Ventura County Community Foundation fundraises after immigration raids

This article was originally published by the VC Star by Isaiah Murtaugh.

A coalition of business, nonprofit and government groups led by the Ventura County Community Foundation is raising funds to support families and small businesses in the wake of increased federal immigration operations across the county.

The Ventura County Neighbors Support Fund, launched July 28, will focus on helping families with food, shelter and other basic needs, according to the nonprofit, along with “supporting our community through the wider economic impact of this crisis.”

Federal immigration agents have dramatically ramped up local activity this year, peaking July 10 with a massive cannabis greenhouse raid that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said swept up more than 360 purported undocumented immigrants. Agents also arrested a handful of U.S. citizens — one faces criminal charges — and found 14 minors during the dual operation at Glass House Farms facilities outside Camarillo and in Carpinteria.

The Ventura County Neighbors Support Fund, launched July 28, will focus on helping families with food

Vanessa Bechtel, VCCF’s president and CEO, said the foundation hopes to clear $100,000 raised over the weekend and to open up grant applications during the first full week of August.

“It really is a collective effort. It’s exciting to me to see the community all come together,” Bechtel said. “We really have families that are hurting right now. We want to take some of these humanitarian needs off the table.”

A range of business, nonprofit and government groups have signed on to promote the effort, including the County of Ventura and Ventura County Office of Education.

Thousand Oaks Mayor David Newman said in a statement that the City Council plans to consider a contribution to the fund. Bechtel said the foundation hopes all 10 of the county’s cities join the effort.

Information and a donation portal can be found at vccf.org/neighbors-support-fund.

Other places to donate

Several local nonprofit groups that work directly with immigrants and farmworkers also have been fundraising to aid families affected by federal immigration operations.

Lompoc-based nonprofit 805 Undocufund, which launched in 2018 after the Thomas Fire, has gathered more than $130,000 to date in its Emergency Assistance Fund, according to the group’s website. The fund offers direct financial assistance to families for things like rent, utility bills, transportation and legal fees. Information is available at www.805undocufund.org/donate.html.

The nonprofit is part of the 805 Immigrant Coalition, a collection of nonprofits and advocacy groups that have spent the last several months tracking federal immigration operations and working with affected families.

Primitiva Hernandez, 805 Undocufund’s executive director, said in a text that general donations to 805 Undocufund will help support the coalition as well as the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network.

The Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project, another member of the 805 Immigrant Coalition, is collecting donations at mixteco.org/donate. Genevieve Flores-Haro, MICOP’s associate director, said in a text that all online donations to the nonprofit since the July raid 10 are being channeled to meet an “increased need for humanitarian assistance and rapid response efforts.”

The nonprofit focuses its work in the county’s large indigenous migrant communities. Flores-Haro said many families affected by the Glass House raids are Zapotec, an indigenous group that traces its roots to the modern-day state of Oaxaca in Mexico.

Friends of Fieldworkers, a nonprofit that works with Ventura County farmworkers, launched an emergency fundraising drive after the July 10 raid. Martita Martinez-Bravo, the nonprofit’s executive director and a Camarillo City Council member, said in a statement that the funds will help cover lost wages and other support for families experiencing hardship due to the raid. Information is available at https://friendsoffieldworkers.org/emergencyimmigrationfund.

Separately, VCCF helps to fund a pair of Ventura County Star reporters through its Fund to Support Local Journalism.