"Forty-one percent of Hispanic Americans say their current household income is lower than it was at the start of the pandemic, compared with 29% of Black Americans and 25% of white Americans. And about 4 in 10 Black and Hispanic Americans have been unable to pay a bill in the last month, compared with about 2 in 10 white Americans. For people of color, the trauma experienced due to economic turmoil has been compounded by immense personal losses" (One-third of the BIPOC population in the U.S. has admitted to knowing someone close who has died from COVID). ~~ AP-NORC poll RCF Connects is on the front lines of understanding the pain and struggle that this pandemic has caused our community. In particular, BIPOC communities of Contra Costa County have been deeply impacted by COVID-19, and we are still experiencing the ongoing health and economic impacts that will have far-reaching effects on these communities for generations. This crisis has amplified inequities and the failing of nearly every safety net system from economic opportunity to healthcare to social justice to basic needs. Within this crisis, we were forced to re-imagine new ways of doing things that would not just help our communities recover, but develop more equitable and sustainable methods, processes, and systems than we ever thought possible. We, at RCF Connects, have committed to studying, recognizing, and most importantly righting the historical and current impacts of deeply racist policies, practices, and systems that have left our neighbors unprotected, swimming in a pool of inequity, and forced into a pipeline of poverty. As you will witness in this newsletter, every activity that RCF Connects and our various initiatives: Ensuring Opportunity, Healthy Richmond, SparkPoint Contra Costa, Mobility LABs, and the Richmond Housing Renovation Program, are involved in, endeavors to reverse the prevailing racist patterns and practices that created this undesired situation. We hope that you continue to support RCF Connects in righting the wrongs that have left such a large part of our population -- our neighbors -- vulnerable. We hope that you continue to be part of the solution in helping build communities that thrive! |