Gorge Latino Voices are Building a Brighter Future
On a Wednesday evening after work in 2018, voices filled the Columbia Riverkeeper meeting room. Volunteers shouted out keywords to describe where this group of volunteers was going, what they wanted to achieve. Justice, community, and representation were just a few of the words scribbled on a sheet of paper. Those words would be the basis of a mission statement and a name. The name? Comunidades. The mission? To amplify Latino voices in environmental and social justice issues and increase Latino engagement and leadership in the Columbia River Gorge communities.
As the primarily Latino group reflected on the environmental movement, it was clear the movement often intersected with social justice issues. “Whenever environmental injustice happens it reflects on our community as a social injustice,” Ubaldo Hernández, Comunidades Executive Director states. Housing is a social justice issue that often intersects with environmental justice. As rent and housing prices have increased in the Columbia Gorge over the years, more and more community members must move farther and farther away from their jobs. The result is increased transportation costs for families and increased emissions in the area.
In 2020, Latino families living in White Salmon were facing a similar fate. Residents of the Washington Street Mobile Home Lot in White Salmon received an eviction notice uprooting them from their homes. Most of those residents living in the mobile park would be required to move to a new town in order to find affordable housing. In addition to the stress of the notice, residents would need to cover the cost of removing their homes from the mobile home park.
This wasn’t the first instance in which residents of a mobile home park were evicted, left with the bill, and the land repurposed for uses outside of affordable housing. There was a history of eviction and the repurposing of mobile home parks in White Salmon. Single Family Residential zoning and Single Family Large Lot Residential zoning are the largest zoning areas in developing White Salmon city limits. Mobile home residential zones, on the other hand, seemed to be ever-shrinking.
That all changed when residents of Washington Street Mobile Home Lot decided to advocate for themselves with the support of Comunidades. Comunidades provided testimonial training for the mobile home residents and coordinated meetings with Mayor Marla Keethler, and the White Salmon City Council. Residents also received legal support from the Northwest Justice Project and food assistance from Washington Gorge Action Programs. At the February city council meeting, residents shared public testimony on their experience.
Image above: Ubaldo Hernández (center) facilitates discussion between residents organizing against their eviction from the Washington Street Mobile Home Lot and White Salmon City Officials.
The February meeting was the first time many mobile home park residents had spoken at a city council meeting, and their testimony produced a major impact. Due to their action, the White Salmon City Council approved revisions to the city's mobile home code in June of 2020. The new rules required a relocation plan and a relocation report from mobile home park owners. Most notably, the development of site-built homes in mobile home zones would no longer be permitted. These changes were in line with the city’s comprehensive plan, which follows statewide laws on city planning encouraging cities to "minimize displacement of low-income residents resulting from redevelopment."
Our Latino community members that used their voice at the city council meeting saw their voices advance change. They created protections for future generations in White Salmon. Comunidades is more committed than ever in Latino engagement and leadership in the Columbia River Gorge.
If you would like to become a part of Comunidades please email info@comunidades.org.