Essential immigrant workers who were excluded from all federal and state COVID financial relief due to their documentation status are now eligible to access one-time financial relief through New York State’s new Excluded Workers Fund (EWF). Undocumented immigrants who were New York residents before the pandemic and who can prove that they lost work due to the pandemic are eligible for this benefit.

The EWF, run by the NYS Department of Labor, comes after over a year of strategic advocacy by community organizations including Long Island Jobs with Justice, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the Huntington Rapid Response Network, supported in part by Episcopal Ministries of Long Island.

People eligible for the EWF must complete a detailed application proving residency, loss of income due to COVID, and inability to benefit from other state or federal stimulus packages. The application to apply is now available online and answers to questions about application process and eligibility can be found on the NYS Department of Labor website.

Community organizers who have long worked with the undocumented immigrant community are preparing to overcome the many challenges applicants may encounter while applying for the EWF including lack of support from employers and fear of submitting personal information to the government. Long Island Jobs with Justice, in partnership with local rapid response networks like the Huntington Rapid Response Network, are working closely with the many churches and faith-based organizations that are trusted by immigrant communities to raise awareness of the EWF and provide free support in completing the detailed application.

This Saturday, August 7, volunteers from St. John’s Episcopal Church and St. Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Church and other Huntington Rapid Response Network volunteers will be handing out flyers with details about the EWF outside Huntington Station supermarkets that cater to the Latinx community (Food Plaza, Community Market, and C-Town) to raise awareness of the fund to people who may be eligible to apply.

Fund applicants should not hire an attorney to complete the application or receive this benefit. Community organizers are currently recruiting local churches to be sites where eligible applicants can meet with trained volunteers to receive free support in completing their EWF application. The schedule and locations of these support sites will be announced in the coming weeks.

“This is an issue that deeply affects Long Island and we can all benefit from the positive financial impacts the Excluded Workers Fund will have in our communities and local economy. Essential and excluded workers kept us safe and the economy running throughout the pandemic. They worked to keep our hospitals, nursing homes, and grocery stores clean. Stocked grocery shelves, and prepared and delivered our food. Picked our fruits and vegetables so that we can feed our families. Took care of our children while having to leave their own at home. Workers have been systematically excluded from pandemic relief and this fund is a step in the direction of equity and justice,” says Ani Halasz, Executive Director at Jobs with Justice Long Island.

To stay updated on when local volunteers will be available to support you in completing an application for the EWF, please follow Long Island Jobs with Justice on Facebook and Episcopal Ministries of Long Island on Facebook.

###

Jobs with Justice Long Island

We are a coalition of labor unions, community organizations, congregations and faith-based organizations, and students committed to protecting the rights of working people and supporting community struggles to build a more just society locally and globally. We are committed to creating living wage jobs, supporting organizing, and demanding corporate accountability in our communities.

Huntington Rapid Response Network

United in solidarity with immigrants, Huntington Rapid Response Network (HRRN) works in Long Island neighborhoods — in partnership with Jobs-with-Justice Long Island — to help prevent unjust detention and deportation of immigrants.

Episcopal Ministries of Long Island

Episcopal Ministries of Long Island (EMLI) responds to Christ’s call to care for our neighbors as if directly for Christ, through establishing, nurturing and funding parish-based services and community partnerships which affirm the dignity of all people.