Moorpark Families Build Their Dreams

Celebrating Thanksgiving in their own home was a dream come true for Moorpark residents Teresa and Samuel Cortes and their 11-year-old son, Samuel Jr.

The holiday marked one year since the Corteses and 20 other families moved into the residences they helped build in the Villa Campesina tract under a federal housing assistance program.

“For 10 years I dreamed to have a house, my own place, and I have it now,” said Teresa Cortes, 34. “It’s beautiful.”

Cortes, who is credited with initiating the do-it-yourself housing project, said her dream began in 1980 when she and her husband were forced to move from the house they were renting in Camarillo after their son was born.

“They allowed pets but no children,” Cortes said.

For the next nine years, the Cortes family lived in a 26-by-12-foot trailer parked behind her grandmother’s house in Moorpark.

During that time, Cortes, inspired by the need for affordable housing for local farm workers and low-income families, formed a housing-rights group called Villa Campesina. Cortes had previously worked as a volunteer for the United Farm Workers union.

Cortes suggested that the members of Villa Campesina build their own houses.

“They laughed at me,” Cortes said. “They thought I was crazy. Then, after we started, I thought I was crazy.”

Cortes said the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit agency in Ventura that aids in developing low-cost housing throughout the county, arranged to get financing for the self-help project through the federal Farmers Home Administration. Cabrillo also located a site for the development.

The 10-acre property south of Los Angeles Avenue and east of Liberty Bell Road was purchased from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with $500,000 in Federal Community Block Grant Funds, which were appropriated for the project by the city of Moorpark.

Although more than 200 families applied for the program, only 62 were selected. Each family was required to contribute 40 hours a week on the building of their home.

Construction supervision was provided by the People’s Self Help Housing Corp. of San Luis Obispo. Except for the plumbing and electrical work, families were required to do everything, from pouring foundations to framing and roofing.

Since last Thanksgiving, 30 additional families have moved into their new residences in the tract. The 11 remaining families hope to complete their houses by March.

The completed houses have two to five bedrooms and range from 900 to 1,388 square feet. All the houses were built for less than $70,000.

“It was a struggle,” Cortes said of the experience of building her own home. “To have no construction experience you have to work hard to muster your commitment.”

But Cortes is obviously proud of the three-bedroom home she and her husband built at a cost of $55,000.

“To me, it looks like a palace,” she said. “It’s beautiful. I can say it. I made it.”

Cortes, who now works as a teaching assistant for Moorpark Unified School District, said that without the commitment of the residents of Moorpark and the City Council, the project would not have been successful.

“We had support all the way,” Cortes said. “This project gives honor to our city.”

Councilman Bernardo Perez, who also serves as board president of the Cabrillo agency, agreed.

“Teresa Cortes says that she has benefited from us, but I as an individual have benefited from her example and her efforts,” Perez said. “Villa Campesina has been a blessing to all the families involved and a jewel for the city of Moorpark. It’s something that all members of the community can look to with pride.”

Meanwhile, Cortes and Villa Campesina, which now has 400 members, are continuing their efforts to push for more affordable housing throughout Ventura County. The group recently persuaded the city of Oxnard to include more low-income housing in its new General Plan. It is also rallying support for a proposed 100-unit affordable apartment complex in Moorpark.

“The major goal for any human is to have a home, a decent place to live and to raise their kids in peace,” Cortes said.