Report by Tobi Ariyo et al. The Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice.
July 2020.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been equally felt across Massachusetts. In Chelsea, the infection rate was six times the state average. On the surface, this high infection rate appears to be a result of the high number of “essential” workers; nearly 80 percent of workers in Chelsea fall into this category.
Our research focused on “essential” care workers in Chelsea. Care work takes place both in the context of remunerated and regulated employment (for example child care workers, personal and home care aides), as well as unpaid care in the home and community (including child care, cooking, cleaning and eldercare). Underlying our research, we imagined a case study of a female-identifying undocumented Latinx individual who lives in Chelsea with her children and works in Boston. We considered what historical, legal, and social forces have made her both vulnerable and resilient amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our research and interviews with members of the community, we focused on three key forces: 1) limited access to care for care workers and their families, including food insecurity, 2) limited income from both employment and welfare, and 3) environmental injustice, including housing insecurity.
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