Groundswell: Pandemic Aid Is Just Clicks Away

States across the country are continuing to diverge in their COVID-19 responses, despite the fact that infections don’t appear to have peaked. With fears of a second wave of infections, local response is more important than ever. This week’s Groundswell highlights local emergency aid across the country. 

In Stockton, California, faith-based groups, nonprofits, and the local government have built StocktonStrong.org, which, in collaboration with the “211” program, provides Stockton residents with reliable COVID-19 information and links to critical resources. The website is also serving as a donation platform for organizations and individuals who want to contribute to the city’s COVID-19 efforts, which will fund rent assistance and emergency grants for small businesses. Meanwhile, the local Sikh Pantry, which started up a few weeks ago in response to the crisis, has already delivered over 400 boxes of food and other household supplies to San Joaquin county residents. Recipients can order online and have customized boxes delivered to fit their family’s needs. As word has spread about its efforts, Sikh Pantry has seen increasing demand. 

Some in Indianapolis are finding that emergency aid is most effective when led and designed at the hyper-local level. Grassroots neighborhood action can respond nimbly and leverage trust built over years of interpersonal relationships. In a car-centric city where 200,000 residents live in food deserts, meeting basic needs was a challenge even before COVID-19—and residents, it seems, have the best instincts about what areas are most in need, and what types of aid are most helpful. In one of the city's largest food deserts, the Near Northwest Faith Partners, led by 22-year-old Pastor Tyreese Bowman, have joined with community-based organizations and the city’s Parks and Recreation division to reach hundreds of residents with food and care packages. The operation—which is run and staffed entirely by volunteers and bolstered by donated transportation from the city transit authority—assists about 1,000 families each week. 

Joe, a resident of Chicago’s South Side, was looking for a new job after being laid off over a year ago. With a part-time job and his mother’s fixed income, he hadn’t realized his income was too low to automatically receive his CARES Act stimulus check—until he heard about a new effort from a group of Chicago nonprofits to help more low-income Chicagoans access their checks. Under the current delivery model, many of the lowest-income Americans won’t receive a check without first taking action: Those with incomes under a certain threshold need to fill out an online form to get their checks, and those who don’t have a permanent address or internet access face additional challenges, since the IRS doesn’t accept paper forms. Individuals without a bank account will also be the last to receive payment, as they wait for paper checks to be mailed. 

Five nonprofits have rallied to address this issue. Ladder Up, Heartland Alliance, the Economic Awareness Council, New America, and Woodstock Institute have created a website, GetMyPaymentIL.org, to help more low-income Illinoisans get their stimulus checks safely. The website features clear, easy-to-access info on eligibility, access to safe and affordable bank accounts for unbanked people through BankOn, and answers to questions about how the payment will impact benefits. The Get My Payment IL Coalition is now working with other local nonprofits to develop solutions for people without computers or permanent addresses. For more information on the project, email outreach@getmypaymentil.org. 

We’d love to learn more about how your community is continuing to adapt to the pandemic. If you have stories to share, please email passen@newamerica.org.