When the COVID-19 pandemic began its rapid spread throughout Oregon,
Two Foxes Singing (Nunpa), the executive director of AntFarm Youth Services
in Sandy, knew the non-profit he had founded would need to provide greater
support to the Mount Hood communities.

“AntFarm has pivoted,” he said. “We’ve expanded our services to reach our
community with what they need.”

The nonprofit was established in 1999 to provide youth and family services in
Sandy with a focus on youth programs that create a “healthy, purposeful, and
compassionate community.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, AntFarm immediately applied for grants
to support community members. “I saw so many youth and families
struggling,” Nunpa said.

AntFarm is now taking a three-prong approach to providing pandemic relief in
the Mount Hood region. The nonprofit has expanded services to offer rent
assistance to Clackamas County residents facing financial hardships from the
economic disruptions, provide economic and moral support for quarantined
individuals, and assist Oregon’s tribal communities and communities of color
that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

AntFarm was also contracted to distribute federal relief funds from the CARES
act for rent relief in Clackamas County. The nonprofit has successfully
distributed $1.5 million in rental assistance since March and has assisted
approximately 300 to 400 families.

The grant covered all of Clackamas County, but AntFarm was able to offer
much of the aid to families in Sandy, Estacada and other Mount Hood
communities.

“By the nature of us being here, our people are getting more support,” Nunpa
said.

The nonprofit is waiting to determine how additional federal rent assistance
will be implemented in 2021.

AntFarm received a community engagement grant from the Oregon Health
Authority to provide “wraparound” support to individuals in documented
isolation and quarantine periods due to COVID-19. The support includes
assistance accessing health care, grocery shopping, housing support, utilities
and telecommunication support, and help connecting to community resources.
“(The wraparound support) helps people continue to live,” Nunpa said.

The funding typically covers 14 days of quarantine and is limited to 30 days
for someone who has COVID-19 and still has symptoms. Nunpa added
AntFarm has been receiving approximately five referrals a day for people in
need of assistance due to quarantine.

AntFarm was also awarded a $150,000 health equity grant from OHA to assist
tribal communities and communities of color, who have experienced higher
rates of illness, exposure and loss of business during the pandemic.

“The relationships with these groups... and their knowledge of the needs of
their specific communities are the keys to breaking the hold of structural and
systemic racism and oppression,” said Leann Johnson, director of OHA’s
equity and inclusion division in a recent press release.

AntFarm has been working with the Latinx population in the region to address
health disparity, economic disruptions, food insecurity and housing, and other
areas of need.

“We hired from and of the community,” Nunpa said. “Our new hires have done
an excellent job reaching into the community and doing triage.”
Three of AntFarm’s recent hires are bilingual and have been working
extensively with the Latinx population.

The new year brings new uncertainties regarding funding for COVID-19 relief
programs.

“I’ve been impressed working with the Oregon Health Authority and how
quickly they have been able to secure the funding and implement the
programs,” Nunpa said.

In the meantime, the workers at AntFarm will continue to abide by the mantra
they have adopted over the course of the pandemic, “You’ve just got to keep
showing up.”

More information about AntFarm Youth Services COVID-19 relief programs is
available by contacting the organization at
covidrelief@AntFarmyouthservices.com.

For more information on AntFarm, including it's bakery in Sandy, visit
www.antfarmyouthservices.com.