NEW FUND SUPPORTS SAN DIEGO’S IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Source: San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium

March 30, 2020 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC), a project of Alliance San Diego, has launched the SDIRC Immigrant Relief Fund to provide grants of up to $500 to immigrant families in San Diego who have lost part or all of their income due to the coronavirus pandemic, or other disasters. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes county and statewide shelter-in-place orders, many workers in San Diego County have had their hours reduced, are temporarily not working, or have lost their jobs altogether. Some immigrant workers are not eligible for certain federal and state benefits such as unemployment and food stamps. 

The fund will launch with $10,000 thanks  to a generous donation from Oxfam America, a confederation of 19 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, and a donation from SDIRC, a coalition of over 50 organizations serving the immigrant community. The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is asking those who can to consider donating to the fund.

For more information on the fund, click here

To apply for the fund, click here

To donate to the fund, click here

Lilian Serrano, chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium and human rights organizer with Alianza Comunitaria, issued the following statement: 

“When the most vulnerable in our community are at risk, our whole community is at risk. Without access to unemployment and other cash assistance benefits, many immigrant families are left without resources to cover their basic needs. As we’ve always done, the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium will continue to stand with immigrant communities, and do our part by providing resources and information during this time of uncertainty. We thank Oxfam for their donation, and we invite others to join us in our commitment to helping immigrant families during this unprecedented public health crisis.”

Cristina Garcia, advocacy advisor for Oxfam America, said: 

“During this global pandemic, it is critical that we make sure all members of our community have the resources they need to meet their basic necessities and feed their families. This fund will ensure that families who are ineligible for other resources have immediate support at a critical time. We appreciate the work the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is doing to support immigrant families, and we stand with them to continue to ensure all of our community members are cared for during this time.” 

The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is a project of Alliance San Diego. Since 2007, community, faith, labor, and legal organizations have come together as the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC). Through SDIRC, these organizations are pursuing four common goals: support comprehensive immigration reform; stop the spread of local policies and practices that target and violate the civil and human rights of immigrants; educate immigrants, and educate the public about the important contributions of immigrants. More at: www.immigrantsandiego.org.