COVID-19 Response Read about VietLead’s COVID-19 Response and their resources/assistance As the Covid-19 pandemic swept the U.S. in early March, and Philadelphia and South Jersey became hot spots, VietLead realized our working-class, Southeast Asian immigrant communities were getting sick from coronavirus while bearing the brunt of the shutdown. Many community members lost their jobs, and those who continued to work faced dangerous conditions and lack of information about their rights as workers. In three months, with the help of paid canvassers and volunteers, VietLead called over 5,000 clients in Philadelphia and 800 in South Jersey, reaching elders, families with limited resources, people with disabilities, and workers who contracted Covid-19 on the job. We tackled: FOOD INSECURITY By providing information on food distribution as well as food to families of our youth who face insecurity; connecting residents with OurChive 215’s and volunteers-run food drives By working to develop a comprehensive food response which will include delivering food packages from our farms and purchased food to isolated elders, isolated families, and many of our community members who are COVID-19 positive having worked in a local factory. ECONOMIC INSECURITY AND TRANSLATION By providing over-the-phone, bilingual assistance completing unemployment claims, small business fund applications, and the Census; By providing language support at Camden City and Cooper Hospital’s testing site; HEALTH SUPPORT By helping clients in medical emergencies By helping them apply for Medicaid in PA, NJ Charity Care in NJ, and healthcare.gov for a life-change when newly unemployed In addition, supported by a tight network of partners, Health Team has held 4 Vietnamese-language community webinars on a wide range of topics: How to apply to the Philadelphia Small Business Fund with Councilwoman Helen Gym’s Office and the Philadelphia Department of Commerce on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2020. 25 Vietnamese businesses attended the webinar on zoom 10 applications were submitted with VietLead’s assistance How to Apply to Unemployment and New Benefits due to Covid-19 Webinar in partnership with Julia Simon-Mishel of Philadelphia Legal Assistance on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020. 27 Vietnamese individuals attended the Zoom call and 400 more have watched our Facebook live video since Workers’ Right Webinar in partnership with Community Legal Services in Philadelphia and CATA in New Jersey on May 8, 2020 20 workers and community members from Philly and New Jersey attended the webinar COVID-19 in Philadelphia & Camden Webinar in partnership with Dr. Ruth Abaya from the Philadelphia Health Department, and My Anh Nguyen, R.N. from Cooper Hospital on Thursday, April 16th, 2020 This webinar had over 40 people in attendance, and over 1000 views on Facebook in just the four days. Reopening Guidelines for Nail Salons and Restaurants in Philly and New Jersey Webinar in partnership with Ting Wang from Philadelphia Office of Commerce and Dr. Tran Huynh from Dornsife School of Public Health. We have a dozen workers and business owners attending the meeting. Many more sent in questions and concerns about safety guidelines’ violations that were answered on the webinar. These webinars have been followed by our three-person Health staff patiently supporting with and/or helping submit 223 applications, such as unemployment and weekly claims, health insurance access like NJ Family Care, Emergency Medical Assistance or Medicaid, as well as support with the 2020Census and federal and state small business applications, like Paycheck Protection Program. Besides check-in call and food drop-off, we also created Viber groups for community members in New Jersey and Philly to share information about food distribution, aid programs, rental assistance and community webinars. The economic and health crisis of our lifetime has exposed years-long rifts in how the federal and local government view and support essential workers and communities of color. VietLead’s multi-pronged approach to building long-term infrastructure for self-determination helps us respond quickly to skyrocketed requests for immediate assistance while strengthening our communities’ mutual aid muscles in moments of crises.
Building Power & Safety Through Solidarity Campaign As our communities of working-class immigrant and undocumented workers and families grapple with the impacts of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, which will continue to grow into a social, health, and economic crisis, DRUM in New York City has launched the “Building Power & Safety Through Solidarity” Campaign. This campaign provides a practical, accessible, and participatory program for building community power while also meeting the material needs of our frontline communities. Read more about their community tools and resources at https://www.drumnyc.org/powerandsafety/ EMPLOYMENT If you are currently unemployed: If you are documented, you can apply for New York unemployment benefits NY Unemployment: https://applications.labor.ny.gov/Individual/ If you need more information or assistance on this, let us know HOUSING Landlords don’t have to make mortgage payments for 3 months If you are a landlord, call your bank to make arrangements for your mortgage There are no evictions for at least 3 months This means that if you don’t have a lot of money, you should save your money for essential things like food, and not for rent Talk to the other tenants and make agreements to not pay rent Many tenants are organizing rent strikes People are working on passing a law to cancel the rent If your landlord is also poor, and depends on the rental income for survival or has to pay for utilities, work out an agreement with them for partial payment or a payment plan Rent Strike Toolkit: https://t.co/ChKHyTvluO FOOD If you are running out of food and need to access food, we can send you information based on where you live: Three Free meals are now available at over 400 NYC public schools for ALL New Yorkers Monday – Friday (Halal options available). You can find more info and locations here http://schools.nyc.gov/freemeals A list and map of food pantries and kitchens: https://maps.nyc.gov/foodhelp/#map-page Citywide Food assistance Organizations Zakat Foundation: Call 1- 888-ZAKAT-US or email [email protected] Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA) 1- 877-868-2774 Neighborhood food assistance: West Queens: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4JI-xFE3qTxC07Tz762fEe4yNzpDo7eAsHkFo-jqnKZo1Bg/viewform East Queens: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4JI-xFE3qTxC07Tz762fEe4yNzpDo7eAsHkFo-jqnKZo1Bg/viewform South Queens: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLggjsliLhxegB7Wt_UOXpPqRCv0ef41RFQilmK17AAZKtrw/viewform Brooklyn: Kensington: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KWTMutualAid/ HEALTH Testing for coronavirus is hard to find, but it is free Right now, there is no coverage of the costs for treatment If you need to get tested, you can find testing locations here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/resources/covid-testing.page If you need access to general healthcare and are undocumented: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/immigrant/ IMMIGRATION As of March 18th, USCIS has suspended routine in person services (Court dates, check-ins, biometric appointments etc.) If you have renewal biometrics appointments (ex. DACA) during this time, USCIS will use previous biometrics. ICE is continuing to do raids. We don’t know if they are more, or less, or same as before, but they are happening. SCHOOLS NYC schools are closed for the rest of the school year. Remote Leaning is in effect until the rest of the school year Students in need electronic equipment to access remote learning can request an iPad device at coronavirus.schools.nyc/RemoteLearningDevices GOVERNMENT STIMULUS The federal government passed a 2 trillion dollar package on March 27 Most of the money went for large corporations MENTAL HEALTH This is a time of great stress for many people, and it will likely get worse Make sure to make some time everyday to do things that relax you or calm you Find people you can talk to regularly to relieve the stress If you need more help coping contact NYC Well, a confidential 24/7 helpline http://NYC.gov/nycwell FUNERALS A guide to funeral and burial option in New York: https://www.citybarjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Guide-Funeral-Burial-Options-in-NY-ENGLISH.pdf HRA can provide up to $900 in funeral expenses: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/hra/help/burial-assistance.page CASH ASSISTANCE For Undocumented Youth & Families: NYSYLC will be providing $250 or $500 funds. you can requests funds at https://www.nysylc.org/undocufunds Jamaica Muslim Center providing COVID impacted muslim families with $100 cash assistance call 718-739-3182
The COVID-19 Crisis is Affecting Low-Income Workers “The COVID-19 Crisis Is Affecting Low-Income Workers” by CAROLINE DANIELSON “As California responds to COVID-19, its low-income workers face particularly urgent difficulties. These Californians are not necessarily at high risk of health complications from COVID-19, but they will be deeply affected by the economic consequences of the steps being taken by cities, counties, and regions to contain the outbreak and protect public health.” Read the rest of the article here: https://www.ppic.org/blog/the-covid-19-crisis-is-affecting-low-income-workers/