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You can make a difference during COVID-19:

The novel coronavirus has changed much about the way we ALL live and work, but the impact on Maine’s immigrant community has been disproportionate and devastating.  People of Color comprise less than 2% of the Maine population, yet immigrants and BIPOC Mainers remain at very high risk. According to the CDC, 1 out of every 3 hospitalized patients nationwide is African-American.

 

The COVID-19 crisis has left many in the immigrant community vulnerable to job loss, substantial reductions in income, and homelessness due to layoffs or the forced closure of immigrant businesses. Misinformation about the virus and appropriate safety measures is common.

You can support ProsperityME's Coronavirus relief efforts right here in Maine.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

 

You CAN help our immigrant neighbors survive this crisis with their dreams intact: When you donate to ProsperityME, you directly support our emergency programming and ensure that our community is poised to help our state rebuild the economy.

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  • DONATE to support ProsperityME and our emergency programs.

  • GIVE to the SIT program and help more immigrants secure apartments and safely "shelter-in-place."

  • JOIN the Prosperity Circle: your recurring monthly gift adds up to continuing support for our programs and community.

ISSUES FACING IMMIGRANTS:

 

  • Continuing to work in an “essential job” and putting the entire community at risk.

  • Contracting the virus and unknowingly spreading it to others in the community.

  • Falling seriously ill, accumulating medical debt and/or dying, and leaving entire families without needed income.

  • Experiencing layoffs or furloughs and struggling to access unemployment due to limited English skills or technology access.

  • Extended forced closures of immigrant business, resulting in permanent closures and bankruptcies.

  • Ineligibility for financial relief due to immigration status.

  • Homelessness, risk of eviction, foreclosure, and general housing instability preventing many from securely “sheltering-in-place.”

 

WHAT WE ARE DOING TO HELP:

 

  • Helping immigrants who have been furloughed or laid off during the crisis surmount language and technology barriers and access unemployment payments.

  • Helping immigrant entrepreneurs and business owners access federal loans thought the SBA such as the Paycheck Protection Program to support their business though periods of economic distress.

  • Temporarily waive classroom requirements for SIT loan applicants to help even more immigrants to “shelter-in-place” safely.We have already doubled our initial service goals for 2020.

  • Working in concert with immigrant organizations such as the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, Mano en Mano, Catholic Charities and the Department of Labor to advocate on behalf of the immigrant community.

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To easily share information within the immigrant community, we created these printable flyers and a resource guide to help you prevent viral spread and to protect you and your family. 

 

Download Our Safety Flyers

OTHER WAYS TO HELP:

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Donate food, money or time to one of these other amazing organizations standing up for immigrants and economically disadvantaged people:

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