Dear Friend of African Services Committee,
When the city became the epicenter of the pandemic and went into lockdown, ASC’s dedicated staff adapted to continue to provide services in a culturally competent, safe, and multilingual environment, while advocating for immigrant rights, to dispel widespread uncertainty and fear created by the Administration’s attacks against immigrants and families.
ASC converted a space on our 4th floor to provide contactless food pantry pick up to all who needed it. Staff volunteers also provided contactless delivery to our neediest homebound clients throughout ASC’s five boroughs five days a week. Staff from Health Testing and Navigation to Care, Legal, LGBTQ, and Individual and Family Case Management, maintained regular contact with clients remotely.
When we reopened our offices in July we soon after became a COVID-19 testing center equipped with a courageous COVID-19 outreach team. African Services Committee staff will continue to adapt to help newcomers who need a helping hand and have nowhere else to turn.
From the refugee crisis and HIV/ AIDS and Tuberculosis epidemics in the early '80s, to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the silent threat of viral hepatitis, and the continued assault on immigrants under the current administration, ASC has encountered many health crises in the last nearly four decades of service to immigrants.
