Whenever you hear the phrase “Christmas,” sure photos might spring to thoughts: homes framed in twinkling lights, gingerbread males, sizzling chocolate, perhaps a Mariah Carey tune, and, after all, Christmas timber.

However behind the tinsel and ornaments is one other Christmas story—considered one of a migrant farmworker placing in 14-hour days to chop down these timber. That migrant employee might come from wherever on the earth, however out in Western North Carolina, he’s almost certainly a Mexican man who has arrived alone on an H-2A visa to work throughout a grower’s busy season and ship a reimbursement house.

His days are lengthy, so he depends on microwaved meals or quick meals to eat. He doesn’t communicate English, so he isn’t conscious of useful group sources, and he labors below deeply ingrained stigmas round his bodily and psychological well being.

To prime it off, he’s in all probability solely making round $11K a 12 months.

H-2A migrant staff journey again to their international locations between seasons, however there are seasonal farmworkers—many undocumented—who reside right here completely with their households, harvesting watermelons and strawberries in the summertime, Christmas timber within the winter, and filling the gaps in between by cleansing homes or working building jobs.

North Carolina depends on 150,000 of those farmworkers to hold out its agricultural operations, which account for one-sixth of its financial system. Lower than 20% have medical health insurance or staff’ compensation, which is alarming provided that farm labor is considered one of the highest three most harmful occupations within the U.S., and the fatality price for farmworkers in North Carolina is greater than the nationwide common. Warmth, publicity to poisonous pesticides, unhealthy dietary habits, and poor residing situations are simply among the harmful challenges farmworkers and their households face.

That is what makes the work of organizations like Vecinos so important. Serving eight counties in western North Carolina, Vecinos affords built-in care companies to a inhabitants of about 800-1,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers, in addition to many extra uninsured, low-income adults inside these communities.

Government Director Marianne Martinez says the well being care wants of the farming inhabitants in western North Carolina run the total gamut, from dental work to power diseases like coronary heart illness and diabetes.

“There’s a necessity for well being training. There’s a necessity for entry to wholesome meals. There’s a necessity for bilingual, reasonably priced care,” she says.