b"Corina Rodriguez distributing checks at the weekly food distribution.Corina Rodrguez distribuyendo cheques en la distribucin semanal de alimentos.Response to the Inequities of COVID-19 Laura and her husband live in Pescadero with four of their children. They have bothSince the beginning of April, worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years, but were unable to work duringPuente has provided$252,857the Shelter-in-Place order. Laura's husbandin direct nancial and rental is an undocumented immigrant who paysassistance through its COVID-19 taxes with an ITIN. This makes the entire family ineligible to receive CARES ActRelief Fund and has assisted a assistance, even though the rest of thetotal of277households.family are U.S. citizens. Laura and her husband each received $1,000 through Puentes COVID-19 Relief Fund. PuentePuente created its own COVID-19 Relief also provided $1,200 towards their rent.Fund, made possible by individual donors This money has helped us to continue toand foundation grants. Individuals pay other bills including gas, water, andexcluded from the CARES Act provisions electricity. This extra support has helpedwere eligible for $1,000 per adult for a relieve some of the financial pressure ourmaximum of $2,000 per household. Puente family had been feeling during this time.has provided $252,857 in direct financial We are lucky to live on the South Coast. Itand rental assistance through its COVID-19 is a place where people look out for eachRelief Fund and has assisted a total of 277 other, said Laura. households. Although millions of families have beenCorina Rodriguez, Puentes Director of impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,Community Health and Development, has Blacks and Latinos have beenbeen distributing checks to eligible disproportionately likely to experienceparticipants as they wait in line at Puentes negative consequencesparticularlyfood distribution which reaches over 250 when one member of the household is anfamilies each week. They turn down and undocumented immigrant. Undocumentedlook at the check, and some have this look immigrants and their families wereof disbelief and it was a privilege to be excluded from key relief provisions underthere in that moment, when they received the CARES Act. To address this inequity,something that they really needed. 62"