Imagine LA’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Original post March 31, 2020
First update April 14, 2020
Second update May 22, 2020
Third update June 22, 2020
As our community faces unprecedented circumstances, Imagine LA’s work supporting families to maintain stability and thrive is even more essential. Over the past 12 years, we have helped to change the life trajectories of hundreds of families in L.A. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, our families find themselves in an increasingly vulnerable position. Imagine LA has a responsibility to ensure that our families stay in their homes, survive the pandemic, and emerge from this period on solid footing and prepared for the future.
The Impact on Families
The families we serve have all recently experienced homelessness and are in the process of building their economic foundation. They are navigating having their children at home as schools and daycare centers are closed. Many have had their employment terminated or work hours drastically reduced, resulting in serious financial challenges. Others continue to work “essential” jobs, putting themselves and their families at risk of contracting the disease as they simply cannot afford to miss work. For those parents who are single, the challenge of working and ensuring safe care of their children is tremendous.
Our primarily concern is that families could lose the precious ground they have worked so hard to gain, whether in the realm of their housing, finances, health, career/education, relationships, social connections, or family stability. Many of the families we serve were already just one or two missed rent payments or emergency expenses away from falling back into homelessness prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are here to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Supporting Family Stability during COVID-19
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have adapted to serve our families in new ways that allow us to practice physical distancing while maintaining social connection. Our business operations have moved to virtual platforms, our office staff is working remotely, and Imagine LA is fully mobilized and proactively working with our current families, alumni families, and mentors to navigate the economic, health, social, distance learning, and psychological impacts of COVID-19 with the “Safer at Home” edicts.
Each of our families is now learning how to navigate the new “Safer at Home” paradigm. Our Case Workers report stories of their stresses having their children at home, coping with work from home, being laid off and struggling with unemployment, and more. Imagine LA’s staff and mentors are in regular contact by phone, text, and video chat, providing compassion, resources, and advice. For those rare circumstances that require meeting in-person, our Case Managers are fully equipped with medical-grade personal protective equipment (e.g., masks, gloves, gown) for use when they visit the families’ homes.
We are utilizing and fundraising to grow our Family Emergency & Investment Fund (FEIF) to help both current and alumni families stay ahead of the financial fallout of COVID-19. This fund provides financial relief in the event of short-term needs, such as illness, a missed rent or utilities payment, food and medicine, technology needs, or support to set their children up for distance learning. In response to COVID-19, we raised the spending limit from $1,000 to $3,000 per family and broadened eligibility to include alumni and current participants. We will continue to assess how to use this tool effectively and efficiently as the economic shutdown evolves.
To support our families’ children while schools are closed, our staff and volunteers provide assistance to set children up for online learning. And – importantly – our youths’ mentors provide another trusted adult voice and shoulder to lean on as families navigate the stress of having everyone at home.
Prior to COVID-19, we had recently launched a new Workforce Development Pathways with Childcare and Enhanced Financial Wellness initiative. The initiative is designed to help our families start or continue stable careers by creating streamlined pathways to living wage jobs with childcare while building families’ financial literacy to sustain those trajectories. While the work on some of the workforce development pathways – such as the hospitality industry – has been paused due to COVID-19, we are now focusing on three pathways in which remote training – and in some cases, essential work – is possible. These include Health Services, Logistics, and Childcare and Early Childhood Education. Our partnerships with leading organizations in these sectors are strong and promising, and our work continues with a shared sense of urgency.
Mobilizing the Community
This crisis – not unlike others before it – has brought people together in new and innovative ways. Similarly, given the social distancing required during this public health crisis, Imagine LA has discovered exciting and effective ways to mobilize individuals and groups to serve those experiencing a season of need.
We are actively mobilizing the community to help and collaborating with other organizations serving at-risk families and with faith communities across L.A. County, sharing resources and best practices. In coordination with L.A. County Department of Health Services, LAHSA, and Mayor Garcetti’s office, we have helped bring together over 72 community and faith organizations to create more homeless shelters on their properties. A key recent win was developing a COVID-19 best practices guide for families under the direction of DHS Housing for Health. This document is being distributed to all agencies working with families experiencing homelessness or families that have moved into housing within our community. Beyond providing links to resources, it includes ways to help structure and navigate the challenges of having children at home.
We have moved all volunteer mentor recruitment, screening, and training activities online and have been inspired to see people signing up in droves. Every week, we are virtually matching more mentors with their mentees. We have also mobilized volunteers through faith communities, schools, and neighborhoods to create Family Fun & Care Packages for Imagine LA families, which we distribute during our biweekly Family Grab & Go Distributions or deliver to families lacking transportation. For information about how to get your community involved, contact brian@imaginela.org.
Finally, we are addressing the fiscal impact of COVID-19 on our organization. We have already applied for and received CARES Act Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding. We have eliminated all unessential expenses and are actively executing strategies to preserve and strengthen individual and foundation giving, which composes a significant portion of annual revenue. Thus far, our horizon looks stable, and we will continue to strengthen and develop new fundraising strategies as needed.
By supporting families with resources to help them to stay in their homes and maintain their basic needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will ensure that children are able to continue to grow and learn and that families do not lose the precious ground they have gained through their hard work alongside their Imagine LA case manager and mentors. And by creating pathways to stable, living-wage jobs with accessible childcare and enhanced financial wellness, we will help the resilient families we serve to emerge from this crisis even stronger and better equipped than before.
For individuals, companies, and foundations seeking to make a tangible difference for families at this time, we encourage you to visit our Family Emergency and Investment Fund page to contribute. Your donation will ensure that everyone Imagine LA family stays housed and has the support and resources to thrive during these trying time. All donations will directly support the FEIF and our Family Empowerment & Mentorship Program, which oversees the FEIF. We are also seeking general operating funds to support with staffing costs, administration, and more. Please contact me directly at jill@imaginela.org or 310-890-5536 to discuss.
On behalf of the team at Imagine LA, as well as our Board, our families, and our mentors, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
