FILE ART- A man who works with the San Francisco Day Labor program hauls a cabinet.

SAN FRANCISCO – For the last week or more, Marcos Saul Aurora Gonzalez has been sleeping on a street corner in San Francisco.

He wasn’t always homeless. But since the Bay Area stay-at-home order shut down non-essential business, the 37-year-old from El Salvador has not been able to find steady work as a handyman or in construction. He had been staying with his girlfriend but was told to leave her place recently because she lives in a city-owned apartment, which allows only one person to live there.

“There are a lot of people like me,” Gonzalez said in Spanish through a translator.

On a recent night, he slept near six other men like himself, he said. These are men who have no jobs, no chance at a federal stimulus boost because of their immigration status, no right to collect unemployment, and now, nowhere to go.

Some of the men have found places for their wives and children to sleep, but they have taken to the streets as there isn’t enough room at their friends’ and relatives’ homes, Gonzalez said. Other families he knows are sleeping in cars. “It’s super, super cold in the morning,” he said.

The other morning, he was the only one with tortillas and one of the men asked quietly, “Can you share?” The six men sat, six feet apart, on the corner, all taking bites of his meaner breakfast. “We gathered there,” he said, “sharing our stories. Nobody has enough for rent. None of us had eaten. Everyone is worried about how they will provide for their families.”

Coronavirus quarantine is becoming catastrophic for undocumented immigrants

There are an estimated 3 million undocumented immigrants in California and last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed support for them, saying they account for 10% of California’s labor force and provide essential services in the state. He also announced a $125 million fund for undocumented immigrants, although none of the money has been distributed.

There are plenty of critics who say people like Gonzalez should not be helped because they came to the country illegally. Two conservative groups south of Newsom over giving taxpayer money to undocumented immigrants.

However, each person who has come to the United States has a personal story about immigrating and the challenge of settling here.

In Gonzalez’s case, he fled here about two years ago, escaping MS-13 gangs who had already shot him and vowed to kill him, he said. He has an attorney who is helping him stay in this country permanently. But still, his status is undocumented.

Gonzalez is one of about 250 members of the 30-year-old San Francisco Day Labor Program and Women’s Collective, both of which fall under Dolores Street Community Services. Francisco Herrera helped found the program and is now co-director with Guillermina Castalenos. Their operating budget is roughly $800,000 a year.

One of the services the program provides is connecting undocumented workers with people who need help cleaning homes, gardening, landscaping and construction work.

Dispatchers hope that they soon get an influx of calls matching neighbors’ needs to laborers and domestic workers who are desperate to provide services and earn a paycheck as the relaxed stay-at-home order for the Bay Area now allows certain outdoor professions.

On Monday, some stay-at-home orders eased, allowing for all construction jobs and landscaping. Cleaning homes and yard work are also allowed.

Q&A: The status of California’s $125M undocumented immigrant fund

Gonzalez has not applied for any of the free hotel rooms in the city, nor has he applied for any grant money.

“I am just focused on getting a job,” he said, adding that he typically stands at 26th and Harrison streets in San Francisco, hoping to get hired for the day.

FILE ART – A member of the San Francisco Day Labor program paints a wall.

Gonzalez and his girlfriend, who is a domestic worker, would love to be hired. But they say that so far, they and their friends have been turned down because people are worried about bringing them into their homes, worried they might have coronavirus, especially since he has been sleeping on the streets.

While he is not experiencing any symptoms now, Gonzalez said he, too, is “very afraid of getting sick. I am very, very vulnerable.”

Herrera said that’s why his program has been pushing to get Gonzalez and San Francisco’s other 8,200 homeless people into hotel rooms in the city, and he’s frustrated with why it’s been taking so long. Herrera also said that per Cal-OSHA guidelines, employers must provide the proper personal protective equipment and sanitizers to workers to keep everyone safe. Laborers in the program are also trained in proper COVID-19 social distancing and procedure, Herrera said.

Newsom: California unemployment hours extended; $125M fund for undocumented immigrants

Gonzalez described his situation as pretty dire.

“I’m at the edge,” he said. “If I don’t get a job soon, I don’t even want to think about the situation I will be in.”

Still, despite his life now on the streets, Gonzalez said it’s still better here than in El Salvador.

“I’m hungry. I have no place to sleep. But it’s still better here,” he said. “At least I’m not afraid I’ll be killed or tortured. The level of violence there is not to be believed.”

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED: In hiring a worker from the San Francisco Day Labor Program and Women’s Collective call 415-252-5375. More information about the programs can be found here. You can also donate to Fighting for our Workers (or any of the groups listed below.) You can also email Louis Legowsky at the program at sfdlp@3358@gmail.com.

FILE ART – Domestic workers clean homes as part of San Francisco’s Women’s Collective.

BAY AREA FUNDS TO HELP THE UNDOCUMENTED

Fighting for our Workers (This is the fund that would go directly to Marcos Saul Aurora Gonzalez. You can specify which worker you’d like to honor.)

East Oakland DREAMers

StimulusPledge.org

OURFund Oakland

Undocufund-sf.org

Mission Families Relief Fund

Dolores Street Community Services

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@foxtv.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez

The post Immigrants with out work discover themselves sleeping on San Francisco streets appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SACRAMENTO (AP) – California will soon pay healthcare bills for low-income people aged 50 and over living in the country illegally, part of an expansion by Medicaid aimed at bringing the nation’s most populous state to the goal of Democrats Safe Everyone health insurance.

The new coverage will eventually cost taxpayers about $ 1.3 billion a year, money that is part of the new state budget that Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislatures unveiled on Friday evening. The budget is due to be voted on Monday in the state legislature, with Newsom likely to sign it before the state’s fiscal year begins on Thursday.

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Dr. Carlos Ruvalcaba, left, examines the patient Paula Medrano, an undocumented immigrant, in the Clinica Sierra Vista Elm in Fresno in a file photo from March 2010. (AP photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez)

California has spent a lot of money making sure everyone has health insurance. The state spends millions each year helping people pay their monthly insurance premiums, and the only state offers subsidies for families of four who earn up to $ 157,200 a year. California also taxes people who refuse to get health insurance.

However, according to UC Berkeley Labor Center, about 3.2 million people in the state are projected to be out of health insurance next year. Almost half of these people live in the country illegally, which means they are not eligible for full Medicaid benefits and other health insurance assistance programs.

Proponents have been pushing for years that all low-income immigrants should be eligible for Medicaid. But the Newsom government has resisted the cost – an estimated $ 2.4 billion a year according to a legal analysis – and instead opted for a phased approach.

Still, the inclusion of benefits for immigrants over 50 was a victory for some health care advocates whose efforts were hampered last year due to a budget deficit projected by the pandemic.

“I have dedicated my whole life to growing vegetables and fruits in the Coachella Valley. I am old and can no longer work in the fields. It’s time for California to think about the health of people like me who gave everything without getting anything, ”said Josefa Barragán, a member of TODEC, an immigrant advocacy group in California’s Inland Empire and Coachella Valley.

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The budget proposal also makes more elderly people eligible for Medicaid by abolishing the “wealth test”. In general, people on low incomes are eligible for Medicaid. But for people 65 and over, having a low income is not enough. You are also not allowed to have assets of more than $ 2,000 per month for individuals and $ 3,000 per month for couples.

Assets exclude homes and second cars, but include things like cash in checking and savings accounts and some jewelry, excluding wedding or engagement rings and heirlooms. Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, called the wealth test “an antiquated policy that resulted in seniors and people with disabilities losing their health insurance when they have savings – even a modest amount for housing or an emergency.”

The elimination of the wealth test will add an additional 17,802 people to the state’s Medicaid program in 2020, according to an analysis by the Department of Health, which costs about $ 220 million a year.

The budget proposal is an agreement between Newsom and the state’s top two legislative leaders – Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Speaker of Parliament Anthony Rendon. All three are Democrats with large majorities in both chambers of the legislature.

The proposal equates to $ 262.6 billion in government spending, including the record reserves of $ 25.2 billion. However, it is not a final budget agreement between the three parties as some important details have not yet been finalized. Legislators are still negotiating with Newsom on details of a rate hike for childcare providers and how to spend $ 4 billion fighting forest fires and the drought.

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The post New State Funds Boosts Well being Take care of Older Immigrants – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

FILE ART – A man working with the San Francisco Day Labor program hauls a cabinet.

SAN FRANCISCO – – Marcos Saul Aurora Gonzalez has slept on a street corner in San Francisco for the past week or more.

He wasn’t always homeless. But since the Bay Area stay-at-home order stopped the non-essential business, the 37-year-old from El Salvador has not been able to find steady work as a craftsman or in construction. He was living with his girlfriend but was recently asked to leave her place because she lives in a city apartment that can only accommodate one person.

“There are a lot of people like me,” Gonzalez said in Spanish through a translator.

He slept like himself with six other men one last night, he said. These are men who are out of work, have no chance of a federal incentive due to their immigration status, have no right to collect unemployment, and now have nowhere to go.

Some of the men have found places for their wives and children to sleep, but they have taken to the streets because there is not enough space in their friends and relatives’ homes, Gonzalez said. Other families he knows sleep in cars. “It’s super, super cold in the morning,” he said.

The next morning he was the only one with tortillas and one of the men asked quietly, “Can you share?” The six men sat in the corner six feet apart, taking every bite from his meager breakfast. “We gathered there,” he said, “and shared our stories. Nobody has enough to rent. Neither of us has eaten. Everyone is concerned about how they will look after their families.”

The coronavirus quarantine will be catastrophic for undocumented immigrants

There are an estimated 3 million undocumented immigrants in California. Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his support for them, stating that they make up 10% of the California workforce and provide essential services in the state. He also announced a $ 125 million fund for undocumented immigrants, although no money was distributed.

There are many critics who say people like Gonzalez should not be helped because they came into the country illegally. Two conservative groups sued Newsom for giving taxpayers’ money to undocumented immigrants.

However, everyone who has come to the United States has a personal story about immigration and the challenge of settling here.

In Gonzalez’s case, he fled here about two years ago and escaped the MS-13 gangs who had already shot him and vowed to kill him, he said. He has a lawyer to help him stay in this country permanently. Even so, its status is not documented.

Gonzalez is one of approximately 250 members of the 30-year San Francisco Day Labor Program and Women’s Collective, both of which fall under Dolores Street Community Services. Francisco Herrera helped found the program and is now co-director of Guillermina Castallenos. Your operating budget is around $ 800,000 per year.

One of the services of the program is to connect undocumented workers with people in need of help with house cleaning, gardening, landscaping, and construction work.

Dispatchers hope they will soon receive an influx of calls to meet the needs of the neighbors, to blue-collar and domestic workers desperate to provide service and earn a paycheck, as the relaxed ordering now dictated what to do in the Bay Area Outdoor professions made possible.

On Monday, some orders for the stay at home were relaxed so that all construction and landscaping work was possible. Cleaning houses and gardening is also permitted.

Questions and Answers: The Status of the California Undocumented Immigration Fund of $ 125 million

Gonzalez has not applied for one of the free hotel rooms in town, nor has he applied for a scholarship.

“I’m just focused on getting a job,” he said, adding that he’s usually located on 26th and Harrison Streets in San Francisco, hoping to be hired for the day.

FILE ART – A member of the San Francisco Day Labor program paints a wall.

Gonzalez and his girlfriend, who is a domestic worker, would like to be hired. But they say that so far she and her friends have been turned down because people are worried about taking her to their homes fearing they could have coronavirus, especially since he slept on the street.

While he has no symptoms now, Gonzalez said that he, too, is “very afraid of getting sick. I am very, very vulnerable.”

Herrera said that’s why his program pushed Gonzalez and San Francisco’s other 8,200 homeless people to hotel rooms in the city and he’s frustrated with why it took so long. Herrera also said that as per Cal-OSHA guidelines, employers must provide workers with the correct personal protective equipment and disinfectants to keep everyone safe. The program’s workers are also trained in proper social distancing and how to deal with COVID-19, Herrera said.

Newsom: California Unemployment Period Extended; $ 125 million Undocumented Immigrant Fund

Gonzalez described his situation as pretty dire.

“I’m on the verge,” he said. “If I don’t get a job soon, I don’t even want to think about the situation I’m going to find myself in.”

Despite his life on the streets, Gonzalez said it was still better here than El Salvador.

“I’m hungry. I have no place to sleep. But it’s still better here,” he said. “At least I’m not afraid of being killed or tortured. The level of violence there is hard to believe.”

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED: If hiring a worker from the San Francisco Day Labor Program and Women’s Collective, call 415-252-5375. Further information on the programs can be found here. You can also donate to Fighting for our Workers (or one of the groups listed below). You can also email Louis Legowsky to the program at sfdlp @ 3358 @ gmail.com.

FILE ART – Domestic workers clean their homes as part of the San Francisco Women’s Collective.

BAY AREA FUNDS TO HELP THE UNGENATED

Fight for our workers (This is the fund that goes directly to Marcos Saul Aurora Gonzalez. You can indicate which worker you want to honor.)

East Oakland DREAMERS

StimulusPledge.org

OUR Fund Oakland

Undocufund-sf.org

Aid Fund for Mission Families

Dolores Street Community Services

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@foxtv.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez

The post Immigrants with out work discover themselves sleeping on San Francisco streets appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.