Community organization seeks to help 5,000 students in South and East Los Angeles during the crisis
Yesenia Velez, 18, is a senior at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, and until the beginning of the year was still making plans to attend her graduation party.
Closing the 2020 class cycle and making way to start college were some of his dreams. However, they have been cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesenia has five siblings and her father is the sole provider of the home. After the pandemic, he has been unemployed and due to the lack of legal immigration status in the country, they cannot obtain help from the government such as the federal stimulus check.
The family of eight has been in financial straits, which has affected Yesenia and her siblings academically. Her two older sisters, who attend school, also found themselves in a need to return home after their classes were canceled.
"From school, they lent me a computer with a hotspot (a device to get the Internet)," said Yesenia, who is an outstanding student and currently takes two advanced classes (AP).
"But it is difficult because my brothers also want to use the Internet and when using my hotspot it becomes slower."
Although on the one hand they appreciate being able to keep the family together and safe from the spread of the coronavirus; It is also difficult as Yesenia and her five siblings attempt — sometimes unsuccessfully — to complete their studies online with limited internet access and in a one-bedroom home.
"The truth is that we are all falling behind and it is not fair," said the young woman.
Changing the narrative
Daniela Hernández, director of organization InnerCity Struggle, said that due to the high need for low-income students to access these devices, they began a campaign to raise at least $ 400,000 to support the necessary technology.
"We have a goal of helping 5,000 students in East and South Los Angeles with the help of our fellow Brotherhood Crusade and Community Coalition," he explained.
Additionally, the Weingart Foundation awarded $ 100,000 to these organizations to bring food aid, and technology needed during the pandemic.
Yesenia's situation is no stranger to what is lived in these communities since it is common to see students who have to share a computer with several family members and sometimes with slow Internet service, Hernández said.
The organizer said that due to the change in the teaching mode – which happened overnight – it was difficult to adequately confront the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
"Unfortunately we were not prepared for something the size of a pandemic," said Hernandez.
"So it takes a while and as the students we meet hope to continue their learning, we are trying to give them those devices."
The same participating organizations are in charge of identifying the students with the most needs to deliver this necessary material.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Yesenia said that the family could not afford to have the Internet or a computer at home. When schools closed, LAUSD loaned their two younger siblings tablets but without the Internet.
This weakened the hotspot Yesenia received as several accounts try to access the device.
Hernández said that they have already raised more than half of what it costs to buy the devices and that is why this week they began to distribute them. Among the first to receive her laptop was Yesenia and one of her younger sisters.
“Right now we are still raising funds. We are a short distance from achieving the goal and we are so eager to help, ”said Hernández.
Aurea Montes-Rodríguez, executive vice president of Community Coalition, said that the current global crisis has exposed deep existing inequities in the educational system with devastating impacts for the neediest students.
"Community Coalition is honored to join forces with the Brotherhood Crusade and InnnerCity Struggle to fight the digital divide and address the learning needs of our students," he explained in a statement.
“We are grateful that in the future, students can connect with their teachers, counselors, peers, and social justice organizations. When we unite, we win! ”
