Comments on: New Mecca Comfort Station Open for Migrant Farmworkers

By: Coachella Unincorporated

Coachella Unincorporated — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 00:26:40 +0000

Hi Megan,

Thank you for your comment. Earlier this year, one of our CU youth reporters, Ivan Valenzuela, reported on the Mecca Comfort Station and he included a lot of the background information you mentioned, including quotes from Ivan’s interview with Blaz Gutierrez III, a staff attorney for CRLA.

Here is a link to Ivan’s earlier coverage of the station.

Thank you again for your comment! We enjoy reading feedback from members of our community!

Thank you,

Amber Amaya

Program Manager and Editor
Coachella Unincorporated
[email protected]

By: Megan Beaman

Megan Beaman — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 06:32:47 +0000

One thing that has been interesting about all the coverage of the comfort station is that there is little or no mention of its history. The comfort station was part of a settlement agreement entered into by about 30 farmworkers and the County of Riverside, after the farmworkers sued the County for racial discrimination in its code enforcement. Although the settlement was made in the early 2000s, the County (in my opinion) disregarded this element of the settlement agreement for years, until one of the farmworkers re-sued the County in about 2010 or 2011 to enforce the original agreement. Since then, I understand the County and the farmworkers’ attorneys were negotiating a final resolution to the issue, and — at long last — the comfort center was finally born. I think the farmworkers who demanded this center deserve a lot of credit that they are not getting. Just my two cents on a Monday night!

By: In Mecca, migrants find temporary comfort | Youth Media for Building Healthy Communities

Fri, 06 Nov 2015 05:25:26 +0000

[…] Construction was completed for a comfort station in Mecca, aptly named Galilee Center, which will give much-needed services for migrant farm workers coming through the Eastern Coachella Valley. “I just got here from Salinas, and I needed a place to clean up. I am glad there is a place here in Mecca for me to use. I will be using this facility for as long as I am here in this area.” Read on at Coachella Unincorporated. […]