Our Response to COVID-19
At Faith in the Valley, we believe in a society free of economic oppression, racism and discrimination in which everyone lives in a safe and healthy environment, everyone is respected and everyone is included and has agency over the decisions that shape their lives. That’s why it’s important that, during this COVID-19 pandemic, we make sure the people closest to the pain have a voice and get the help they need to weather this health crisis.
We also understand that as a faith community, we are what we need. Our collaboration, cooperation and co-creation during this moment will be the quickest way to prevent this virus from spreading in the Central Valley.
We are doing our part by holding weekly conference calls, training classes and seminars with faith and community leaders. We continue to bring change to our communities through research actions with our local, county and statewide leaders. We also continue to lift up the crucial importance of being counted in the 2020 Census because we believe both the Census and Schools and Community First ballot initiative create a clear path to stable funding for our region at a time when our communities will desperately need it.
To minimize the spread of the virus, bold, decisive and swift action is necessary to ensure that everyone who lives here is able to get their basic needs met and maintain their dignity. As leaders who collectively work alongside thousands of people across the Central Valley, we urge governments at all levels to continue taking action to protect residents, reduce physical and social dislocation, and promote public health during these extraordinary times.
Together, let’s work to keep everyone safe and our faith in the Valley strong.
About Faith in the Valley
Faith in the Valley is a faith-based grassroots community organization in California’s Central Valley representing families in Fresno, Kern, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties. Our work is led by volunteer leaders who are among the people most impacted by equity issues: low-wage workers, young people, immigrants and the formerly incarcerated.
We are a federated member of PICO California, the largest faith based community organizing network in California, with an institutional membership of 485 congregations from more than a dozen faith traditions across the state. Faith in the Valley is also part of the National Faith in Action Network. Together, we are anchored in a prophetic theology of resistance that helps people understand the systemic roots of their shared suffering, as well as articulate an alternative narrative that liberates individuals and communities from the dominant cultural norms that perpetuate inequity.