COVID-19 Rapid Response Migration Fund

When organizations and shelters that provide services and support to migrants, asylum seekers and refugee populations had to close their doors due to the pandemic, we knew we needed to step in to provide immediate support. With the diligent and generous collaboration of our funders, HIP has invested to date $415,000 USD in 60 grassroots organizations throughout the U.S., Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and in countries with significant populations of people fleeing Venezuela. Grant awards ranged from $5,000 USD to $15,000 USD based on track record of service provision, scale of work, and financial need.

The impact of the pandemic on people on the move was more traumatic than anything we’ve seen before. As part of HIP’s ongoing response efforts, we gave our partner organizations the opportunity to focus on ways to provide relief and recovery for our communities. We acknowledge the significance of race, gender, climate change, language, and a human rights focus to do this work. In fact, our response was the implementation of the COVID-19 Rapid Response Migration Fund under this framework.

The COVID-19 Rapid Response Migration Fund has supported frontline migrant-serving organizations providing:

Click through on the above numbers to learn about the organizations supported by the Fund doing work in each area.

Successes:

• Organizations have reported improvements in migrants’ physical and emotional well-being as they were given health care information, sanitary supplies, assistance for food and rent and, in many cases, psychological support and opportunities to express how they were feeling. 
• Our partner organizations are giving migrants, refugees and asylum seekers the space to use their voice and contribute suggestions as to what they might be able to do to address their situation and the injustices. 
• As migrants’ perspective taking skills and emotional literacy grows, so does their ability to make decisions for themselves and be heroes for social justice. 
• We’ve also provided financial assistance to support staff of our allies to work remotely through these stressful times

We have had extremely positive feedback from partner organizations and, most importantly, from the migrants. 

HIP has learned a lot through the innovation of bringing our activities and those of our partners online. We’ve been reminded of the resilience and courage of migrants as well as the dedication of the staff of our allies and their remarkable ability to navigate this new virtual world with resilience and generosity.

The organizations have reported improvements in migrant’s physical and emotional well-being as they were given health care information, sanitary supplies, assistance for food and rent and, in many cases, psychological support and opportunities to express how they were feeling. Our partner organizations are listening to them. They are giving migrants, refugees and asylum seekers the space to use their voice and contribute suggestions as to what they might be able to do to address their situation and the injustices. Migrants know and have been able to tell us very clearly what it feels like to be excluded. As migrants’ perspective taking skills and emotional literacy grows, so does their ability to make decisions for themselves and be heroes for social justice. 

We’ve also provided financial assistance to support staff of our allies to work remotely through these stressful times. And we have helped to equip their home offices so they can continue providing services online, which has amplified their capacity to assist the migrant community and raise awareness.

We have had extremely positive feedback from partner organizations and, most importantly, from the migrants. HIP has really learned a lot through the innovation of bringing our activities and those of our partners online. We’ve learned of the resilience and courage of migrants, the dedication of the staff of our allies and their remarkable ability to navigate this new virtual world with resilience and generosity.

COVID-19 Rapid Response Migration Fund in numbers