UWNYC opens Emergency Assistance and Community Needs (EACN) Fund to support Community Based Organizations working with newly arrived Asylum Seekers.

New York City, October 4, 2022— Throughout the Summer of 2022, buses from the states of Texas and Arizona began arriving in New York City carrying thousands of asylum seekers seeking safe-haven and shelter here in the United States.

Currently, it is estimated that 16,000 asylum seekers landed in this city with tens of thousands more anticipated to arrive over the coming months, each in need of the most basic necessities like food, shelter, clothing, and more. Seventy-five percent of these folks are entering the City’s shelter system and 30% of them are families. The percentage of arriving families is expected to rise.

Though their arrival was unexpected, the City quickly convened trusted partners like United Way of New York City (UWNYC) to help meet the needs of these newcomers with programs like Project Open Arms, which helps provide educational support to thousands of asylum seeker children and their families.

As nonprofits and community-based organizations across New York quickly work together to help the new arrivals establish themselves in their new city home, UWNYC is working closely with them to help bridge gaps in funding and resources. Working closely with the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) to get Lyft tickets to help transport asylum seekers to family members across the region and beyond was a helpful start. Over the course of the year, UWNYC will also direct funding to pantries and soup kitchens in communities throughout the city, as emergency food providers continue to address higher demand, but more needs to be done.

“When our partners asked us to help to provide support for incoming asylum seekers, we opened our United Way of New York City Emergency Assistance and Community Needs (EACN) Fund,” said Grace Bonilla, President and CEO of United Way of New York City. “Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, a dedicated and longtime partner, and No Kid Hungry New York have reached out and helped launch our fund as the first contributors ensuring that asylum seekers will have access to their most basic needs.”

“Scripture teaches us to show hospitality to strangers, and in this spirit, we are glad to support the Emergency Assistance and Community Needs Fund as the inaugural funder. Trinity Church Wall Street welcomes the asylum seekers arriving in our city and are proud to support United Way of New York City in responding to their basic needs. This is a moment to demonstrate to the world that New Yorkers welcome migrants with open arms,” said Neill Coleman, Executive Director of Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies.

“Food and shelter are basic human rights. It’s critical we support New York City’s direct services organizations to ensure the newly arrived families and children have access to these fundamental resources,” said Rachel Sabella, Director of No Kid Hungry New York, a campaign by Share Our Strength. “We’re inspired by the solidarity of New Yorkers and couldn’t think of better partners than United Way of New York City and its network to mobilize an agile response to deliver this much needed aid.”

The EACN Fund was designed to meet emergency situations that arise in New York City and allow UWNYC to provide grants to organizations at the community level to ensure that they have the resources they need to effectively serve their clients.

The first round of funding has been dispersed to four direct service community organizations working closely with the newly arrived asylum seekers. “We worked closely with the New York Immigration Coalition who helped us to select four community-based organizations that were working closely with asylum seekers. Together, we were able to assess the most urgent needs of Team TLC NYC (an affiliate of Grannies Respond), Artists-Athletes-Activists, Gambian Youth Organization, and El Puente to disperse funds to help them take care of these newest New Yorkers in a dignified way,” said Bonilla. “But there is still work to be done.”

“For 35 years, the New York Immigration Coalition has led the fight for immigrant rights across the state, ensuring that every New Yorker has the opportunity to thrive. The recent busing of asylum seekers to New York City has forced our members and ourselves into emergency footing — whether it’s to greet our newest arrivals at the Port Authority or to rapidly connect them to the resources and services they need. It’s been a monumental feat that couldn’t be accomplished without our members, volunteers, partners, and allies like Artists-Athletes-Activists, Team TLC NYC, the Gambian Youth Organization, and El Puente. We thank United Way of New York City for their generous support and partnership to ensure that organizations like ours can continue to welcome asylum seekers and all immigrants with compassion, dignity, and respect,” said Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition. 

“Team TLC NYC and its parent organization, Grannies Respond, Inc., are honored and overjoyed to accept this grant. TLC and its partner organization, Artists-Athletes-Activists, have been working around the clock, without any public funding, to assist newly arrived asylum seekers on a shoestring budget funded solely by donor dollars and even the bank accounts and credit cards of its volunteers. With this support from UWNYC, we can forge ahead in our mission to reunite families and help asylum seekers make a new life here in the greatest city in the world,” said Ilze Thielman, Director of Team TLC NYC, Grannies Respond, Inc.

“New York City is and will always be a welcoming city. Our organization, Artists-Athletes-Activists, has been working around the clock on the front lines to make sure that all asylum seekers and migrants arriving to our City are treated with compassion, dignity, and respect. We are humbled and excited to be working alongside amazing organizations like United Way of New York City, the New York Immigration Coalition, and Team TLC to ensure that we can continue to receive our newest New Yorkers. We are grateful to be recognized for this grant that will allow us to continue supporting new arrivals,” said Power Malu, Director, Artists-Athletes-Activists.

“The New York City community stands strong with open arms welcoming families into its city. All asylum seekers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. All asylum seekers certainly deserve the right to language access, food, clothes, and a sustainable place to live. We are truly excited for our new partnership with the United Way of New York City, which will allow us to continue our work of responding to the urgent needs of asylum seekers,” said Salim Drammeh, President of the Gambian Youth Organization (GYO)

“For over 40 years El Puente has been committed to the human rights and dignity of all people, regardless of their status.  We will never back down from the challenge to serve those in need, such as these migrant families seeking our assistance, care, and guidance.” said Marco A. Carrión, Executive Director of El Puente.  “I wish to thank the United Way of New York City for being our partner in this effort.  Their Emergency Assistance and Community Needs Fund is a much-needed resource for frontline organizations.”

The Emergency Assistance and Community Assistance Fund continues to grow and accept funders, as UWNYC works closely with partners to identify additional organizations working to meet the urgent needs of incoming asylum seekers.

“United Way of New York City stands at-the-ready for situations like this,” said Grace Bonilla. “For nearly 85 years, we have been helping New York City through some of its toughest emergencies like September 11th, Hurricane Sandy, and Covid-19. We’re here to help take care of our city, including our newest residents.”

To learn more about the UWNYC EACN Fund or to contribute, please click here.

 

About United Way of New York City

For nearly 85 years, United Way of New York City (UWNYC) has been fighting for the self-sufficiency of every low-income New Yorker by taking on the toughest challenges and creating new solutions to old problems. We win by helping families shift from barely surviving to thriving. We unite by mobilizing the best ideas, relevant data, internal and external experts, and resources. UWNYC maximizes impact by coordinating and aligning organizations, companies, local government, and New Yorkers to help families eliminate tough choices and live better while making ends meet. To learn more, visit United Way of New York City’s website.