City of Seattle to Offer Financial Aid for Immigrants!

On Thursday, October 15, 2020, the City of Seattle will launch the $7.94 million Seattle COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund for Immigrants, its newest program to help vulnerable residents who have been both financially impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and purposely excluded by the federal government. A few important details below:

• The application will only be able to be completed online, and 20 organizations will be available to help applicants over the phone complete the online form in-language.
• The online application will be available in seven languages other than English: Amharic, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Somali, Spanish, Tagalog/Filipino, and Vietnamese.
• The relief fund is open to Seattle area immigrants who live in OR attend school in OR work within the Seattle city boundaries; meet income eligibility requirements; and were ineligible for federal CARES Act Economic Impact Payments (also known as a “coronavirus stimulus check”).

The review process is NOT first-come, first-served.To support those with the most need, the program is prioritizing applicants based on a set of vulnerability criteria.

• Each eligible adult applicant filing for themselves is able to receive a one-time payment of $1,000.
• Applicants with children are eligible to receive a one-time payment of up to $3,000.

The application open period is from Thursday, October 15, 2020, to Thursday, November 5, 2020 (three weeks).

On October 15, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs will launch a multi-lingual campaign utilizing ethnic media, social media, and community-based organization partners for outreach. So, please stay tuned! For more information, please contact José Manuel Vasquez at jose.vasquez@seattle.gov. Habla español.