Five on Friday: New Strategies for New Arrivals

Summertime is here! Before you head to a BBQ or pool party, why not read up on the latest and greatest in migrant health? Here is this week’s selection of reads and views, recommended by MCN staff, that you may have missed, including a double Weekly Win. 

It’s getting hot, and workers are still unprotected! Amy forwarded this Public Citizen article, which summarizes a new report that reviews the state of workplace heat stress rules by state. As many as 2000 workers die of heat-related issues like heat-induced cardiac arrest, heat stroke, or kidney failure, each year in the US, the report says. Patchwork of Heat Protection Rules Leave Workers at Risk as Summer Nears.

Alma recommended this CNN article about Sebastian Corral, and his recollections as a farmworker in the Bracero program, which he joined in 1953. At 91, He’s One of the Last Surviving Participants in a US Program Some Described as ‘Legalized Slavery’. 

Kaethe forwarded to us this KFF analysis on demographic characteristics, income, and health coverage for dairy workers in US states experiencing avian flu outbreaks. Who is at Risk Amid the H5N1 Influenza Outbreak? Characteristics and Health Coverage of Animal Production Workers.

Weekly Win: When asylum seekers first arrive, they are barred from working for six months. Del sent over this Coloradan Sun article on a new Denver program that provides new arrivals with a six-month plan that includes an apartment rental, food and utility assistance, a computer and prepaid cell phone, a metro bus pass, and connection and coordination with classes on topics like workers’ rights, English, and financial literacy, as well as credentialing in specific industries, to prepare them for when they are eligible to work. Denver Launches Ambitious New Migrant Program, Breaking from the Short-Term Shelter Approach. 

Weekly Win: Del also forwarded this article on a new US Senate fund that would provide support for housing, health care, workforce development, and legal assistance for new arrivals as they transition out of emergency shelters, says this Mass Live article. Mass. Sens. Markey, Warren Call for $500M Fund for States to Help New Arrivals.

Have a safe and healthy weekend!