I just got a job offer in South Jersey, to work with a migrant worker outreach program. South Jersey, I’ve discovered, is surprisingly rural. It’s also the blueberry capital of the US. Because of that, it attracts a huge migrant agricultural worker population that makes a circuit between New York and Florida each year. Most workers, from what I understand, are most commonly Latino (not sure of nationality) or Haitian.
I’m very excited, not just to be fully employed again, but also to use Spanish and to work in a medical and health education setting. I also just recently found a great article written by a friend of a friend about the conditions for the workers in the area. The catch to the job is that it doesn’t involve any advocacy, but at least it offers the chance to stay informed and make a positive contribution to a community that desperately needs more attention.
