A Message from Executive Director Nicole about COVID-19 and El/La

Dear El/La Para TransLatinas Community:

The events of the last few weeks due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) have interrupted and created challenges in communities around the world, in the country, and close to home.

We are experiencing understandable concern, uncertainty, and anxiety—particularly for those directly affected by the disease.

To support each other and stick to our mission and vision for our community, we will navigate this time together as we always have.

At this time, we do not have any cases of COVID-19 in our program, nor in the building, nor in a radius very close to El/La Para TransLatinas. However, many sister institutions and organizations in the Mission and surrounding neighborhoods are taking proactive steps that will help protect our communities by making the recommended public health changes to mitigate transmission of the virus.

It has been recommended to increase hygiene measures such as washing hands; using hand sanitizer; cleaning all work and food surfaces; as well as avoiding kisses, hugs and/or avoiding gatherings of people. Furthermore, all programs that receive more than ten people in the same space have been canceled and events rescheduled for the near future.

El/La Para TransLatinas is committed to ensuring the safety of all people who come to the program and is focusing mainly on the wellbeing of our participants by following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).

Therefore, El/La will be closed until the city lifts the shelter-in-place mandate and we can return to our activities on a regular basis. The staff will continue to work remotely; no one will be in the space, but we are available for phone calls, emails, and/or messages through our Facebook page.

Accompaniments that are already scheduled will take place depending on whether or not the institution where the visit will take place is open and/or the offices cancel appointments, as we have been seeing in the last week.

Please keep in touch with your case manager, in case there is a change in your accompaniment.

We will be posting more information and recommendations on our Facebook page as time goes by, as well as information about the virus as it arises. We will share information about available resources, such as shelters, food banks, physical and emotional health centers, etc. Furthermore, here is a list of COVID-19 LGBTQ resources for your reference and needs. Please don't hesitate to utilize them.

We invite our Bay Area translatina community to be compassionate, and stay informed and prepared. We continue to work to maintain an appropriate level of response, and to learn more about the challenges we face in preventing fear and stigma—and promoting resilience—with information provided by the CDC, as well as the guidelines that the city of San Francisco provides.

Once again, thank you so much for your support and understanding given our level of response to the situation, made consciously and trans solidarity and strength.

Sincerely,

Nicole Santamaría and the entire team of El/La Para TransLatinas