Casa y Comunidad coordinates both the “Inclusive Cities” and “Economic Dignity” hubs of the Pacific Northwest Just Futures Institute for Racial and Climate Justice. Relative to the Inclusive Cities hub, Casa y Comunidad builds upon a series of Latino/a/x housing studios within UO’s School of Planning, Public Policy and Management. Relative to the Economic Dignity hub, Casa y Comunidad expands on the hallmark symposium on Essential, Invisible Workers hosted by the JFI in the academic year 2021-22 as well as the Atlas of Essential Work’s “Immigration” and “Policy” themes. On the one hand (immigration theme), the docuseries employs testimonios – a migrant-focused form of oral history – to produce a free, open-access, bilingual web-based mini-documentary series about the housing issues facing Latino/a/x essential workers and the historical context behind them across the state of Oregon alongside the Atlas’s Migrant Histories Timeline. On the other (policy theme), Casa y Comunidad offers the Atlas a specific essential worker housing lens through extensive partnerships with housing groups (Hacienda Community Development Corporation, Coalición Fortaleza) and state agencies and policymakers (Oregon Department of Education).

Photo and graphics by CASA team

Casa y Comunidad: Latino/a/x Housing in Oregon is a 9-part docuseries about the struggles and triumphs of migrant Latino/a/x workers in Oregon—a rapidly growing population in the Pacific Northwest – and their search for dignified housing, in close collaboration with the workers themselves. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these essential workers represent about 34 to 43 percent of the U.S. workforce. They include Latino/a/x workers in agriculture, forestry, viticulture, maritime industries, food processing, and the service sector.

Casa y Comunidad draws on forty-one testimonios (long-form oral histories intended to stir action) of multiple generations of Latino/a/x families across 15 cities (seven regions) of Oregon as well as the work of historians, policymakers, community advocates, nonprofit and social service organization staff, and other experts. The project traces how new waves of both documented and undocumented migration have affected the area’s culture and economy, including a growing housing shortage with dire consequences for the workers and the region.

Each segment ranges from 15-25 minutes and highlights a core topic germane to Latino/a/x communities and housing and that specific Oregon city.

The complete list includes:

• Eviction, Displacement, and Gentrification (Portland Metro Area – Portland, Hillsboro, Beaverton)
• Farmworker/Agricultural Housing (Woodburn)
• Rental Challenges and Affordable Housing (Eugene, Springfield)
• Fire Recovery (Rogue Valley – Medford, Talent, Phoenix, Parts 1 and 2)
• Homeownership (Central Oregon – Bend, Madras, Prineville)
• COVID-19 and Inter-generational Housing (Hermiston, Tri-Cities WA, Parts 1 and 2)
• Mobile Homes and Rural Housing (Ontario)

Episodes

The Casa y Comunidad team is comprised of faculty, students, librarians, filmmakers, designers, and policy experts with experience developing applied digital humanities projects, working with community-based organizations, and centering the stories of vulnerable immigrant populations. The core team includes:

• John C. Arroyo, Ph.D., AICP – Director and Executive Producer
• Nadya Barba-Ramirez – Production Coordinator
• Lucero Cortez – Assistant Director, Executive Producer, Editor
• Jacky Cortez-Fregoso – Camera Operator and Editor
• Caty Jimenez – Sound Recordist
• Esmeralda Flores – Outreach Coordinator
• Kennedy Barrera-Cruz – Digital Designer