Buffalo, NY-Immigrant rights advocates, organized by the New York Immigration Coalition and local members, Justice for Migrant Families of WNY and ACCESS of WNY, based in Western New York will assist immigrant New Yorkers in applying for the Fund for Excluded Workers. These application assistance sessions come after half, $1.05 billion, of the $2.1 billion fund has been distributed. Additionally, data from the NYS Department of Labor revealed that as of September 23 about 200,000 New Yorkers have applied for the fund and that 90,000 of these applications have been approved.
“So far, 90,000 New Yorkers have applied to the Fund for Excluded Workers and nearly half of the funds are already distributed," said Meghan Maloney de Zaldivar, Director of Advocacy Upstate, New York Immigration Coalition. "But thus far, the state has not met the urgent need in Western New York. With time running out and with the pandemic still raging, it is vital that the remaining money gets to those who need it most. The New York Immigration Coalition stands ready to do its part to ensure that every excluded New Yorker gets the relief they need and deserve."
"This fund, it's the most significant benefit from the government to help immigrant people who lost their jobs when this COVID pandemic began. Most immigrants had to find out how to survive and that was a horror movie." said Gabriel, a member of Justice for Migrant Families of WNY who has applied for the fund.
On Saturday, October 2nd from 9:00 AM- 3:00 PM NYIC and our members will be out in the community tabling and doing individual outreach at the following locations:
- Justice for Migrant Families, Tops Family Market 425 Niagara St, Buffalo, NY 14201
- ACCESS of WNY, Buffalo Fresh 1018 Broadway, Buffalo, NY 14212
- Justice for Migrant Families, 16 Ellicott St, Batavia NY
- Restaurant Industry Outreach (NYIC)
The following organizations are servicing the Western New York Area for Fund for Excluded Worker Applications:
- ACCESS of WNY
- Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo (Western New York)
- Healthy Community Alliance, Inc. (Western New York)
- Justice for Migrant Families
- The Salvation Army - Buffalo Area Services
- The Salvation Army - Jamestown
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