Photo: Joel Muniz | Unsplash
During the pandemic, Grace Rivera-Oven, a public relations consultant in Maryland, US, saw a need in her community and jumped in to fill it. As businesses and schools shuttered, families in the Middlebrook Trailer Park, many of them recent immigrants, found themselves stranded without work or resources. She began collecting food donations in her garage and began delivering the donated food to the homes of 23 families. Eventually, she opened UpCounty Hub, an organization that combats food insecurity in northern Montgomery County, Maryland, and also helps people connect to services such as SNAP, health care and rental assistance. And, they still distribute food in the Middlebrook Trailer Park. The deliveries are a lifeline for people living on a tight budget and who may not have access to a car. “Most important is the psychological impact on this community that has felt lonely, even before the pandemic. Just having our presence and saying, ‘We are here, we care about you and most importantly, we see you. We see you and you are not a foreigner.’ That is what resonates most of all,” said Rivera-Oven.
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