On April 15th, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $125 million in new aid to help undocumented farmworkers and their families impacted by COVID-19.
“Alianza welcomes today’s news from Gov. Newsom of additional support specifically for immigrant workers who have been overlooked by the federal government,” said Silvia Paz, executive director of Alianza Coachella Valley. “These workers are a vital part of the state economy and to the nation’s food supply, yet they often lack access to food, clean water and secure housing. Alianza looks forward to working with the governor’s office to help deliver this assistance to Coachella Valley farmworkers, and making sure their voices are heard.”
Approximately 150,000 undocumented California adults will receive a one-time cash benefit of $500 per adult with a cap of $1,000 per household to deal with the specific needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor’s office said. Individuals can apply for support beginning next month.
This funding is a combination of $75 million from California’s Disaster Relief Fund and $50 million in generous private donations from Emerson Collective, Blue Shield of California Foundation, The California Endowment, The James Irvine Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and others. The state’s Disaster Relief Fund will be dispersed through a community-based model of regional nonprofits with expertise and experience serving undocumented communities.
“Alianza and its collaborative partners are working hand-in-hand with residents to address economic disparities in the Coachella Valley’s rural communities,” said Sahara Huazano, director of capacity development at Alianza. “Since the coronavirus pandemic came to this area, we’ve responded by making more than 15,000 phone calls to help connect struggling east valley residents with available resources and by partnering with FIND Food Bank and Pueblo Unido CDC on door-to-door food distribution.”
Suguet Lopez, executive director of Lideres Campesinas, an Alianza partner supporting farmworker women, noted that COVID-19 assistance adds to a long list of community-driven partnerships in the region. “Thanks to our collective effort, we have extended a public bus line to North Shore, paved dirt roads in mobile home parks to cut air pollution, and connected remote communities to Coachella Valley Water District services,” Lopez said. “We look forward to deepening our work with COVID-19 assistance.”
