An Economic Pandemic: A Webinar with Lara Fisher from South County Outreach
By: Uci Blum Center
Tags: Poverty, Homelessness, Volunteering, Covid 19, Inequality

By Kyra Trinh

May 7th, 2020

The Back-to-School Drive hosted by South County Outreach. Photo Courtesy of http://www.sco-oc.org/.

As part of the course UPPP 115: Global Poverty & Inequality in the 21st Century, students attended a webinar with guest speaker Lara Fisher, President and CEO of South County Outreach, to learn about the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on low-income and homeless populations in Orange County.

Fisher introduced South County Outreach as an agency that helps the less fortunate with food, housing, and rental payments in local communities. She described her day that consisted of assisting a 32-year-old woman in a hotel who tested positive for COVID-19. As someone who had been periodically homeless for the past ten years with her current 13-year-old son, the woman has been connected to proper resources and given basic necessities with the help of South County Outreach.

“[She] does not have a consistent experience trail that she can use to increase her income,” Fisher explained. She later added to this point by disclosing that lower-income households face higher consequences from the pandemic than any other population, including the homeless. These families will struggle to pay rent due to reduced hours of the workforce or the inability to go to work from the lack of current child care. “This is really going to be a pandemic that affects them economically for a very long time.”

When asked about viable options for affordable health care in the area, Fisher praised the city of Irvine for providing more funding towards the rental payments of residents in an attempt to prevent homelessness. She pointed out that this is more effective than funding the damage control of an eviction; while it takes about $1,000 to keep a household afloat in their current home, this amount can increase to $10,000 to $20,000 once a family is evicted.

As the chair of Family Solutions Collaborative, a group of 18 family-focused agencies, Fisher described the collective belief that the resurgence of boarding homes will help alleviate the negative impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable communities. Multiple people can live on a large property, with payments in the form of both money and other duties such as grocery shopping or cleaning.

At the close of this question, Fisher emphasized the importance of receiving a lease when renting a place to live, as many agencies like South County Outreach cannot help someone with their rental issues without one. “You have legal rights associated with your lease,” she said. “Have an active lease and know what your rights are.”

Towards the end of the webinar, Fisher specified that more resources were needed for the elderly and college students, as these groups struggle to find work. Additionally, she described from an agency standpoint that there is always a need for more volunteers, especially from the younger, more capable generations. “As people that are pursuing education, you have an unbelievable amount of power that you don’t think you have,” she said. Agencies are all in need of the creativity that comes from college students that “no other group of people can generate.”

“All non-profits need you,” she told the students. Organizations such as South County Outreach rely heavily on the involvement of the community to stay relevant, spread the word, and gather volunteers to help reach their goals, especially in a time of global panic. “The agencies that you are helping would love to have you.”

We would like to thank Lara for coming to speak with our students and everyone at South County Outreach for the work they have been putting in to help our community.

For volunteer, donation, and education opportunities with South County Outreach, visit their website here: http://www.sco-oc.org/.

For more on our involvements with poverty and compassion, visit http://blumcenter.uci.edu/compassion/.