Estamos Aqui Community Stories

As of May 31, Mano en Mano’s Estamos Aquí fund has distributed $80,325 to 614 individuals across the state of Maine. These community members are immigrants, farmworkers and their families who have been affected by the Covid-19 public health emergency and many are not eligible for government support like unemployment assistance and economic impact payments. As the community members below attest, the Estamos Aquí fund filled an important gap as a low-barrier, quick turnaround funding source and has proven crucial in assisting Maine families in meeting their basic time during this crisis. 

Here are some of their stories: 

“I came to Maine 7 years ago to pick blueberries and that’s when I first encountered Mano en Mano. Right now I’m working in construction but I also work raking blueberries, in forestry with firewood, and in lobster. I do different jobs seasonally. The Coronavirus has affected a little bit of everything. They cut my hours at my construction job. Before I was working 50 hours a week and now I’m working closer to 30. They haven’t told me when it will go back to normal and it’s already been 3 months like this. I’m worried about this going forward and it’s stressful not knowing when this is going to end. My son lives with his grandma in Puerto Rico and it’s been hard to figure out how to send money to them. The money from Estamos Aquí alleviated a lot of pressure off of me. I was really worried about how to pay my rent and electric bill and how to send money back home to my son. I don’t have family here and if I can’t pay rent I can’t live here any longer. Thanks to God and Mano en Mano I can continue living here. It’s really hard to be by yourself in a place but Maine is really beautiful and calm.” -- Luis, Machias 

“This virus took everyone by surprise. Nobody was prepared for something like this. I personally was going through difficult times within my family life and then we had this virus looming above us. The kids without school and us without work. I was really worried. I asked myself what am I going to do? I knew that my community is the organization Mano en Mano. They reached out to me to offer whatever sort of help that I might need and told me about the Estamos Aquí fund. Thank God the help was immediate and because of it we could make payments on bills and buy food. We are very grateful and God bless all the people that have supported us. Thank you again for thinking of us.” -- Community Member, Downeast Maine 

“My husband and I have lived in Lewiston for 10 years. This money has been a blessing. We have almost nothing right now because my husband is a mechanic and at this moment people are choosing to pay bills and their rent and so they aren’t fixing their cars as much. For this reason he still really isn’t working and has been out of work for almost three months, since the middle of March. I volunteer a lot here within the community and don’t have a salary. I try to be positive and keep going forward. But the Coronavirus has made life really difficult for us, and the truth is that we are in a complicated situation because we don’t have an income. In these times you really have to be creative to make ends meet-- making the little food you have last, just eating rice for dinner. It was suggested we apply for the Estamos Aquí fund and really I don’t have the words to explain how grateful I am and how much this money has helped. We really stretched out that money you gave us and paid the water bill, the light bill, bought oil to heat the house and even put a little towards rent. This money was something we didn’t expect and it was really the light and the end of the tunnel. It really arrived at the worst moment of it all and was such a blessing. Here in this country we feel very alone. We don’t have family or support and so this help feels huge. The assistance from Estamos Aquí fund was the gift of security.” -- Rosy, Lewiston 

“I’m from Jamaica and I have lived here since 2014. Covid-19 has affected me greatly. I have worked in housekeeping, as a hostess, cooking, and making wreaths and bows. Because of Covid-19, it’s been a drastic decline in income. I came from a job that paid me almost $17 an hour. I was able to pay things like my car, food, rent, but now I'm trying to get off unemployment and I started this new job for $12. The new job is over an hour away and now it's like I'm just working to pay gas and food, but not rent. My salary can't cover all 3, it only covers 2. It’s just crazy. It caught us at a point when we were just getting into the summer work season, we were thinking we'd be able to clear some bills but the credit card bills just keep going up. Estamos Aquí helped us out a lot. It helped me be able to pay rent and the rest helped us buy food, with even a little change left to buy my son his food. Still, any other chance to get assistance would be greatly appreciated, it is much needed.” -- Community Member, Maine 

“I’m Mexican I have a beautiful family and I’ve lived in the United States for 14 years. I have worked in Maine in agriculture, cleaning, blueberries and sewing and we don’t qualify for help from the government or for unemployment. In my 11 years living in Maine and in the 14 years in the US we have never experienced a situation as difficult as what we are going through now with the Coronavirus. It is very difficult but thanks to organizations like Mano en Mano and its Estamos Aquí fund, we have been able to get help. With the money from Estamos Aquí we were able to shop for food and make payments on bills. We know that we are not alone and that we can count on the support of Mano en Mano. For us as immigrants you give us support and we will continue fighting so that we can get out of this situation. For us as immigrants, receiving this support was essential to us at this time and we will continue fighting to get through this situation. Thank you again for the people who donated their time and money and thank you to the Estamos Aquí fund.”  -- Community Member, Downeast Maine