Immigrant families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are getting help from the Sussex County Relief Program.
The Arsht-Cannon Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation donated $150,000 to the Sussex County Relief Program.
The fund’s executive director Christine Cannon explains how the collaboration between the Georgetown-based First State Community Action Agency and La Esperanza will use that money, “The $150,000 is in addition to $100,000 that we provided in July. And that money is for direct financial relief for families that don’t qualify for publicly-funded financial assistance - like the stipends, health insurance, sick leave often at their jobs.”
Cannon says since June 2020, the Sussex County Relief Program has assisted more than 300 families, totaling about 1,200 people.
She notes many of these families use the money to pay rent, purchase internet service for their kids to learn at home and to pay for food and clothing.
Cannon notes that Latino and other immigrant families face more issues because they have a higher COVID infection rate.
That’s driven by their exposure as essential workers, multigenerational living arrangements, a higher number of risk factors and multiple barriers for health information and general care.
The program has also received $50,000 each from the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund and the Matt Haley Fund - giving the program $350,000 to work with.
