Dear Volta Families,
ICIRR's Covid-19 Immigrant Family Support Project
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is awarding $1000 to Illinois immigrant families on a lottery basis. Please share with your families who potentially qualify. More information can be found here: https://www.icirr.org/covidil . Eligible families must have the following 6 requirements. They are immigrants who:
- Cannot receive any federal stimulus, unemployment insurance, or public benefits (such as Medicaid, SNAP or food stamps, and TANF, for you, not your children).
- Live in Illinois.
- Have had a drop in income because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
- Household income must be below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (we will calculate this for you based on your information).
- Are 18 years old or older. Exception: If you are 17 years old or younger, you qualify if you are NOT listed as a dependent on someone else’s (usually a parent’s) most recent tax filing.
- Have not already received funds from the COVID-19 Immigrant Family Support Program/ Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) or the Chicago Resiliency Fund/The Resurrection Project.
Remote Learning Tools from SEL Chicago
SEL Chicago has created a tool kit for parents and guardians - called Authoritative Approaches - to help them support and engage with their students in remote learning spaces. They can sign up for Authoritative Approaches here, but I have also included their PDF to this email.
Chicago Connected - Free Internet for Eligible Families
During some of our initial school meetings this year, some schools had expressed frustration with Chicago Connected, especially around eligibility. I recently spoke with representatives on digital inclusion from the city and from Kids First Chicago. Chicago Connected is continuing to expand their eligibility parameters, so families who believe that they were ineligible should check again. Additionally, outstanding debt on account with RCN or Comcast should not preclude families from participating in Chicago Connected. However, families should not contact RCN or Comcast's 1-800 numbers but call through a line specifically devoted to the Chicago Connected program.
- Comcast - (844) 963-0178
- RCN - (312) 955-2400