Save the date! Seattle COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund for Immigrants open for applications 10/15

The City of Seattle will launch the $7.94 million Seattle COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund for Immigrants, its newest program to help vulnerable residents who have been both financially impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and purposely excluded by the federal government.

We wanted to make sure you knew all the important details in advance, shown below:

• The application will only be available as an online form, and 20 organizations will be available to help applicants over the phone and in-language.
• The online application will be available in seven languages other than English: Amharic, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Somali, Spanish, Tagalog/Filipino, and Vietnamese.
• The relief fund is open to immigrants who:

• • Live in OR attend school in OR work within the Seattle city boundaries, AND
  • Meet income eligibility requirements, AND
  • Were ineligible for federal CARES Act Economic Impact Payments (also known as a “coronavirus stimulus check”).

• The review process is NOT first-come, first-served. To support those with the most need, the program is prioritizing applicants based on a set of vulnerability criteria.
• Each eligible adult applicant filing for themselves is able to receive a one-time payment of $1,000.
• Applicants with children are eligible to receive a one-time payment of up to $3,000.
• The application open period will be from Thursday, October 15, 2020 to November 5, 2020 (three weeks).

We’re sharing this information with community and government partners and allies now, and on October 15, OIRA will launch a multi-lingual campaign utilizing ethnic media, social media, and community-based organization partners for outreach. So, please stay tuned!

Feel free to forward this email and/or this link (https://welcoming.seattle.gov/comingsoon-seattlecovidfund) to people in your community who work with undocumented and other vulnerable immigrants.

Katherine M.L. Cortes (she/her)

Finance & Operations Manager

Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs

Seattle Municipal Tower Suite 1616

PO Box 94573, Seattle WA 98124

OIRA staff are working from home as possible per City guidelines re: coronavirus (COVID-19).

Please reach me by email or my cell phone, C: (206) 473-1712.

Get current information and recommendations on novel coronavirus at www.kingcounty.gov/covid.

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Seattle is working with community partners to ensure an informed, accurate, and safe Census 2020.
Learn more about the issues and the Regional Census Fund: www.seattlecensus.org.