Combating COVID-19: 30 UnidosUS Affiliates receive grants from the Esperanza/Hope Fund to fight the coronavirus’s effects in their communities
The COVID-19 pandemic arrived to our lives without a warning, without a handbook to guide us on how to deal with this unprecedented situation. We soon saw our community being disproportionately affected by this crisis, making up 27% of all COVID-19 cases and 18.9% of the total unemployment rate.
However, just as quickly as that happened, our Affiliates were there to support our struggling families. They have stepped up and they need all the support they can get to continue responding to the disproportionate hardships the Latino community is facing from COVID-19. This is why at UnidosUS we have established our Esperanza/Hope Fund, and last week we announced the 30 Affiliates that will receive $25,000 each in our first round of grants.
By Beatriz Paniego-Béjar, Content Specialist, UnidosUS
Our Affiliates are trusted sources for our community. In times of need, individuals and families across the country reach out to them for help. In response to the coronavirus crisis, these community-based organizations have set up rapid response funds, food drives, testing sites, hotlines, and more—whatever it is that our community needs in the time of COVID-19.
Through the Esperanza/Hope Fund, launched with a $1 million donation from PepsiCo, UnidosUS is providing emergency assistance to these families in communities that need it the most through our Affiliate Network. In this first round of grants we have selected 30 organizations in 14 states and Puerto Rico to strengthen our community directly.
“The exemplary work of these 30 organizations that are serving communities across the country decimated by this pandemic is heartening and inspiring, but they are doing much of this work without enough funding and resources. That is why we started the Esperanza/Hope Fund,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía. “Our hope is that the Fund and these initial grants will help Affiliates stabilize their operations, provide emergency support to their communities and strengthen their capacity to not only survive these trying times, but emerge ready to serve for the longer term.”
Meet these extraordinary partners below:
CENTRO CAMPESINO FARMWORKER CENTER, INC., FLORIDA CITY, FL
They’ve been helping low-income households with food, and rental and utility assistance. They are preparing to expand their capacity and services to meet the projected growth in income and food insecurity.
COMUNIDADES UNIDAS, WEST VALLEY CITY, UT
Their priorities under this pandemic have been to increase and provide access to testing and preventative information. They will be expanding their promotores/-as program who are responding to the calls and needs of our community, and to the needs of additional equipment to continue to adapt their services to the current reality of social distancing.
CONXIÓN TO COMMUNITY, SAN JOSE, CA
They have turned their Day Worker Center into a drop-in center for the homeless and other people in need. They are offering handwashing stations, two hot meals a day, information, and personal protection equipment.
DOMINICO-AMERICAN SOCIETY OF QUEENS, CORONA, NY
This organization, at the epicenter of the pandemic, has been providing food and supermarket gift cards. They will use their grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund to adapt their services and community outreach to be available remotely and to ensure they can keep their services running for our community.
EAST BOSTON ECUMENICAL COMMUNITY COUNCIL, EAST BOSTON, MA
The organization in East Boston is sheltering youth, families, and adults, providing meals and food for low-income individuals, referring them to health care and medical services, and other basic needs like clothing, toiletries, and hygiene products.
EAST LA COMMUNITY CORPORATION, LOS ANGELES, CA
ELACC is transitioning to offering their services online, and the grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will allow them to continue providing their financial coaching program, investing in technology that will improve their capacity to serve their community.
EASTMONT COMMUNITY CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CA
This organization is seeing a four-time increase in their food pantry program from their normal participation. With this grant, they’ll be able to increase their food program operations and technological capacity.
The El Centro offices are still open to provide essential services and assist the community in their most basic needs (food, utilities, and rental assistance). They will improve their digital outreach and offer food and vouchers.
ERIE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE, CHICAGO, IL
Their staff continues to provide all their services (mental health, legal services, teachers, tutors, etc.) via phone. Half of their grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will be directed to their community relief efforts, and the rest will support their general operations.
HISPANIC INTEREST COALITION OF ALABAMA, BIRMINGHAM, AL
The organization has an Emergency Assistance Fund, that was previously used for victims of crime and has now transition to provide rent and food assistance to those impacted by COVID-19. The grant from our Esperanza/Hope Fund is helping them reach their goal of raising $120,000 towards this fund.
HISPANIC SERVICES COUNCIL, TAMPA, FL
This Florida organization is supporting their population in many different ways, and they are going to utilize their grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund to ensure their Immigration Legal Services and Advocacy program remains open.
HISPANIC UNITY OF FLORIDA, HOLLYWOOD, FL
Their main goal during this crisis has been to help their families stabilize their finances and provide support for other basic needs.. Their Esperanza/Hope Fund grant will be used as emergency assistance for their clients, move their operations online as needed, and ensure they can remain open to serve their community.
They are providing direct outreach to vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations in Ohio. As they’ve needed to transition to a remote environment, they are planning to use part of their grant from the Esperanza/Hope fund to make investments in new technologies.
MEXICAN AMERICAN UNITY COUNCIL, SAN ANTONIO, TX
MAUC is assisting families with their basic needs, and partnering with the San Antonio Food Bank to serve meals to children this summer. With the grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund, they will be offering food gift cards for their families and they’ll partner with local vendors to serve boxed meals.
MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER, DENVER, CO
They have conducted an extensive community needs assessment and they are adapting to their participant needs, sharing resources, offering online training and engagement, and conducting their Career Pathways program virtually, too. The Esperanza/Hope Fund grant is helping them continue the operation of these programs.
MUJERES LATINAS EN ACCIÓN, CHICAGO, IL
Their work has focused on responding to their community’s anxieties around essential supplies and services, and the safety and healing of survivors of violence. The grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will help them continue responding to the community’s needs and include financial assistance to the clients they serve.
NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES OF SAN ANTONIO, INC., SAN ANTONIO, TX
This organization is pivoting their classes to virtual, and they will use the Esperanza/Hope Fund to ensure the population they serve continue having access to their HUD-certified homebuyer and financial education.
NEW ECONOMICS FOR WOMEN, LOS ANGELES, CA
At New Economics for Women they are providing dedicated emergency assistance (financial, food, rental, and medical) to undocumented and mixed-status families. Thanks to the grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund they’ll be able to improve their digital services and remote programming.
NORTHWEST SIDE HOUSING CENTER, CHICAGO, IL
Their organization is established in a ZIP code with the highest COVID-19 positive cases in the state of Illinois. With the Esperanza/Hope Fund grant, they will be able to help families in their community meet their basic needs (housing, food, PPE, and medicine).
ONE STOP CAREER CENTER OF PUERTO RICO, SAN JUAN, PR
The Puerto Rican organization has been in high demand since Hurricane Maria hit the island. The grant they’ve received from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will help them upgrade their IT systems to be able to assist their clients with housing counseling services online and avoid evictions.
They have set up a toll-free phone number to guide the community about the resources available for emergency assistance and is operated by their team in shifts. The grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will support them to continue offering all their programs and outreach.
PROYECTO INMIGRANTE ICS, INC., FT. WORTH, TX
Proyecto Inmigrante is supporting immigrant families through this unprecedented crisis, and will utilize the grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund to avoid shutting down programs and provide their services online.
SHIRLINGTON EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION CENTER, ARLINGTON, VA
Their focus has been in helping immigrant day laborers with food and rental assistance, and they will use these funds to provide more than 1,000 meals a month to these laborers from local Latino-owned restaurants in Arlington.
SOUTHWEST ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS, DETROIT, MI
Their homeownership workshops have now turned into one-on-one coaching and support. Their counselors are providing direction to ensure their clients make good economic choices and retain wealth, and they are connecting them to much-needed resources. The Esperanza/Hope Fund grant will help them sustain these demanded services.
SPANISH SPEAKING CITIZENS’ FOUNDATION, OAKLAND, CA
This organization has focused on ensuring the well-being of their employees, all of whom are minorities. The Esperanza/Hope Fund is helping them with their technology needs as they continue their work remotely.
THE COMMITTEE FOR HISPANIC CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, NEW YORK, NY
Their response to the crisis has focused on supporting the New York City public school students in this new learning environment. Their staff is assisting teachers with tutoring and homework, and they are going to provide computers to better cover these needs.
The Concilio has been in contact with all the families participating in their programs, and are helping them cover their necessities, including food, technology needs, tutoring, and social-emotional support.
TIBURCIO VASQUEZ HEALTH CENTER, INC., HAYWARD, CA
In mid-March, they transformed their service model to telehealth, maintaining in-person visits only as necessary. The grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will help them support their virtual hub for patients, MyChart.
TODEC LEGAL CENTER, PERRIS, CA
They have successfully moved their operations to remote platforms, but the high volume of community requests creates a need to increase the capacity of their services, from legal to outreach to hotlines and communications and translation. The grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund will help them develop their capabilities.
They are focusing their efforts to help those in the community who have lost their jobs and source of income, or who have succumbed to the virus. The grant from the Esperanza/Hope Fund is going to go toward help them set up a food program for their community.
