San Mateo County has exhausted 96 percent of its $10.6 million immigrant assistance fund at its inception, and only met half of the demand, county supervisors were told.
County Management Analyst Sophie Mintier said in a presentation that 10,156 grants - $1,000 each - had been approved out of a total of 22,745 grant applications submitted by Sept. 28 of the current fiscal year.
The Migrant Support Fund provides financial assistance to low-income residents and undocumented persons in San Mateo County who are not eligible for unemployment or federal assistance programs. The fund is administered by the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County and the Mission Asset Fund, the latter of which is a non-profit organization.
With a contribution of $5 million from the Sobrato Organization, $2 million allocated in early July by the Board of Supervisors, plus other donations, the fund was able to accumulate a total of $10.6 million.
Still, it's not enough. Mintier said additional funds are needed to support the remaining applicants, 46 percent of whom have no fixed monthly income.
Many applicants have also been directly affected by the 19-COVID pandemic: 34 percent had contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus or know a person who had the new coronavirus.
It is important to know that most grant applications come from North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, San Mateo and East Palo Alto.
John Sobrato, a real estate developer and founder of the Sobrato Organization, asked the board to inject an additional $3 million to match his $5 million contribution, which he had originally requested in July.
"We haven't finished meeting the demand," said Sobrato. "However, the private sector cannot do it alone. We need the leadership of the board to set an example of how to encourage the private community.
José Quinñnez, founder of the Mission Asset Fund, also requested the board's support and recognized partner organizations such as Faith in Action - which helped immigrant communities and provided personalized support to more than 600 applicants. They are also working with Casa Samaritana to provide follow-up services to households.
The supervisors supported the fund and finally agreed that they would be willing to provide an additional $2 million.
Supervisor Don Horsley said it's time for the board to stretch its funding. "It's worth remembering that all that money is not going to other instances," Horsley said. "It's going directly to our local economy and we're expecting its multiplier effect."
Supervisor David Canepa said that for immigrant communities, programs like this are their only option. "We live in uncertain times. Making these kinds of decisions is not easy, but I think it justifies us going all out," Canepa said. "People are getting by as best they can. They live in fear. If there's any way I can help with that, I'm there for you.
Board Chairman Warren Slocum challenged Sobrato Organization to raise an additional $5 million.
Sobrato said it has been difficult to get the business community to make any donations and asked employers to set an example, as many of their office buildings are closed because they previously had some of the people on their payroll who now depend on the fund.
The board requested that county staff prepare an agenda item making a recommendation for an additional $2 million contribution to the migrant assistance fund to be given on October 20.
[With BNC information]
