A Word From Social Justice Coordinator Jason Taper Shalom y'all!
Social Justice is still going on--remotely. During this quarantine, I'm sharing opportunities to organize from home. Each issue has its own current point person to contact, if you'd like to get involved. COVID-19 relief measures are already taking place, and you'll find COVID-19 resources in this drive. And if you want to talk about what issues you're passionate about getting involved with, email me at jason.austinsocialjustice@gmail.com or text me at 469-834-9987 and let's talk.
Thanks,Jason Taper
Social Justice Coordinator
Temple Beth Shalom & Congregation Beth Israel
_______________________________________________________RISE Fund for COVID-19 Relief in Austin
Social Justice Opportunity: The RISE fund is a $15M COVID-19 relief fund, which passed the Austin City Council unanimously. Its goal is to fill the gaps left by federal stimulus, especially with relief to non-citizens. Half is allocated to social service providers to assist with essentials like rent and utilities, and half will be unrestricted grants to cover whatever is needed most. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the following organizations who received RISE grants:
Asian Family Support Services
• Rise@afssaustin.org
• 512-358-6318
Austin Area Urban League
• https://aaul.org/
• English: 512-838-3442
• Spanish: 512-900-1598
El Buen Samaritano
• elbuen.org
• assistance@elbuen.org
• 512-439-8902
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
• Call the phone number which corresponds to the first letter of your Last Name:
o A-D (512) 910-5768
o E-K (512) 910-5907
o L-R (512) 910-7076
o S-Z (512) 910-7170
_______________________________________________________
Shalom Austin also has a COVID-19 relief fund, to which you can donate here. Until 5/18, Adam and Phil Loewy will match any donations up to $100,000. The fund will be directed towards mental telehealth assistance, food assistance, and emergency financial services. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact these services.
_______________________________________________________Reform Congregations--Immigration Work Website
Check out Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website to find the latest actions and her thoughtful analysis, updated frequently. ______________________________________________________________ Opportunities for InvolvementReligious Action Center, Texas
Contact: Rabbi David Segal, dsegal@rac.org
Upcoming Event: RAC Civic Engagement Campaign: Launch and Virtual Town Hall
When: May 7 at 7 PM
Where: Register here.
Join us for the official launch of Every Voice, Every Vote: the Reform Movement’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign on May 7. Throughout the year, Reform Jews like you join together to fight injustice by talking directly to our nation’s leaders. Help make sure elected officials at every level of government hear us by working with your Reform community to reach 100 percent voter turnout and combat voter suppression – so that every voice is heard and every vote counts in November.
Work So Far:
RAC-TX officially joined the Texas Voter Protection Coalition and held a meeting with Travis County Voter Registrar Bruce Elphant. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, this coalition was advocating for a list of reforms to ensure Texas has fair, accessible, effective elections. The urgency of this effort has only increased, and our state’s ability to protect the vote is a cornerstone of democracy and influences every other issue we work on. There is a legal and political fight right now, particularly around voting by mail.We determined that targeted outreach to County Elections Administrators is a strategic step: we are building relationships with the officials who administer elections, finding out what the issues are from their perspective, and gaining insight into how best to build power (with our coalition) to effect change.
CBI Social Action Committee Core Team
Contact: Mindy Lee | mindyem@gmail.com
Liz Mitlak | mitlakej@gmail.com
Update: We are thrilled that CBI reinvigorated Social Action Committee has had a series of several productive meetings and we are in the process of outlining our goals, mission and vision. Our committee is also working on a process to identify key issues and engage in a power analysis of selected issue areas. More updates to come as our committee continues to meet (virtually)! Contact Mindy or Liz to join.
Ongoing Actions:
• Immigration Justice: Continued activities around immigration justice are taking place in our community. Specifically, please visit Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website linked below and reach out to Daniela and other contacts on that website to see how you can get involved!
• Civic Engagement: Along with Temple Beth Shalom members and RAC-TX, CBI members joined a call with Travis County Voter Registrar Bruce Elfant to find out more about what Travis county will be facing in the upcoming May runoff (now July) and November general elections. We will continue to assess what short-term and long-term actions we can take to advocate for universal, no-excuse vote by mail and to support safe and fair elections, particularly during the current COVID-19 crisis. Stay tuned for more information on action items regarding mail-in ballot requests.Temple Beth Shalom Social Justice Core Team (Anti-Poverty)
Contact: Larkin Tackett, 512-657-9383, larkin.tackett@gmail.com
Ongoing Actions:
The anti-poverty action team continues its work to reduce poverty and expand opportunity in Austin. This included developing a summary of its work in this 1-pager; celebrating the City’s passage of a direct cash assistance program to community members impacted by COVID-19 that will be distributed in part by partner Family Independence Initiative (FII); expanding its membership; and participating in the Make it Movement hosted by the Austin Chamber and E3 Alliance about community leaders to inform and engage future workforce around opportunities in trades, two-year, and four-year colleges.Work So Far:
* Education about strategies highlighted in NY Times, Tamarack Institute (Canada), and Central Iowa
* Partnering with other Austin organizations (LifeWorks, Community First! Village, and Capital IDEA) to conduct house meetings to understand issues and identify leaders of families impacted by poverty.Upcoming Event: Monthly action team meeting led by Ofelia Zapata
When: 5/11 at 10:30AM
Where: Via Zoom, email Larkin for link
Jewish tradition is filled with commandments to help the poorest among us: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widow and orphan. When we organize to place working class voices at the center of how our community morally responds to poverty, we not only improve the advocacy we undertake, but fundamentally empower those who the Torah compels us to uplift. Advocates for Social Justice Reform (Criminal Justice)
Contact: Bob Batlan, bobbatlan1@gmail.com
Email Bob for a Zoom invitation and/or to join our mailing list.
Ongoing Actions:
* Frequent progress meetings via Zoom
* Meeting with the recently hired Lead Public Defender
* Frequent meetings with Criminal Justice officials and experts
Work So Far:
* Created a presentation to describe our Criminal Justice work to date.
* Presented our work to key Central Texas Interfaith leaders. We will work with Central Texas Interfaith to hold a series of Civic Academies for congregations throughout Central Texas.
* Urgently advocated for the safety of incarcerated individuals and criminal justice staff during the COVID crisis.
* Advocated to responsibly allow release of incarcerated individuals who do not pose a threat to society and assure they are tested/quarantined upon release as appropriate.
* Advocating for a state grant to support improved treatment of arrested individuals at the time of magistration including bail setting.
* Attended various meetings and seminars on Criminal Justice Issues and Public Policy.
"Justice, justice, you shall pursue." A just system of laws is ingrained from Leviticus through King David through every contradicting comment in the Talmud. Even an eye for an eye is blind to whose eye is taken, so we organize for a criminal justice system that is truly fair and impartial.
ICE Reform Advocacy
Contacts: Maria Reza, Daniela Weil
Ongoing Action: Demanding Release of T. Don Hutto Detainees
Grassroots Leadership is asking folks to call (script here) and ask for the release of the women inside T. Don Hutto detention center, as they have little to no access to medical resources (the women inside have no choice but to purchase a bar of soap for $4 because the jail won't supply them with basic necessities). These are all women who are seeking asylum and have absolutely no need to be detained inside a hazardous jail, especially during an epidemic.Work So Far: Organizing against ICE contracts and inhumane treatment of detainees, including research, elected official contact, and protests.
Our Jewish values compel us to show compassion to these women who fled their countries after seeing their families being killed, crossed the ocean and arrived in a place they considered a safe haven. The dangers of Germany then and Guatemala now both compel allyship. Central Texas Interfaith
Contact: Rachel Gunner
Recent Event: Town Hall with Rep. Lloyd Doggett and Mayor Steve Adler, with an agenda set in part by Advocates from Social Justice Reform and CBI's Social Action Committee. Mindy Lee's excellent live-tweets from the meeting can be found at @ATXinterfaith on Twitter.Central Texas Interfaith, a coalition of which Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Beth Israel are a part, is one of the largest local advocates on behalf of faith communities. Austin Sanctuary Network
Contacts: Jessica Duran, Daniela Weil
Social Justice Opportunity: Supporting Hilda and Iván in sanctuary
Work So Far: This organization has been protecting Hilda Ramirez and her son Iván, who are Guatemalan asylum seekers, from ICE detention and deportation to certain danger, for four years.
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” So we show our love and solidarity with Hilda and Iván whenever we can.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Contacts: Nancy Wolf, Russ Apfel
Social Justice Opportunity: Congregational Organizing for Refugees
Work So Far: HIAS hosted the Austin Jews for Refugees conference, providing education on the policies and lived realities of refugee issues and connection to nonprofits working in this space to over 200 participants.
Our own people’s history as “strangers” reminds us of the many struggles faced by immigrants today, and we affirm our commitment to create the same opportunities for today’s refugees that were so valuable to our own community when we fled our gravest dangers.
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