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

  1. If you are currently unemployed:

HOUSING

  1. 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
  2. There are no evictions for at least 3 months
  3. 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
  4. People are working on passing a law to cancel the rent
  5. 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
  6. Rent Strike Toolkit: https://t.co/ChKHyTvluO

FOOD

HEALTH

  1. Testing for coronavirus is hard to find, but it is free
  2. Right now, there is no coverage of the costs for treatment
  3. If you need to get tested, you can find testing locations here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/resources/covid-testing.page
  4. If you need access to general healthcare and are undocumented: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/immigrant/

IMMIGRATION

  1. As of March 18th, USCIS has suspended routine in person services (Court dates, check-ins, biometric appointments etc.)
  2. If you have renewal biometrics appointments (ex. DACA) during this time, USCIS will use previous biometrics.
  3. 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

  1. NYC schools are closed for the rest of the school year.
  2. Remote Leaning is in effect until the rest of the school year
  3. Students in need electronic equipment to access remote learning can request an iPad device at coronavirus.schools.nyc/RemoteLearningDevices

GOVERNMENT STIMULUS

  1. The federal government passed a 2 trillion dollar package on March 27
  2. Most of the money went for large corporations

MENTAL HEALTH

  1. This is a time of great stress for many people, and it will likely get worse
  2. Make sure to make some time everyday to do things that relax you or calm you
  3. Find people you can talk to regularly to relieve the stress
  4. If you need more help coping contact NYC Well, a confidential 24/7 helpline http://NYC.gov/nycwell

FUNERALS

  1. 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
  2. HRA can provide up to $900 in funeral expenses: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/hra/help/burial-assistance.page

CASH ASSISTANCE

  1.  For Undocumented Youth & Families: NYSYLC will be providing $250 or $500 funds. you can requests funds at https://www.nysylc.org/undocufunds
  2. Jamaica Muslim Center providing COVID impacted muslim families with $100 cash assistance call 718-739-3182