Our Alamosa Brother’s & Sisters Need your help!

“While the Red Cross and State Emergency Management set up water distribution sites, SLVIRC found that much of the immigrant community did not use the official sites out of fear of interaction with uniformed police.”

To support SLVIRC's efforts to distribute safe drinking water to the immigrant community,please send monetary donations to:

"Familia Fund"
c/o SLV Immigrant Resource Center

P.O. Box 1534

Alamosa, CO 81101

Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition member organization, the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center (SLVIRC), is in need of monetary donations to support ongoing efforts to supply safe drinking water & emergency information to the immigrant community in Alamosa and the surrounding area following the contamination of the city's water supply.

Background

San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center
The San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center (SLVIRC) is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 1987 with the mission to connect and empower immigrants with resources to achieve legal documentation, fulfill their economic needs, and integrate into the community. SLVIRC is the only recognized immigration service provider accredited by the Bureau of Immigration Affairs in the region.

SLVIRC is one of the founding member organizations of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and works very closely with the Guatemalan Association of Alamosa and the Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative.

Alamosa Water Crisis
On March 18, 2008, the city of Alamosa confirmed that the city's water supply was contaminated and tested positive for Salmonella. On March 19, the city issued a notice informing residents that the city water was unsafe to drink and began distributing bottled water. Alamosa anticipates that city residents will not have water usage, other than to flush their toilets, through the first week of April.

While the Red Cross and State Emergency Management set up water distribution sites, SLVIRC found that much of the immigrant community did not use the official sites out of fear of interaction with uniformed police. This reaction could be a result of both the increased local and state enforcement of immigration laws in Colorado, as well as, the highly publicized tragedy in San Diego in 2007 where immigrants escaping the wild fires were detained and deported by Immigration Customs Enforcement.

SLVIRC responded quickly to the crisis by distributing emergency information to the Spanish-speaking immigrant community and setting up its own water pick-up site at the SLVIRC office. SLVIRC began distributing approximately 250 gallons per day to the immigrant community beginning on March 21st. The Mormon Church, and the Alamosa police department have provided the water being distributed. On March 27th, SLVIRC was recognized by the CO Emergency Division as a distribution site and received bottled water.

The Center is currently providing information to the immigrant community through KRZA radio station and through written and oral communication in Spanish and Qanjobal (indigenous language of Guatemala).

In order to adequately respond to the emergency situation, SLVIRC office will remain open 7 days a week instead of 5 days for the next three weeks. SLVIRC has had to increase staff time significantly to cover the crisis. Your emergency financial support will cover additional staff time, printing materials, and communications efforts for the two-month period beginning March 18th through May 18th.

To support, please send monetary donations to:

"Familia Fund" c/o SLV Immigrant Resource Center
Attention: Flora Archuleta, Executive Director
P.O. Box 1534, Alamosa, CO 81101

Or for any questions please contact Flora Archuleta, SLVIRC Executive Director, at flora@slvirc.org or 719-587-3225, ext. 11