Our answer to COVID-19

Accompanying, serving and feeding our communities 

The emergency we are experiencing due to the coronavirus has changed everyone’s reality. However, it has not slowed down our mission. Since the beginning of March we began to prepare our team of employees at Iniciativa Comunitaria, Inc. (ICI) programs to ensure that we keep an active and consistent service with our populations. We have modified our schedules and moved some programs to, in a safe way, attend to our participants.

The most vulnerable people in our communities need us more than ever. We are agile in adapting to find alternatives that can cover the basic needs. Faced with COVID-19 and its impact on the communities we serve, we have expanded and established new intervention strategies in tune with the reality of the street. This is how we are meeting the challenges that COVID-19 has brought us:

>> Since mid-March we have started daily routes to deliver 200 meals in 12 communities in San Juan. Since May, deliveries are 100 meals.

>> We provide hygiene kits, face masks, hand sanitizer and disposable gloves on our service routes.

>> We activated the telemedicine protocol and began to carry out telephone interventions with our health professionals, trying to keep the service accessible to our participants.

>> We have delivered 402 boxes of food to needy families.

>> We have performed COVID-19 rapid tests on homeless people and employees.

>> We located hand washing stations in 7 areas of San Juan for the homeless.

>> The organization is making infographics and videos covering topics from mindfulness and anxiety management as part of self-care strategies for employees.

>> We have developed videos with our Department of Health Education and other resources of the organization to bring guidance to our populations and followers on social networks.

In times of emergencies, ICI seeks to strengthen its collaborative ties with other non-profit entities to avoid duplication and have a greater reach in communities in need. In this way we avoid that the inequality of opportunities of which our populations are victims regularly, does not become a major aggravation during this pandemic.

At ICI we recognize that by focusing our efforts on the most vulnerable people, we will have safer and healthier communities.

To learn more about how you can help us send us an email: kperez@iniciativacomunitaria.org