Missouri migrant farmworkers benefit from aid project

Published: 2004-08-26

LEXINGTON, Mo. (CNS) -- The lowering August sun glimmered on old red brick and gleamed on weathered faces as dozens of Hispanic migrant workers gathered behind Dibbons Hall of Immaculate Conception Church in Lexington to seek services from the Migrant Farmworkers Project. With hugs and handshakes, migrant workers greeted the project staff and volunteers before lining up to register for food, commodities and social or legal services. The Migrant Farmworkers Project, a program of Legal Aid of Western Missouri, offers social and legal services to migrant workers who come to the region during the fall fruit harvesting season. Suzanne Gladney, an immigration attorney for Legal Aid, started the project about 21 years ago. It began as a food distribution program and grew into a service that puts migrant workers in touch with organizations providing medical, dental and legal services, and church agencies in the Missouri Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph offering help to migrants.

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