Building Roads and Hope in Cochise County

Colonia is a Spanish word translating to community, but the term has come to refer to residential border neighborhoods that often lack basic living necessities such as potable water, sewer systems, electricity or paved roads. Winchester Heights, also known as Perra Flaca, is arguably the worst colonia in Cochise County.

Located approximately 12 miles north of Willcox, AZ, this isolated community is home to between 500 and 600 residents, mostly Spanish-speaking Mexican natives, living in substandard trailers with an average of five to six people per trailer.

Established in the 1960s for agriculture laborers in northern Cochise and Graham counties, the community is characterized by unpaved and washed-out roads, poor drainage, irregular trash pickup and unsafe housing. In 2007, the Cochise Community Foundation conducted an assessment of the area and asked residents about their greatest need. Their answer: roads, which are nearly impassable for much of the year.

CCF hired a community organizer to help residents unite and develop a structure for working together. Based on past experiences, residents knew they needed to be responsible for solving their problems and to do that, they needed to work together. Sixty percent of residents signed a petition to establish La Unión del Pueblo. Within nine months, LUDP was registered with the state government and had obtained its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service. The group began to have conversations with the area’s major employer, Eurofresh, and Cochise County representatives on how to fix the roads.

Fast forward to May 2010: three and a half miles of roads have been marked for excavation so that safe construction may begin. Road equipment has been secured. Cochise County has approved taking the roads into the county maintenance system once upgrades have been completed. In addition to $15,000 in funding from CCF and contributions from Eurofresh and the County, LUDP raised $2,970 from residents to support the project. Construction is expected to be completed before the monsoon season begins.

For more on developments in Winchester Heights and other news from Cochise County visit the Foundation's website