Choosing Between Food and Safety

Imagine getting up in the morning, looking into your refrigerator, and finding it empty. Your kids need to eat breakfast; however you are scared to go outside. Why? Because, if you do, you are at risk of being stopped or taken by ICE. Your fear is not just yours, your family will feel it too. The same fear is present when there's a knock at the door or sirens outside. Because of ICE, you are now forced to choose between a lack of fear (safety) or getting food for your children. 

ICE raids are leading to widespread deportation of immigrants. For immigrants that are still here, they create emotional effects, like stress, anxiety, or constant fear of being taken. For example, parents might worry about leaving kids behind if they are taken by ICE. This fear may prevent them from getting the essentials they need to survive.  We must do everything we can to help those in danger feel safe in their homes and not be constantly frightened by ICE raids.

To support immigrants in overcoming this fear, I am partnering with Instacart so that people can order things online and have them delivered to their doorstep. They can order things like home essentials (i.e. furniture) and groceries. My website (hopefulbeginning.net) will, along with the regular home essentials and groceries gift cards, provide the option to donate for Instacart gift cards so that they don’t have to leave their homes. This would be much safer for families that deal with the constant fear of ICE raids. However, I am currently still working out the details to add instacart gift cards to my website. It will be added shortly!

In conclusion, many families are faced with major fears or worries in everyday lives due to the fear of ICE raids. Even going into a supermarket can make a person feel they are putting themselves in a position of danger. Not having access to groceries may make someone feel unsafe. Many different ways exist for helping people who live in communities that are affected by the ICE raids feel safe, such as by using a delivery service (for example, Instacart) or providing assistance to each other to access their groceries. You should never have to decide between being able to access food or feeling safe, and together, we can continue to work towards addressing this problem.