Dreams of a safe, affordable place to call home are closer to reality for 16 Immokalee families, thanks to the efforts of the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance. 

On Aug. 23, IFHA and the Immokalee community celebrated the completion of the first building of a planned 128-unit apartment complex developed by the nonprofit organization. The complex, which has yet to be named, is located at the corner of Lake Trafford Road and N. 19th Street in Immokalee, and is the culmination of years of effort by the IFHA, which was founded in 2018 after concerned citizens saw the effect of Hurricane Irma on already substandard housing rented primarily by agricultural workers. The organization’s goal is for Immokalee families in need to have access to secure, affordable, hurricane-resistant rental housing. 

At the August ribbon cutting, volunteer IFHA chairman Arol Buntzman told the crowd of almost 200 about the shortage of safe and affordable housing in the community. 

“Thousands of hard-working families that live and work in Immokalee had no choice but rent trailers and shacks that were filled with mold, mildew and cockroach dust, or to rent one room for their family to live in—five or six people—in somebody else’s apartment, and in both cases, pay 70% of their household income,” Buntzman said in his remarks. “They are trapped and exploited in poverty because of the shortage of housing.” 

The total cost of the first building was approximately $3.2 million, according to IFHA, with $1 million coming from a State Housing Initiative Partnership grant administered by Collier County and the rest coming from fundraising efforts. IFHA is in the process of raising $20 million more for seven additional buildings—all built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane—along with a community center for meetings, after-school programs and health care assistance, a soccer field and other amenities. 

Buntzman said donors were moved and motivated by the reality of the living situations in areas of the community. 

“Major corporations, foundations, churches, individuals … there is almost nobody that didn’t respond to the story,” Buntzman said. “You made it happen. Your hearts built these homes.” 

Two families preview their new homes 

The first building of the apartment community includes 16 two- and three-bedroom units. Construction is complete and families will begin to move in when the certificate of occupancy is received from Collier County, which should be soon, according to Buntzman. He said families are chosen for the apartments through an application process and pay rents not exceeding 30% of household income. 

In mid-August, prior to the ribbon cutting, two families who will be moving into the first building were given a preview of the apartments they will soon call home, and they found a lot to like about the brand-new appliances and spacious, freshly painted rooms. 

Reyna Morales López, who picks tomatoes, and her son, Omar Velasquez Morales, were “excited and grateful” to see their new home. The family includes three other children, and currently shares a one-bedroom apartment. Omar, who is a junior at Immokalee High School, sleeps in the living room along with his older brother, who is a senior. His parents and the younger children share the bedroom. 

Omar and Reyna seemed both excited and almost overwhelmed upon entering the new apartment, smiling shyly as they answered questions about their new living space. Omar translated for Reyna during an interview, and she said she was most excited about the kitchen. She likes to cook, she said, but with no air conditioning in their current apartment it is often too hot to use the kitchen. 

Asked what he is most looking forward to in their new home, Omar said, “privacy.” 

“Honestly, this means everything because we’re moving from a compact setting to an open-space area and we have more privacy to ourselves—including more space for doing homework, which is definitely good for us,” he said. 

Another family, Jean Santana and his wife Beatrice, toured their new three-bedroom apartment with their 4-month-old son. They are both originally from Haiti and Jean works in food production in Naples. For three years they have been living, along with their three other children, in one room of an apartment, sharing the kitchen and bathroom with another family living there. 

Jean, who said he is the chef in the family, smiled broadly upon exploring the kitchen, opening the cabinets and admiring the new refrigerator, oven and microwave. He said it has been almost impossible to cook big meals in their current living situation, but he is looking forward to cooking for the family when they move into their new home. 

He expressed deep gratitude to IFHA and all those who made the new apartments possible. 

“We are very, very grateful to them,” Jean said, “and we ask God to bless them.” 

Buntzman, who accompanied the families on their tours of the apartments, said the looks on their faces when they saw their new homes made all the hard work worth it. 

“It was a tremendous feeling, and it lit my heart up,” Buntzman said as Reyna and Omar explored their apartment. “It’s life-changing, and it’s just made all the effort of mine and everybody else that’s on the executive committee, the board of directors and the officers worthwhile. This is a team of volunteers that have put in five years now, with many of us working full-time to make it happen, So, yes, it’s great.”