WaPo: “Their home washed away with the floodwaters. So did their jobs on nearby farms. They had come to Centro Unido, a Latino community group serving western North Carolina, to see if anyone could help them get back on their feet.
But, because of their immigration status, this family doesn’t qualify for government aid. The best Centro Unido could offer was to put them on a wait list — along with 30 other families, so far — and call them back if organizers could cobble together enough private donations to start a rent assistance fund.
There are likely to be many more families in the wake of Helene’s destruction who are homeless, jobless and unable to get help. For some in the area’s sizable and growing Latino population, getting government aid has been difficult — even for those who qualify — due to hurdles including language barriers and the amount of time it takes to fill out paperwork.”