COMMUNITY CONTEXT
Florecer is located in Yuma County, a rural agriculture community situated along the U.S.-Mexico Border. This Southern Border Community is designated by the EPA Inflation Reduction Act as a disadvantaged community. According to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Yuma County has 14 colonias including the Cocopah and Quechan Indian Reservations. Colonias are defined as rural communities within the US-Mexico border region that lack adequate water, sewer, decent housing, or a combination of all three.
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The residents of South Yuma County are largely comprised of migrant and seasonal farmworkers who have limited English proficiency and have been historically marginalized and excluded from opportunities. They have low educational attainment, earn low wages, and lack adequate and affordable housing. Most lack access to adequate healthcare.
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With an inclusive intervention program such as Florecer to guide our youth, a cycle of poverty is broken, educational attainment is improved, and a historically marginalized community flourishes. Community resilience is achieved through educational attainment and the community is made stronger.
FLORECER serves the Yuma County Community including the indigenous communities (Cocopah and Quechan).
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“Resiliency is what comes to my mind when I think of all my brothers and sisters across Indian Country. We continue to heal from the past, but our future, our youth makes me so very hopeful for a better tomorrow. Higher education assistance for our native students at FLORECER is a priority.”
Rosa J. Long, FLORECER Founding Board Member, former Vice-Chairwoman for the Cocopah Tribal Council.
Maritza Barley, 2024-25 UCLA Powwow Princess is from the Cocopah and Quechan Tribe and currently attends Imperial Valley College. Maritza is committed to ensuring the indigenous community has access to the programs and services FLORECER offers.
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In its landmark decision in Plyler v. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states cannot deny access to public schools based on immigration status. The court’s decision reinforced what we already knew: It’s in our collective interest to ensure that every child has access to K-12 public school, no matter where they were born. Access to education for every one of us is a cornerstone of a healthy society and a bedrock of our country’s democracy.
We believe everyone in the U.S. should have the freedom to thrive—to be safe in our communities, to care and provide for our families, and to contribute to our country in our own unique ways. Parents work hard to give their children an opportunity for a better future, and a chance to provide for themselves. The foundation of that opportunity is access to education. Together, we are building a broad, deep, and powerful movement to defend the right to public education for every child.
FLORECER Proudly stands in solidarity with CHIRLA
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
Supporting Immigrant Students
FLORECER attended the Resurgence of Support meeting held at East Los Angeles College where Higher Education and Immigrant Rights Professionals convened to share resources and best practices for supporting immigrant students in this challenging political climate.
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY
FLORECER Board Vice President, Denisse Villanueva attended the National Day of Action March at Placita Olvera in Los Angeles, CA
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Find resources for immigrant students, DACA students, and students from mixed status families at the Informed Immigrant Website.
¡Presente!
A Latino History of the United States
The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino is located in Washington D.C.
Stories of immigration and educational attainment of
Dreamers are on display in the Molina Family Latino Gallery.
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​​Arizona Proposition 308,
In-State Tuition for Non-Citizen Residents
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Proposition 308 allows Arizona students, regardless of immigration status, to be eligible for financial aid at state universities and community colleges and in-state tuition if they graduated from and attended a public or private high school, or home school equivalent, for two years in Arizona.
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Tree of Life
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Verónica Castillo created this Tree of Life (El Árbol de la Vida in Spanish) for the National Museum of the American Latino’s debut exhibition, ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States. Trees of Life are clay sculptures from Mexico that are traditionally religious in theme, but Castillo’s sculptures are unique because they are inspired by her surroundings and depict everyday social injustices. In this Tree of Life, titled Raíces, historia y justicia latinas (Latino Roots, History, and Justice), she visualizes themes from ¡Presente!
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In Raíces, historia y justicia latinas, the artist has affixed clay figurines and symbols to the tree’s three looped branches. Each branch shares a theme with one of the three subsections in the “Shaping the Nation” section of ¡Presente! The first branch's theme is “Identity and Community.” This branch addresses how Latinas and Latinos of diverse walks of life express themselves and support their communities through cultural celebrations and collective, institutional organizing. “Fighting for Justice” is the second branch’s theme: it explores trailblazing Latina and Latino activists who dedicated their lives and careers to social and political change. Finally, the third branch's theme is “Breaking Boundaries.” This branch's figurines and symbols examine how Latina and Latino leaders have dismantled barriers and made space for other disenfranchised people in the arts, politics, sports, and the military.