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California IAF Wins
Victory for Essential Workers:
$65M More for Undocumented Families

Expansion will include tens of thousands of families using ITINs to file federal taxes. Access to state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits to persist beyond just this year.  

Texas IAF Orgs Win $350M+ in Added Relief for Most Vulnerable: Immigrants, Renters and Low-Wage Workers

VIP, AIN Expand Covid-19 Protections for Arizona Prisoners and Employees

Since late May, VIP and AIN clergy organized a series of conversations with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Director David Shinn, of the AZ Dept. of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-entry, to express concern about the dangers the coronavirus poses to prisoners and employees. 

In weekly work sessions with Director Shinn and key staff, VIP negotiated several advances including universal access to masks and PPE, and timely enrollment for those qualifying for Medicaid (AHCCCS).  Though the Department has indicated its intent to provide testing for all 40,000 inmates, VIP clergy continue to push for a  specific timeline as part of a strategy that leaves no one behind.

At Urging of ACTION & VOICE-OKC, City of Tulsa Calls on Governor for Hold on Evictions. Governor Responds with $10M for Eviction Mitigation 

This follows a statewide action calling on local and state officials to pause evictions and use CARES Act funds for rental aid to tenants and landlords.

AMOS Protects State Funding for Children's Mental Health in Iowa, Leverages $5M More for Polk County 

'Working Together Jackson' Succeeds in Call for Replacement of State Flag

"Anything is better than what we've got now," said Bishop Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church International

Spokane Alliance Meets with Governor, Is Credited with Relieving Covid-19 Pressures on Families and Hospitals

Together Louisiana Defends ITEP, Launches '10,000 Conversations Campaign' to Reimagine Louisiana

Texas IAF Assembles 1,500 Leaders Online, Launches Drive to Deliver 200,000 Voters to the Polls in Fall


Institutional leaders pledge to identify 5,700 people in small group gatherings (online) to prepare them to (each) deliver 36 voters to the polls this fall.   

Together Baton Rouge, TMO, CTI Leaders Call for Local Police Reform

'Mountain Voices Project,' Colorado IAF Work to Stave Off Tsunami of Evictions 

“We want to build a collaborative culture right now and get landlords and tenants talking to one another and avoiding evictions." -- Jennifer Wherry, Alpine Legal Services

'Working Together Jackson' Pushes for Medicaid Expansion in Mississippi 

DAI Fights for Poultry Plant Worker Protections to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak in Food Supply

“The workers at these plants are essential workers, especially now.” 
                                                -- Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly, Dallas Catholic Diocese


From Previous Issues...



Texas IAF Orgs Leverage $53 Million in Local Relief Targeting Most Vulnerable, Including Low-Income & Immigrants


"No strings attached, no citizenship necessary, no documents, [etc.]... Just residents in San Antonio and ...need.” -- Rev. Bill Kraus, Our Lady of the Angels Catholic

California IAF, Bishops Lead Push to Better Support Undocumented Workers

"Undocumented immigrants are an essential part of the social and economic fabric of California. They should be regarded as such during this... emergency."

Arizona Interfaith Network Urges Extension of Stay-at-Home Order 

and caution for the next few months...

"This is no time for false optimism. There is only one path to safety and that is an escalation of testing capacity." -- Arizona Interfaith Network clergy statement

Colorado IAF Expands Internet Access, Pushes for Immigrant Inclusion

With two-thirds of the 54,000 school-age children lacking internet access in Colorado being Hispanic, the "situation has created a huge dilemma for our students...”

One LA, Pima County Interfaith Launch Civic Academy Series Online

MOC Leverages $1M in Relief Plus


Over the objections of commercial landlords, the Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution granting renters additional time to pay the rent.  MOC leaders press for more.

AMOS Leverages 100 Additional Iowa State Unemployment Office Employees


"We knew there were people really struggling to navigate the system.”
-- Sally Boeckholt, First Unitarian Church of Des Moines and AMOS leader

OTOC Calls for Worker Protections in Nebraska Meatpacking Plants


OTOC reports that food workers are expected to show up when sick, even when sick with COVID-19, because "it wasn’t that bad." 

West / Southwest IAF Responding to The Crisis, Organizing with Uninsured, Unemployed & Undocumented


"Our immigrants make California a beautiful state," says Fr. Arturo Corral of La Placita and One LA-IAF. "We need to always ask [the governor] to do his best."

TMO, Colorado IAF Address Impact of Stay-at-Home on Children, Students 


Denver educators partner with congregational leaders to push for internet access for undocumented students.  TMO clergy point to complex trauma Houston children undergo.

Congregations Maintain Connection, Support Parishioners in Crisis

In Face of Eviction Crisis, Clergy Call for Rent Relief, Jubilee & More


TMO Clergy: "The suspension of rent, and the forgiveness of any debts related to its non-payment, is a profoundly biblical idea. We find it in the Hebrew Bible."  

West/Southwest IAF Sharpens Focus on Impact of Crisis on Immigrants

Organizers from Arizona and Texas quoted extensively in coverage below: 

Coloradans for the Common Good Secures Emergency Childcare and Paid Sick Leave for 30,000 Added Workers 

After expanding protections for 20,000 grocery store workers, CCG leaders succeed (again) in expanding the 'Colorado Health Emergency Leave with Pay' rule to include 30,000 food processing workers.

VIP Clergy Help Advance and Enhance Arizona's Stay-at-Home Order


After 100 clergy and leaders expressed concern about broader guidelines, Gov. Ducey strengthened the order.  VIP now calls on the public to stay at home.   

'Mountain Voices Project' Advances Eviction Hold in Colorado's Western Slope, Presses for Full Moratorium

West Texas Organizing Strategy (WTOS) Shuts Down Robocalls Threatening Residents with Utility Shutoffs

VOICE-OKC Clergy Urge Governor to Protect Grocery Store Workers


"They are literally risking their lives to be with the public every day."

Central TX Interfaith Convenes 100 Clergy with Waco Mayor and County Judge to Navigate Stay-at-Home Orders

Texas IAF Wins Utility Relief for Low-Income & Unemployed

In the only public testimony at the Public Utility Commission hearing, Texas IAF clergy argued that people should be prioritized over markets: 

Together Louisiana Gets National Media Spotlight on Severity of Outbreak in New Orleans  

New York Times CONFIRMS Together Louisiana's take...

OTOC Works to End ALL Evictions in Omaha During the Coronavirus Crisis


Leaders celebrate postponement of Covid-19 related evictions until May 31, but call for postponement of ALL evictions until the crisis ends.  

MOC Wins Eviction Moratorium in Marin County, California

TMO Protects Houston Renters from Evictions in Harris Co.

Continue Urging Congress to Prioritize Workers, Families & Small Businesses!

 
SIGN PETITION NOW -- THEN CALL CONGRESS

Congress passed a $2 Trillion emergency stimulus, but this is assuredly the first step for further unprecedented and much-needed measures.  The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) will continue to urge Congress to protect those who need help the most: American workers, families, and small businesses on the front lines of this national emergency.  

Copyright © 2020 West / Southwest IAF, All rights reserved.


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