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�.:. C� HARBORIt C i ' INSTITUTE p J� ` FOR IMMIGRANT & ECONOMIC JUSTICE Attn: Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, Mayor Pro Tem David Penaloza, Councilmember Thai Viet Phan, Councilmember Jessie Lopez, Councilmember Phil Bacerra, Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Councilmember Nelida Mendoza. Tuesday, July 6th, 2021 Santa Ana City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Economic Recovery for Immigrant and Refugee Working Families in Santa Ana Dear Mayor Vicente Sarmiento and Santa Ana City Council Members, On behalf of Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO), VietRISE and the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, the Orange County Mobile Home Residents Coalition, and the 9 organizations signed below, we urge you to provide $12,000,000 in direct economic stimulus assistance to Santa Ana residents, including immigrant and refugee working families most impacted by COVID-19 using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The legislative intent of the American Rescue Plan Act is to provide crucial support for families disproportionately affected by the pandemic, especially those from racial/ethnic backgrounds that have historically experienced systemic injustice. According to the state's Healthy Places Index, Santa Ana has two of the four hardest hit zip codes by COVID-19. These zip codes include many families that were living at or below the poverty line prior to the pandemic, whose systemic conditions were only made worse by the virus and its health and economic consequences. Residents reported not being able to pay rent, healthcare, bills, or groceries, or having to choose one over the other. The Orange County Healthcare Agency analysis of infection rate by zip code found that "the highest rates of cases are in lower socio-economic areas of the county, including Zip codes in most of Santa Ana and western Anaheim." Santa Ana, along with Anaheim, are home to 20 percent of the county's population but nearly half of all residents in the county who tested positive for the virus. According to the Voice of OC, "Disease experts note Santa Ana residents tend to have jobs with a higher risk of getting coronavirus, and could have gotten infected at workplaces anywhere in the county." Many Santa Ana residents who were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and tested positive for the virus were working in lower -wage jobs and jobs where they could not socially distance themselves. Many of these residents were and still remain essential workers,