Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Nearly 11 months into the COVID-19 epidemic, the Latino community has become the most affected due to the health, economic and social havoc left in its wake by the virus that continues to affect many across the country.
This was stated by Judith Guerrero, executive director of the nonprofit organization "Coastside Hope" and which, between 2019 and 2020 has supported with safety net services to three thousand 934 people in 1576 homes in the community of San Mateo.
Much of the assistance provided by the organization located at 99 Alhambra Avenue, El Granada, is for Latino families, many of whom are Mexican and face daily adversity, especially due to the pandemic.
The help Coastside Hope provides ranges from financial assistance to food assistance, immigration assistance, tax preparation, and help in making appointments at consulates, translating documents, or even support in completing paperwork online.
"We offer help in the forms of financial assistance, it can be rent to pay for utilities or during the pandemic we've been a little bit more open and creative in the way families can be helped," Judith said during the We Vote program that airs every Saturday on Peninsula 360 Press.
"What we are seeing a lot is that Latino families have been the most affected in our community, who are the ones who serve and work in places like restaurants, hotels and agriculture, and they live with the uncertainty that one month we are open and the next month we have to be closed. It's difficult financially for them," he added.
In that sense, he stressed that when these families approach the organization, they usually already need help to cover more than a month's rent.
"They've been the hardest hit especially because some of them don't qualify for unemployment because of their immigration status in this country, or maybe those who qualify for unemployment, they don't realize they could apply," he noted.
Judith Guerrero said she knows of cases of Latino employees who have not been paid for their work for weeks, a situation, she said, is not the first time it happens, however, and because their employers issued them a letter, the association was able to realize what was happening and thus was able to help four families to pay their rent.
"We have helped four families with rent because besides being a victim of this problem, many of our families live in less than ideal situations, what I mean is they live in a house with four other families, and there are regulations and rules so they can't kick you out of your house, but many times the people you are sharing with don't care and many of these families can become homeless without notification," she said. "The pandemic has forced us to be creative with everyone," she said. "During this time we're looking at ways to help them with whatever we can."
Judith added that they are already looking for ways to ensure that situations like the lack of payment to Latino workers does not happen in other industries.
"The intention is that this does not happen to another worker, it is difficult not to get paid when we are going through a pandemic. I have heard of people who maybe don't know about our services and borrow money and sometimes not from people with the best intentions, but from those who are abusing ?the situation.
He called on all those who are going through a difficult situation due to the pandemic, do not have the resources to pay their rents and especially to get food, to approach the organization whose web page is www.coastsidehope.org.
He also made a and loved for all those who want to serve their community, to be part of the organization's volunteers or to donate, since at this time the support of all is needed to get help to those who need it most.
