Two Weeks Left to Apply for the Housing for the Harvest Program

Sacramento CA

21 April, 2022

6:55 PM

Description

La Familia Counseling Center (La Familia) has taken a lead role in supporting essential workers, including farmworkers, food processing workers, and food vendors, who have been, and continue to be, deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with their program Cosecha Sana, also known as Housing for the Harvest. The state portion of this program will be expiring at the end of April, with only limited county funds available moving forward. Cosecha Sana is the state framework that provides financial, meal assistance and other supportive services to farm and food processing workers in need, due to the negative impacts of COVID-19 on their work and family life. "La Familia understands the important role that farmworkers and food processing workers play in our community and we are eager to continue to support them so they can do the work needed to put food on all of our tables," said Rachel Rios, La Familia's Executive Director. "We are proud to have had the opportunity to work with the State, the County and our community partners to keep our food system stable." Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that Latino workers employed in the agriculture sector experienced a substantially higher prevalence of COVID-19, accounting for nearly 1 million cases in December 2021. These workers were considered 'essential' during the pandemic and as a result, were at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19 due to, among other things, having limited access to healthcare and the inability to socially distance while working. "Since the program's inception in 2020, more than 570 people have benefited from Cosecha Sana in and around Sacramento County," said Rios. "Our work with Cosecha Sana helped slow the spread of COVID-19 and protected our community's food supply during the pandemic." La Familia Counseling Center hopes to reach more individuals that are in need of support, but are unaware of the resources available to them, and encourage them to apply no later than April 30, 2022. There are thousands of dollars still available to assist those essential workers who were most severely impacted by COVID-19. Eligible individuals who require these services within Sacramento County must call 916-720-8434 for prompt assistance. If they live in areas outside of the county, they can find their local program administrator by visiting https://bit.ly/37tr3Ar. For more information, visit https://lafcc.org/. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.