Southeast Los Angeles County Cities Meet with Sen. Lena Gonzalez to Discuss the Urgent Need for Additional Resources in Lower-Income Communities Heavily Affected by COVID-19
Aug 4, 2020
Lower-income communities and communities of color have been disproportionality affected by COVID-19 and for cities in southeast Los Angeles County the burden has been especially difficult, with COVID-19 infection rates for many of the cities among the highest in the area.
The League’s Los Angeles Regional Division helped to organize the meeting with Regional Public Affairs Manager, Kristine Guerrero moderating parts of the discussion including testing and contact tracing; resources for low-income, Latino, people of color, and undocumented individuals; how virtual learning is impacting parents’ ability to work; and the fear of evictions.
“Families who are getting evicted, we want to see if there’s an opportunity for rent assistance because right now a lot of our residents are renters,” said City of South Gate Mayor Maria Davila. “A lot of them don’t have jobs at this point. Is there any opportunity the state can provide rental assistance?”
For now, many Californians at risk of missing rent cannot be evicted. Gov. Gavin Newsom has extended local governments’ ability to ban evictions until Sept. 30. Sen. Gonzalez gave an overview of multiple bills under consideration by the Legislature to extend that ban on evictions further. She also pointed to other available resources, such as IBank, where people can go online and apply for a loan without answering questions regarding immigration status.
City officials emphasized the other challenges that have arisen as COVID-19 extends into the school year. With schools now going virtual with online learning, cities are trying to figure out how to accommodate city workers who have children learning from home.
The City of Lakewood is currently trying to find solutions to provide families with daycare, so that parents are given the opportunity to continue working.
“Here in Lakewood we’re trying to put together a program for school age kids but we only have the capacity for 120 kids,” said City of Lakewood Mayor Thaddeus McCormack. “We’re a community of 80,000 people that’s obviously underserving the need.”
In addition, many children in this community are at risk because they are in low-income communities without access to a computer or WIFI. Laptops and connectivity are essential for students to ensure that they do not fall behind.
The Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, which took part in the meeting, talked about how a campaign they carried out to help address the technology needs in the community, raising $4 million dollars, donated devices, and WIFI hotspots for students who wouldn’t have been able to have access these resources otherwise. Areas with the most urgent needs will receive resources first to avoid the gap in learning loss.
Sen. Gonzalez wrapped up the meeting, thanking cities for the opportunity to meet virtually to discuss challenges in the community, and as a member of the Senate Subcommittee on the State’s COVID-19 Response she committed to take the discussion for further review during upcoming oversight hearings.
The League’s Los Angeles Regional Division helped to organize the meeting with Regional Public Affairs Manager, Kristine Guerrero moderating parts of the discussion including testing and contact tracing; resources for low-income, Latino, people of color, and undocumented individuals; how virtual learning is impacting parents’ ability to work; and the fear of evictions.
“Families who are getting evicted, we want to see if there’s an opportunity for rent assistance because right now a lot of our residents are renters,” said City of South Gate Mayor Maria Davila. “A lot of them don’t have jobs at this point. Is there any opportunity the state can provide rental assistance?”
For now, many Californians at risk of missing rent cannot be evicted. Gov. Gavin Newsom has extended local governments’ ability to ban evictions until Sept. 30. Sen. Gonzalez gave an overview of multiple bills under consideration by the Legislature to extend that ban on evictions further. She also pointed to other available resources, such as IBank, where people can go online and apply for a loan without answering questions regarding immigration status.
City officials emphasized the other challenges that have arisen as COVID-19 extends into the school year. With schools now going virtual with online learning, cities are trying to figure out how to accommodate city workers who have children learning from home.
The City of Lakewood is currently trying to find solutions to provide families with daycare, so that parents are given the opportunity to continue working.
“Here in Lakewood we’re trying to put together a program for school age kids but we only have the capacity for 120 kids,” said City of Lakewood Mayor Thaddeus McCormack. “We’re a community of 80,000 people that’s obviously underserving the need.”
In addition, many children in this community are at risk because they are in low-income communities without access to a computer or WIFI. Laptops and connectivity are essential for students to ensure that they do not fall behind.
The Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, which took part in the meeting, talked about how a campaign they carried out to help address the technology needs in the community, raising $4 million dollars, donated devices, and WIFI hotspots for students who wouldn’t have been able to have access these resources otherwise. Areas with the most urgent needs will receive resources first to avoid the gap in learning loss.
Sen. Gonzalez wrapped up the meeting, thanking cities for the opportunity to meet virtually to discuss challenges in the community, and as a member of the Senate Subcommittee on the State’s COVID-19 Response she committed to take the discussion for further review during upcoming oversight hearings.