As many of you know, gather here is owned by a Filipina-American. Filipinos make up a large percentage of the US healthcare workforce – 4% of registered nurses are of Filipino descent, which is more than double the Filipino American population! My own mother was a nurse and many of my relatives have worked in the healthcare industry - here and abroad. Approximately 2% of undocumented immigrants in the US are from the Philippines, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. A large number of undocumented Filipinos fill the gaps in the healthcare industry and provide in-home care to the US's ageing population.
The anxiety for these essential workers, who live in fear of being swept up in a raid while working in a hospital or healthcare facility or while traveling back from visiting their family in the Philippines, has been palatable in the Fil-Am community. With this in mind, we have chosen AARW (Asian American Resource Workshop) for our March WCW recipient. Since 1979, AARW has organized communities in Greater Boston to resist displacement including deportation. Under this administration they have provided accompaniment, leadership development, and collective care for individuals and their families navigating the trauma of deportation and detention.
Looking for ways to help? Become a member of the Deportation Defense Team. You can learn more here. Priority will be given to folks who apply before March 15. Become an AARW member and join a multiracial, intergenerational movement of Asian Americans and allies organizing for racial, housing, and immigrant justice across Massachusetts. And like many organizations, AARW needs funding to continue doing essential work and building progressive community spaces so become a sustainer today!
*Since launching the We Care Wednesday initiative in January 2017 we have donated over $110K to a variety of nonprofits and mutual aid funds doing essential work in our community as well as other places. From the very local programs like Material Aid and Advocacy Program and EMA Fund to national programs like Habitat for Humanity. We select organizations that we feel represent not only our commitment to a better, more equitable world but also our desire to "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.