Over seven years, Sin Barreras has become one of Central Virginia’s preeminent Hispanic non-governmental organizations. We have benefitted from the generosity of the Unitarian Universalists of Charlottesville for three years, and having this support come from concerned-citizen donors means as much to us as the actual financial support. None of us can do this work alone and we greatly appreciate your partnering with us in the work of caring for our neighbors.
Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on our Hispanics community. At least 22% of Charlottesville-area Hispanics have been infected with Covid-19, four times the percentage of its censused population. “Although Latinos make up just 10% of Virginia’s population, current data suggest that they account for 45% of cases, [and] 35% of hospitalization.”
Equally troubling, our non-censused Hispanic population remains nearly invisible. A Sin Barreras study suggests there are over 2,000 undocumented families in our area who received zero benefits under the CARES act available to other Covid-affected populations while being more subject to Covid-19’s effects.
As a result, the Charlottesville Hispanic community—and Sin Barreras with it—have been grievously impacted. While routine requests for help have dropped greatly during the Covid months of 2020 compared to last year, pleas for Covid assistance are up 260% . Sin Barreras now is mostly focused on helping families meet needs for food and shelter.
Embarking on a concerted effort to address these emergencies, Sin Barreras has successfully attracted various new donors to serve 889 families to date. These activities were/are being carried out with hundreds hours of staff time with almost no support to cover implementation costs.
All of this takes tremendous time and energy, and your donations from UU Charlottesville address a key need most other donors do not. Your donations help defray administration costs, supporting staff who plan, organize, and carry out these many activities. Your support through the Social Action Collection helps Sin Barreras deliver these benefits to our Hispanic neighbors. We thank you for your kind and generous support over the years, and if you want to become more involved, we would love to talk to you.
Learn more about the UU Charlottesville Social Action Collection.