I'm Anna Stamborski, I live in South Minneapolis and am a faith-based organizer who was asked in early December by a Latine-led organizing entity to help coordinate grocery and ride requests for neighbors who were afraid to leave and work due to the presence of ICE agents. What was once 3-5 requests a day from south Minneapolis has turned into the largest mutual aid network in the Twin Cities where we have 2,000 volunteers fulfilling 80 requests a day from neighbors across the metro area. However, when neighbors say thank you when receiving the grcoeries, many are now asking "Can you also help with rent?"

That's why we have the bold goal to raise $1.3 million to help 1,000 families pay their rent this month.

Since December, federal agents, primarily ICE and Border Patrol, have been brutalizing our community: dragging people from cars, entering private homes without cause, brandishing weapons in front of children, deploying tear gas near families, and abducting parents at school bus stops. People are afraid to leave their homes – scared to go to work, to the doctor, to the grocery store, or even to take their children to school.

Across the Twin Cities, local families are facing detention, separation, and displacement due to these extreme ICE enforcement actions. Now, many in the community are facing an urgent financial crisis: the rent is due, fridges are empty, and basic household expenses are piling up.

In response, friends and neighbors came together to create Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a community-led support network rooted in mutual aid. We are powered by volunteers and many others who have brought people together in the spirit of care and community. The Family Housing Fund, a nonprofit based in the Twin Cities, has partnered with us as the fiscal sponsor for this relief effort to allow us to get funds quickly and safely to our neighbors in need.

Our goal of raising at least $1,300,000 will allow us to support 1,000 families as we persist through ICE raids and try to recover in the aftermath. There are news reports that some ICE agents may leave Minneapolis in the coming weeks, and we hope that’s true. As we work to make ourselves whole again, right now thousands of families in Minneapolis are behind on rent and urgently need your support. We are currently receiving requests for thousands of dollars of rent relief per hour.