Already, City Heights has been one of the more hard-hit neighborhoods in San Diego. According to a SANDAG study, just under 25% of people in City Heights were unemployed on April 11 \u2013 the third-worst rate in San Diego County. City Heights\u2019 jobless rate is only surpassed by Logan Heights and San Ysidro. Even before this current economic crisis, City Heights residents were on average low-income and many are refugees and immigrants with more barriers to accessing healthcare. As of April 27, at least 83 people in City Heights have been sickened with the virus \u2014 122 people per 100,000, which is also higher than the County rate overall of 94.1 cases per 100,000 people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Local business associations, businesses, and community groups are trying to keep people safe during the pandemic through free masks, food deliveries to healthcare workers, promoting small businesses, and fruit swaps.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Free masks<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Little Saigon Association has developed a system to make 1,000 masks per day that they are giving out for free. Initially, the focus was on giving out masks to vulnerable seniors and grocery workers on the frontline. Many low-paid workers from waiters to janitors to grocery store clerks are being\u00a0<\/span>repeatedly exposed to the virus without proper protective equipment. The organization saw this need and passed out masks to businesses to keep workers safe long before many grocery stores and restaurants provided masks to their employees because of the County mandates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then hospitals began requesting the masks and volunteers delivered hundreds. Since then, the group has expanded their reach to anyone in the community who comes to pick up masks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Little Saigon Association is able to make and distribute hundreds of masks per day using an all-volunteer network and without raising any funds. All material to make the masks is donated. Volunteers with a variety of experience levels turn material dropped off at their door into masks. Those masks are then left outside for a different group of volunteers to pick up and bring to the business center in Little Saigon where the masks can be distributed.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Two leaders in the Little Saigon Association are coordinating the pick-up and distribution by text, phone, Facebook and email each day. Although their time has been busy, Su Nguyen said the community has come together in a way he has never seen before which has filled him with hope.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe care for each other. We love each other,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cI see Mexican people coming here [picking up] masks for their coworkers. I see African American people come here and bring the fabric to donate to the organization. Some people bring food to help volunteers.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To pick up 1-9 free masks, stop by 3412 Central Ave.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>To receive more than 10 masks, email Contact@LittleSaigonSanDiego.org.<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Buzz<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The City Heights Town Council is doing several things to support residents during the crisis.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSince City Heights is one of the more overlooked communities, I would say, in San Diego, it’s especially important for us to act as that liaison between the San Diego City Council and the neighborhood,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Chardae<\/span>\u00a0Jones, a board member, said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Town Council is able to connect residents to services or government officials. For instance, Jones reached out to the Office of Council member Georgette Gomez on behalf of a woman without\u00a0<\/span>internet<\/span>\u00a0access or an email to contact them. Gomez\u2019 office then helped the women via phone.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, The City Heights Town Council is using its social media platforms to raise awareness of mom-and-pop shops that are still operating and giving back to the community. On\u00a0<\/span>Instagram<\/span>, the group shares information on the owners and how to support the business in their \u201cWhat\u2019s the Buzz\u201d campaign.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe really want to highlight those stories of those local businesses who are going above and beyond to still maintain their businesses during this time,\u201d said Ben Mendoza, a community activist volunteering with the Town Council. (Editor’s note: Mendoza is friends with the author.) \u201cWe want to make sure that we’re really playing that pivotal role of connecting community members with those local businesses.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some of the small family businesses may not have their own social media so the Town Council is giving them access to a new platform. Mendoza and Jones worry that many of the businesses owned by refugees and People of Color (POC) will not be able to survive a long shutdown, or even a short shutdown.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s definitely concerning to me as a resident that we might lose some of the uniqueness that makes City Heights special if these businesses are forced to shut down and larger businesses come to take their place,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Overlooked'](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/little-saigon-1-300x146.jpg\")
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