Urgent COVID Crisis Support Needed for Children without Family Support

MAD works with children and youth from highly vulnerable families.

Their background varies greatly from having no parents to having single parents who support them to having parents who are hostile to their well being. 

A year of pandemic has wiped out any savings they had and are now one crisis away from being destitute. We work with more than 3500 such children & youth across the country for whom crisis can come in many ways.

It could be parents or siblings falling sick or losing their job and having to drop out of college to support them. It could be hostels shutting down and having no place to go or developing symptoms and having no place to isolate. It could be the employer not paying them or losing their job and unable to find another. It could be them falling sick and unable to find a hospital to be treated in or unable to afford the treatment. It’s about feeling isolated and alone and not knowing what to do.  

They need immediate financial and emotional support. They do not have a network to get support from. They need guidance to keep going and fighting to survive the pandemic.

Every case is different and each requires personalised support to understand what support they really need keeping their long term well being in mind. MAD has built a 23 city network of volunteers who are trained to build deep bonds with the children and youth, become an emotional support system through the year so that when crisis comes they have the context required to understand their need and the right support is provided. 

• The support we provide ranges from:
• Ration & Rent support for the youth or their family 
• Paying for hospital expenses for children, youth or their family 
• Ration and sanitation support for child care institutions
• Covid-19 medical insurance for youth working in high risk jobs 
• Quarantining facilities for children or youth with symptoms 
• Medical expenses including oximeters and thermometers for child care institutions and youth
• Travel expense for children to come back to the shelter home 
• School fees for children to stay in school
• College fees for youth to not drop out of education
• Unemployment support including a stipend for living expenses
• Laptops and internet to children and youth so that they don’t drop out of education
• Mentoring and guidance for managing risk

We want to ensure the second wave doesn’t break the most vulnerable but makes them stronger. This is possible if they :

1. Have an crisis emergency support someone to reach out when they are in a crisis and know they have their back no matter what. The support can be in the form of money, access to resources or decision making support. Have their basic needs taken care of while working their way out of a crisis
2. Being able to prioritise getting back on their feet instead of worrying about where their next meal would come from or how to pay the rent. The support can be in the form of living expenses, support with finding a job, counselling to deal with trauma etc.  are able to stay in the game and not get knocked off their life trajectory 
3. Being able to continue their studies, stay in college, finish their internships etc. Not having to give up on their dreams because of the crisis so that one day they can stand on their own feet, support their family and live a life of dignity. The support can be in the form of school and college fees, living stipend, access to technology etc.