Duroville Still Not Closed

Duroville’s continued existence points to the ongoing lack of affordable housing, particularly for very low-income workers.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson ruled that Duroville, a sprawling mobile home park in the far eastern portion of Riverside County, California, can remain open.  Larson indicated that the park should not be closed until alternative housing can be found for the park’s households.  When harvest time comes for the park’s myriad crops, as many as 6,000 people are estimated to make their home within the park.

Duroville is estimated to have more than 850 feral dogs.  It has open sewers with backed-up sewage.  Electrical systems are faulty.  And, systems for wastewater appear to be largely lacking.  Its a chronic mess that compromises the health of the farmworker families that live there.

The park is shielded from some law by the protection afforded to tribal communities.  Harvey Duro, is a member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, and the park is on tribal land.

The key statement is that Larson recognizes that there is no better alternative out there for these families.   Its telling that the 250 mobile homes in the park house as many as 6,000 individuals.  This is a situation where people are probably taking shifts to sleep in beds.

I have seen these kinds of situations in Haiti.  Its hard to believe that its a good idea to house the people responsible for bringing food to our table in this kind of mess.