residents of Serenidad: “Turn on the switch in our colonia!”

Prizes for bingo event at colonia Serenidad. The lotería night provided a way for more colonia residents to learn about the campaign for streetlights in the colonia.

Residents of colonia Serenidad have lived in the dark for 14 years. But these days a small group of leaders have been on a roll working alongside LUPE towards positive change in their community.

Earlier this month Serenidad organized a “lotería night” in an effort to encourage more neighbor participation in LUPE’s house meetings about public lighting.

“We had a lot of prizes, food and we had a lot of fun,” said colonia resident Aurora Martinez. “We would like to organize another with LUPE and everyone will be invited.”

Serenidad is following in Buena Vida’s footsteps, a colonia in precinct 3 who recently organized a lunch date with Dr. Mona Parras, Assistant Chief to Commisioner Jose Flores, who has promised five streetlights in Buena Vida’s colonia come January.

residents

Maria Lourdes Garcia, LUPE leader and Buena Vida resident, makes it simple and clear: “It is very important to be consistently in the meetings with LUPE, support one another, and going to the Commissioners Court also influences these great victories.”

As house meetings in Serenidad grow in quantity, Mona Parras will be receiving invitations to attend meetings in the near future. Residents have made it clear that the plan to increase people power in their colonia has been initiated. Now is the time for precinct 3 to share the wealth and “turn on the switch” in their constituents’ communities.

“The union is very important in order to move forward,” says Rosi Salinas, resident of Serenidad. “We support other colonias a whole lot and hopefully we also will receive the same support of Buena Vida and surrounding colonias in order to come out of this darkness together.”

Fight for streetlights in 10 Hidalgo County colonias carries into the new year

Thanks to the organizing of LUPE committees, including more than 40 colonia leaders and 300 of their fellow residents, County Commissioners have promised to install streetlights in 10 area colonias.

Colonias that have been promised light include Indian Hills East and Indian Hills West in Precinct 1; Bar 4 in Precinct 2; Colonias El Flaco, La Homa Meadows, Buena Vida, Eduardos 2 and Mi Sueño in Precinct 3; and San Cristobal in Precinct 4. Colonia organization ARISE has organized with LUPE members to secure lighting in colonia Muniz, also in Precinct 4.

“We’re very grateful for the money that has been acquired for the lights. Now for the most important part: the installation.”

Colonia residents organizing with LUPE, like Maria Martinez quoted above, secured the commitment as a result of their weekly delegations to the County Commissioners Court, and individual meetings with Commissioners and their representatives. Plans for the installation are on the books. However, they have been repeatedly pushed back, most notably in Precinct 3 where the commitment to install the lights was made and funds were secured in July of this year.

Most of the colonias have been waiting years for public lighting. One colonia in Precinct 3, Colonia el Flaco Chiquito, has been without light since its founding in the mid 80s.

While we are hopeful that installation will not be stalled again, Precinct 3’s response to other requests for streetlight projects necessarily gives us caution. Precinct officials have avoided committing to the use of CDBG funds annually for streetlight installation. Precinct representative Mingo Villarreal insisted that “sometimes it is not possible.”

“The rationale of Mingo,” says LUPE leader Sergio Narvaez, “is as follows: for a colonia that has been in the dark for 24 years, waiting 2 or 3 more years is not long.”

But for colonia residents, another night in the dark means another night worrying about the safety of their children, crime seeking refuge in their dark neighborhoods, car accidents for lack of adequate lighting, and other perils.

For those reasons, the only acceptable response to Precinct 3, according to Antonia Garcia, Linda Vista resident and leader of LUPE, is “Sí, se puede!”

“We have joined with LUPE, and they have taught us that yes, it can be done!”

Ensuring that the installation takes place in all four precincts will be part of our continued work in 2012.

Public lights in the colonias? With LUPE, it can be done!

Residents of colonia Linda Vista pose after asking County Commissioners for public lighting.

Through education and preparation, LUPE leaders are gaining the confidence and knowledge to speak to their elected officials, and tell them that, when it comes to their colonias’ needs, they won’t take no for an answer.

The presentation of Maria Guadalupe Pruñeda at the beginning of November in the Commissioners Court started a conversation on public lighting with Mingo Villarreal, assistant of Precinct 3 Commissioner Joe Flores, who told the residents of Linda Vista that “there is no money.”

After studying the Hidalgo County Community Development funds, LUPE leaders did not give up. “The rationale of Mingo is as follows: for a colonia that has been in the dark for 24 years, waiting 2 or 3 more years is not long. But we did not go to hear that,” said LUPE leader Sergio Narvaez.

All LUPE leaders who continue participating in the monthly trainings learn how the distribution of economic resources functions. “You get the budget every year,” said Antonia Garcia, Linda Vista resident and leader of LUPE. “Why not give a percentage for public lighting each year since it is a necessary priority of the constituents of precinct 3?”

While the precinct has found federal grants to install solar lights in area colonias, precinct officials have avoided committing to use CDBG funds annually for streetlight installation. Mingo Villarreal insisted that “sometimes it is not possible.”

Armed with knowledge from LUPE’s CDBG funds workshops, Antonia Garcia responded, “We have joined with LUPE, and they have taught us that yes, it can be done!”

Civic participation continues in colonia Muñiz

Precinct 4 Rep Humberto Garza addresses residents of colonia Muñiz at the colonia meeting organized by LUPE and ARISE

Colonia residents from election precinct 43, where a community-initiated and directed effort to get out the vote was held during the 2010 midterm elections, received backpacks with school supplies thanks to their participation in the GOTV campaign.

The campaign in precinct 43 was one of 10 GOTV campaigns led by the Equal Voice Network of the Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo and Cameron Counties for the purpose of raising the vote in low income and Latino communities.

The backpacks were distributed at a community meeting where LUPE and ARISE, both partner organizations in the EV Network, gathered residents of colonia Muñiz to discuss public lighting and redistricting with Hidalgo County Precinct 4 representative Humberto Garza. Colonia Muñiz and elections precinct 43 fall within County Precinct 4.

Young resident of colonia Muñiz models his new backpack. LUPE distributed backpacks as a thank-you to residents for their participation in GOTV campaign.

LUPE has been working for public lighting the in the colonias since 2005. Some colonias have been waiting for light for over 20 years.

LUPE members broke down the first barrier to public light for colonias when in 2005 the state legislature authorized counties to expend a portion of their community development block grant funds to install and maintain streetlights in colonias. A second hurtle was overcome when, as a result of LUPE’s organizing, in 2007 they authorized those same counties to collect a fee from colonia residents to pay for the electricity used by those streetlights. Now, LUPE has received support from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation to continue our push for public lights.

Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE) initiative of the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation is correct when stating that “the childhood obesity epidemic facing the nation is a byproduct of years of neglect and disinvestment in communities that has undermined our children’s ability to eat well and be physically active.” Without streetlights at night, colonia children are denied safe conditions for outside play. Staying inside means being less physically active.

The distribution of the backpacks was a way to thank the residents of colonia Muñiz for their participation in the GOTV campaign. It also served to invite more residents of the colonia to continue their civic participation by joining the campaign for public lighting in their colonia.

LUPE leaders from colonia Muñiz with Humberto Garza and organizer Martha Sanchez.

Field Operations Director Garza told residents that when he first began working in precinct 4 at the beginning of this year, there was no money for projects like public lights in the colonia. But after Commissioner Joel Palacios decided to use engineers and other experts already on staff with the County instead of contracting the work out, the precinct was able to find the money. Together with federal grants for solar lighting, he said, colonia Muñiz should see public lighting soon.

To get involved with the campaign for public lights in the colonias, contact LUPE organizer Cristela Rocha at 787-2233 or 787-5557.

Have you had problems with public lighting in your neighborhood? Comment with your story!