A Case Study of Community-based, Cross-sectoral Crisis Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Serving Racialized Immigrant Communities

Abstract

Crises—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—bring about myriad problems in magnitude (severity), dynamism (quality), and urgency (timing). Collaborative models that bring together actors from both the public and private sector have thus emerged for institutionalized and community-based crisis response. Such models aim particularly to reach vulnerable, hard-to-reach communities, such as racialized immigrant communities that are among those disproportionately impacted at times of crisis. This paper presents a case study of a community-based, cross-sectoral collaborative formed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically targeting immigrant communities. Findings inform a conceptual framework that illustrates the integration of two spheres of service: crisis supports, characterized by a short-term approach, broad-based reach and general objectives; and settlement supports, characterized by their long-term approach, trust relations and targeted objectives, such as language supports and culturally appropriate outreach.

Responding to structural inequities: Coping strategies among immigrant women during COVID-19

“…While these studies provide valuable insights into Latinx immigrant experiences and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, they do not fully capture the intersectional and multidimensional coping experiences of immigrant women within the syndemic context of structural oppression and the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, these studies lack the depth provided by perspectives from direct service providers working at community-based organizations (CBOs), who, due to their established relationships and trust within immigrant communities, offer additional insights and means of understanding how individual coping and resilience interplays with available resources, structures, and systems ( Suva et al, 2022 ). This study aims to address these gaps by using an intersectional lens and syndemics framework to explore the individual, interpersonal, and community-level coping and adaptation strategies employed by immigrant women throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in response to stressors arising from the pandemic, immigration, gender expectations, and structural racism and xenophobia.…”