As Tropical Storm Fay floods my home state of Florida, the Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) paper has a timely story about the dangers to non-English speaking populations when language barriers impede people's access to emergency information.

Farmworker Justice works to prevent illness and injury in migrant farmworker communities.  Our work on health and safety issues covers many areas from training community organizations in how to adapt HIV prevention programs to fit the needs of migrant communities to providing pesticide safety trainings for farmworkers.  We are also trying to make emergency preparedness measures more accessible.

Do you know what to do in case of a natural disaster?  Where to go for assistance with food, housing, unemployment insurance?  How does your immigration status affect your access to these things?  Does not having your papers mean you're on your own?

Well, Farmworker Justice is pleased to announce that now there are brochures specifically targeted to immigrant populations that can answer these very questions.  We have just published the following three brochures in English and Spanish:

1.  When Disaster Strikes: Food Assistance

2.  When Disaster Strikes: Housing Assistance

3.  When Disaster Strikes: Lost Job or Income Assistance

Many factors contribute to isolating farmworking families: language, migration, poverty, living in rural areas.  The cost of this isolation in terms of health and safety issues can be high.  It doesn't have to be.  We can help.