Movimiento's COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Immigrants in El Barrio
Movimiento's COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Immigrants in El Barrio was created to offer mutual aid support to East Harlem during this global health crisis.
Leader
Emily Ibarra
Location
East Harlem New York City, NY 10018
About the project
Over the past few weeks, the global health pandemic COVID-19 has changed the lives of the immigrant families of El Barrio (East Harlem, NYC) forever. Immigrant families in our community have already tested positive for COVID-19. Some facing this nightmare have needed to be hospitalized in the ICU and placed on life-saving ventilators. Many others in our community are ill with the symptoms, but are unable to gain access to tests. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 will only grow in the coming weeks. According to the New York City Mayor, 50% of the population will be infected by coronavirus by the end of this pandemic. The immigrant community in El Barrio are terrified of contracting the virus and distressed on how they will pay rent, put food on the table and pay for necessary utilities.
This crisis has had a crippling economic effect on our immigrant community. The majority of our immigrant neighbors have been laid off or are currently unemployed due to the city and state-wide shut down of non-essential businesses. Immigrants that are domestic workers, food service restaurant workers, street vendors, among many others, suddenly have no source of income. Unfortunately, there is no sign of relief for our community because many do not qualify for state/federal aid, sick leave, paid time off and unemployment benefits. In fact, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act completely excludes tax-paying immigrants from accessing the $2.2 trillion COVID-19 federal relief fund.
On the other hand, there are members of our community who put their lives and the lives of their families at risk by continuing to report to work every day as part of our essential workforce. Immigrant delivery workers, supermarket stockers, hospital cleaning crews, all work to keep the city functioning, and by doing so, they expose themselves to contracting COVID-19. If and when illness strikes them, most will not receive paid time off, sick leave, unemployment, or state/federal aid.
We are seeking to create a mutual aid project aimed at supporting immigrant members and their families of our beloved El Barrio community who are sick with COVID-19. Please commit your financial resources to stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable members of our society. By helping us reach our goal, we will be able to move quickly and provide emergency resources for our community.
The Steps
We seek to provide support to families and individuals of El Barrio, affected by COVID-19 in the form of emergency resources and mutual aid. The livelihoods of our immigrant community have been severely altered by this health crisis.
East Harlem immigrant community members have developed and crafted this community driven mutual aid program. A committee has formed, “Movement’s COVID-19 Committee”, made up of immigrant community members (mostly women), who are volunteering their time to ensure support is quickly and efficiently dispersed to COVID-19 positive community members and their immediate families.
Why we‘re doing it
The COVID-19 disease does not discriminate. However, the social safety nets in our society do.
The immigrant community in El Barrio does not have the same safety nets provided for them, as other members of the community do. This pandemic has caused massive lay-offs and unemployment, while also asking for more risk and sacrifice from the essential workforce, to keep society fed and clean. There is a growing sense of panic and stress from members of our community about how they will keep a roof over their heads and food on the table in the weeks to come. Our members are extremely worried about the lasting consequences of a crisis that has been described as “something we’ve never had to deal with before, much worse than the economic collapse of 2008 and 9/11”.
Our community knows, it does not qualify for unemployment benefits, state/federal aid, nor other types of help during its greatest time of need. With this project, Movement for Justice in El Barrio, seeks to alleviate this growing distress for our beloved community. This fund will sustain the mutual aid and emergency resources we will provide immigrant families and individuals who have been impacted by the virus and the economic crisis it has provoked.
Movement for Justice in El Barrio is a majority-women community organization that fights for housing justice, immigrant justice and gender justice and, following our unique model, consistently challenges multiple forms of oppression, including xenophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia in all of our campaigns in East Harlem, New York City.