Nonprofit plans seven additional buildings in Immokalee
Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance marked the completion of its much-anticipated first building in a new affordable apartment community that offers safe, decent housing to Immokalee families.
The nonprofit’s Move-in Celebration on Aug. 23 attracted more than 150 supporters and community leaders, as well as the first set of families that will be moving into their new two- and three-bedroom units. The project is being funded primarily through private philanthropy and grants.
“Thousands of hard-working families that live and work in Immokalee had no choice but to rent trailers and shacks that were filled with mold, mildew and cockroach dust, or to rent one room for their family to live in – five or six people – in somebody else’s apartment, and in both cases, pay 70% of their household income,” said Arol Buntzman, chairman and CEO of the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance. “They are trapped and exploited in poverty because of the shortage of housing.”
The yet-to-be-named community, located at the northwest corner of Lake Trafford Road and N. 19th Street in Immokalee, will feature eight, two-story apartment buildings with 128 total units designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. The community also will include a children’s playground and community center for meetings, after-school programs, health care assistance and more.
Rent for each unit is determined by each family’s financial situation, capped at no more than 30% of household income. For Maria Paiz, being approved for a three-bedroom unit by Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance will create stability and put an end to a multi-year process of searching for safe, affordable housing.
“It’s been really tough,” said Paiz, a mother of four who has tried unsuccessfully multiple times to rent homes or apartments within her family’s budget. “To have this opportunity after six-and-a-half long years of staying with my parents, it feels so unreal. It’s happening!”
Her husband, Carlos Paiz, said the feeling of being able to provide a new home for his family is indescribable.
“For me, it’s been a long journey,” he said. “Now I can call my kids and tell them, ‘Hey, I’m on my way home; I’ll be home in a bit.’ To pull up to the parking lot and walk into my apartment, and see my kids happy, I’m more than anxious and ready to see that.”
Major corporations, foundations, churches and individuals contributed to the nonprofit’s fundraising campaign. Supporters and donors also raised funds to furnish apartments with beds, linens and home decor, as well as baskets of household essentials like laundry soap and a coffee maker.
“You made it happen,” Buntzman told donors at the Move-in Celebration and ribbon-cutting event. “Your hearts built these homes.”
Construction will begin this fall on the community’s second building, which is being built in partnership with the Shelter for Abused Women & Children. The third building could break ground by the end of the year, and subsequent buildings will be constructed once Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance secures project funds.
“Please help us change the lives of more people,” Buntzman said. “Help them escape poverty and exploitation. These are hard-working families with children.”
For more information or to donate, please visit ImmokaleeFairHousing.org.
Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance
The Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) created in 2018 by a group of concerned citizens who saw the damage done by Hurricane Irma to already substandard trailers and shacks rented by farmworkers and other low-income families in Immokalee. The IFHA vision is for these families to have access to secure, affordable, hurricane-resistant rental housing, which will strengthen the community by fostering health, education, dignity and financial stability. The organization has embarked on a project to create community awareness and raise funds for a 128-rental unit complex in Immokalee. For more information, please visit ImmokaleeFairHousing.org.
