Liberty Hill Launches COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund for Community Organizing
On behalf of the entire Liberty Hill family, I want to thank you for your continued commitment to our community and support of our mission throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
Right now, community organizers on the frontlines need immediate support. I hope you will consider making a contribution to our COVID 19 Rapid Response Fund for Community Organizing to support the immediate needs of organizers and community members on the frontlines of this crisis.
As the pandemic continues to unfold, organizers are fighting to ensure that our local and state governments are stepping up to protect the rights and the health of the most vulnerable. We are also concerned about the census, continuing inequity in education, a loss of civil rights, and an expanded homeless crisis. We are shifting our internal resources to focus on the immediate needs organizers on the ground are dealing with in the face of this crisis.
Organizers are leading powerful campaigns and have already seen some victories in their quest to:
- Stop arrests for non-violent offenses
- Release non-violent youth and adults from jails
- Enact moratoriums on evictions, foreclosures, and utility shut offs
- Adopt equitable policies for COVID-19 testing
- Secure paid leave
- Close toxic hotspots such as oil drilling sites near homes that exacerbate respiratory health challenges
- Halt destructive housing “sweeps” and encampment displacement
- Stop immigration raids
- Protect the rights of our vulnerable service workers
Because of the racial and economic inequities embedded in our country’s systems, the effects of the coronavirus will be compounded for Black, Brown, Asian, Indigenous, and queer communities, as well as those living in persistent poverty, immigrants and our elders.
Organizing groups need:
- Laptops, hotspots, software and technical support as they shift away from in-person work to a new virtual model for organizing and advocacy
- Sanitation supplies for members without these resources
- Communications supports to get the word out about their newly instituted rights and resources for tenants, the homeless, workers, immigrants. This includes social media consultants and online advertising funds, as well as printers, posters, and graphic design services
- Translation services to ensure information is available to all
- Helping low-income members meet basic needs, such as food, sanitation supplies, connection to government services, and legal assistance
- General operating support to ensure that the organizations can continue to pay staff and other bills and to fill gaps as other funding is stalled due to economic downturn
I hope you will join with us to mobilize the full power of our community in service of justice during this public health crisis to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected and have access to the resources they need to survive.
On behalf of the entire Liberty Hill team, I hope that you are staying safe and healthy.
In Solidarity,
Shane Murphy Goldsmith
President/CEO
Liberty Hill Foundation