Episcopal Farmworker Ministry emergency fund helps Latinx ag, meat processing workers
By VICTORIA JOHNSON
Chatham Latinx agricultural workers hurt by the pandemic can apply to a Dunn-based nonprofit for financial assistance.
The Episcopal Farmworker Ministry has again begun accepting applications for assistance from North Carolina’s Latinx agricultural workers after raising about $250,000 for its COVID-19 Emergency Fund.
In April, the Episcopal Ministry created a COVID-19 Emergency Fund for agricultural workers devastated by the pandemic, a fund which raised and distributed about $60,000. About three weeks ago, the Ministry opened up another round after receiving additional funds, said Esmeralda Dominguez, promotora for the Ministry’s Disaster Relief Program.
So far, they’ve approved about 160 families for funds, a number Dominguez said is increasing every day.
“My phone won’t stop ringing,” she said, adding that their goal is to help 500 additional families.
At first, the fund primarily helped farmworkers in eastern North Carolina, but now they’re spreading the word to other counties, and Dominguez said she’s begun to receive calls from all kinds of agricultural workers.
Qualified applicants are agricultural workers who live in North Carolina and have either lost work because of COVID-19 or had health issues caused by the virus. Those who work in the fields, animal farms, at packing houses, in nurseries and in meat processing plants all qualify. Only one person may apply per household.
“We are giving a little more priority to people who did not receive government aid and people who do not have legal status,” Dominguez said, “but we also opened (applications) to everyone.”
Other priority applicants are workers who have lost considerable income after losing work, workers sick with COVID-19 in the hospital or on respirators and workers who received high medical bills but have no insurance. Dominguez said most families have qualified so far.
“I don’t give bad news,” she said, laughing. “People who call me always get good news from me.”
To apply, eligible applicants can call Dominguez at (919) 815-9946. Upon calling her, Dominguez said she’ll ask applicants questions to make sure they’re eligible. Among other things, she said she’d ask workers for their basic information, their employers’ names and phone numbers, their incomes and how the pandemic has impacted them.
“In case I don’t respond, it’s because I’m on another call, but people can send me a text with the word ‘help’ and their names,” she said. “Within a day, two days at most, I will return their calls.”
After people submit their applications, an external committee reviews them. According to executive director Lariza Garzón, it may take three to four weeks for people to hear back thanks to high demand. Successful applicants receive $500 checks they can use however they need, whether that’s to pay bills, buy groceries or pay medical expenses.
“For many people, $500 is nothing,” Dominguez said. “For the people who donated, it’s nothing, but for them (workers) it’s a hope of life. For them, that $500 is a lot. It’s a great blessing.”
Many recipients expressed their gratitude to the Ministry for their help, stories the Ministry collected and published on Facebook.
“When I got the call that you were going to help us, I couldn’t believe it, because we don’t get help from anyone,” one recipient told the Ministry. “… It’s unusual to get support. The funds helped me pay for my electricity, a bill which was keeping me up at night.”
COVID-19 has disproportionately hurt the Hispanic community in nearly every area, Dominguez said, and not just in the number of cases originating from their community. Agricultural workers are “essential” workers who went to work even under North Carolina’s “stay-at-home” order because they perform essential tasks, like maintaining the food supply. Many of these workers are Latinx immigrants, Dominguez said, especially farmworkers. More than 90% of North Carolina’s farmworkers are native Spanish speakers who Dominguez said work long hours in dangerous conditions for little pay. According to the N.C. Farmworker Institute, a farmworker’s average annual income nationwide is around $11,000 and around $16,000 for a family of four.
“We Hispanics don’t have savings,” Dominguez said. “Unfortunately, the salaries don’t even approach $10 (an hour). So, how are we supposed to prepare ourselves for a pandemic if we don’t have money saved, earn very little and have hardly enough to survive?”
Many didn’t qualify for government coronavirus aid, like the stimulus checks, since they’re undocumented, she said, and many others have to work seven days a week to feed their families and pay bills. That’s why staying home or getting sick threatens their families’ livelihoods, she explained.
“I feel that when COVID spreads, it infects anyone, but when it comes to receiving aid, receiving everything, they ignore us a lot,” she said, adding, “We are very affected. We have been very damaged.”
Agricultural workers interested in applying for the fund can call Dominguez at (919) 815-9946. The Ministry is still accepting donations. Those interested can contact executive director Lariza Garzón for more information.
