Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Situation Dire for Displaced Essential Workers and Their Families

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) said Sunday that Latino wildfire victims in Washington State are in urgent need of state and federal assistance including help in Spanish and that the disaster aid should be made available irrespective of their immigration status. LULAC has launched the Wildfires Relief Fund, the largest non-governmental Latino aid effort to date for victims of the worst fire disasters in years across the West. “Families have lost everything and the trauma is palpable,” says Diana Perez, LULAC State Director for Washington. “We are doing all we can ourselves to provide food and temporary shelter but the scope of the need is beyond what we can do alone. The breadwinners for many of these families are essential workers and they deserve our gratitude and assistance. This is one of the worst fire disasters to strike the Western United States and it’s going to take other people helping all across the country for us to recover. The Wildfires Relief Fund is an opportunity for Latinos to rise up and help our own by donating to their recovery efforts. One-hundred percent of the funds will go directly to affected families to help them through this difficult time,” she added. Specific needs outlined include:

* Housing: FEMA to provide mobile homes for those who lost their homes. A long-term plan to work with local groups and businesses to help rebuild and replace the homes that were lost.

* Nutrition: Living needs include clean running water, proper nutritional foods and electricity for heating, cooking, lights.

* Wi-Fi so children can be connected to their educational systems and not lose out on learning.

“This is a humanitarian crisis,” said Domingo Garcia, LULAC National President. “These families can’t wait. They need help now in the form of temporary housing like trailers, food vouchers, and clothing. As importantly, they need psychological medical services for adults and children traumatized by what they’ve been through. Some people escaped with only what they were wearing, others lost even their cars and ran out with their children. Now, they are on the street literally and we as a country have a duty to help our nation’s essential workers,” added Garcia. In Brewster, Washington, 238 agricultural laborers here on the H2A program were reportedly left at a city park for two days by their employer after fires forced work to stop. The community delivered food and blankets to the abandoned workers until the employer returned to take the workers back to their contract site despite a lack of water and electricity. LULAC demands having rules in place to protect farmworkers and that hold employers accountable.

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About LULAC The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.lulac.org