WIMAUMA, Fla. — Enterprising Latinas has been a staple in the Wimauma community since 2014, working to connect women to tools for success.
The organization is also looking to help bring public transportation to the area, thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Transportation is an issue officials with the organization say they have seen grow since 2018. That’s the case for Araceli Morales who has lived in Wimauma for five years.
On Thursday, she was hard at work making a pinata — it’s something she learned to do seven years ago as a second job.
“We’ve had a lot of orders that have helped us get out of the need of my husband not having much work, and I work in fields,” she said.
But making the pinatas requires a lot of trips to the store to purchase materials.
“We only have one car, but sometimes it breaks down and we’re left with nothing,” Morales said.
And when she doesn’t have to share a car with her husband, she has to rely on others to take her from place to place due to what she says is a lack of transportation. That’s why Enterprising Latinas is looking to establish its own mode of transportation, known as Arriba Transportation Business.
Transportation is an issue for many people in South County, but thanks to funding from the U.S. Dept. Of Health and Human Services, Enterprising Latinas is planning to bring a solution to the challenges many face. @BN9 pic.twitter.com/Zc2iXVbLh2
— Lizbeth Gutierrez (@LizbethGNews) October 26, 2023
Elizabeth Gutierrez, the founder Enterprising Latinas, said she’s seen the issue firsthand.
“Transportation is a key piece to folk in this community being able to access and improve their estate of their own person economy,” she said.
The funding will go toward a nine-month planning period to update the organization’s previous plan of establishing transit in Wimauma.
It will then go toward seeking help from public and private sectors to help with its establishment and provide people like Morales a reliable transportation source to keep her business growing.
Enterprising Latinas said this will not only provide a mode of transportation, but also bring jobs to the growing area.
Spectrum News reached out to the Hillsborough Transit Authority about any plans to extend transportation to that area but haven’t heard back.