COVID-19 relief fund for Latinx essential workers

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A local grassroots organization seeks to help the Latinx community during the coronavirus pandemic by providing financial assistance.

“What really makes our community function and our world work being people who are working in fast food, people who are housekeepers in hotels, who are construction workers, people who do gardening or landscaping, right, and often times people who are in these jobs are Latinx. They are undocumented. They are people who don’t have access to different kinds of supports such as unemployment, food stamps, health insurance,” Mo Rodriguez Cruz said.

Cruz is the Co-Founder and Field Director of Semillas.

He said that through a 20,000 dollar grant from Hispanics in Philanthropy, they’ve started the CommUNITY Essential Fund Initiative in partnership with Hispanics in Philanthropy and The Net Resource Foundation.

Through this fund, they’re giving one-time 500 dollar pre-paid visa debit cards to Latinx essential workers.

“In this moment, when we are trying to flatten the curve, we are seeking folks who don’t have access to these other resources and help them in their efforts to quarantine to be able to stay at home to be able to take care of their families and their loved ones,” Cruz said.

In June, the Hispanic community saw a spike of positive COVID-19 cases.

They made up over 60 percent of all cases in Hamilton County.

The number has continued to trend down.

Last month, it was 35 percent.

According to Hamilton County Health Department data, as of Thursday, Hispanics account for 25 percent of positive cases, and 10 out of the 78 people who have died from the virus are identified as Hispanic.

“A huge portion of essential workers are Latinx and not just, I want to be clear when we say Latinx, it’s not just brown people, but we’re talking about people who are also Afro Latinx or black, brown folks that are out here,” Cruz said.

While the fund is geared toward a specific community, he said they are taking donations with hopes to expand.

If you would like to donate email, semillasTN@gmail.com.

You can also donate through the Venmo app @SemillasTN.

Cruz said when donating write that you would like the money to go to the CommUNITY Essential Fund.