ABSTRACT
In the mountains of a rural community, a small population of undocumented Hmong workers lived on the illegal marijuana fields in which they labored. When a massive wildfire destroyed more than one hundred parcels of these fields, the migrant workers lost their homes. However, relief workers and government agencies were unprepared and unequipped to assess or provide services in a manner that could reach them. “Needs” were measured using metrics that weren’t applicable to their culture and lifestyles. These irrelevant numbers ultimately spoke louder than I did, and no one outside the local community believed the workers existed. Those hundreds of miles away had more authority than those wiping the tears, and we ended our programs with thousands of unreached.
