“It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.” “• Doe Zantamata.
Dear Community,
Thank you for taking COVID-19 seriously. The sacrifices you’re making during this time – closing businesses and working from home – are not in vain. These are incredibly important as we are doing all we can to slow the spread and flatten the curve of this pandemic. Pars Equality Center (Pars) is fully committed to serving you in these unprecedented times. Although our centers are currently closed to the public in compliance with COVID-19 government directives, we are working harder than ever to serve the needs of our community. In addition to continuing the bulk of its programs remotely, Pars Social Services Department is offering the following specifically tailored services in response to the COVID-19 crisis:
- answering questions about job loss, unemployment benefits, and generally workers’ rights in light of COVID-19
- assisting with filing of unemployment benefits by providing Persian language support
- offering guidance on COVID-19 information and resources (with language assistance)
- offering remote career coaching services including online monthly Pars Talk and other online workshops
- offering remote tax-filing services
For assistance, please call our San Jose Center at (408) 261-6400 and our Los Angeles Center at (818) 616-3091.
Pars Immigration Services Departmentcontinues to serve the community by offering remote immigration services including:
- scheduling consultations and meetings by phone or videoconference
- reviewing documents electronically
- filing cases online
- offering online KYR, education and outreach
Please contact our Immigration Services by calling 408-261-6405 (San Jose) / 818-325-7551 (Los Angeles) or emailing [email protected] / [email protected].
Furthermore, Pars is tirelessly striving to make sure our community gets counted in Census 2020. Our San Jose and Los Angeles Centers are official Census Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC). Even though our doors are currently closed to the public, we are here to help the community complete the census questionnaire or respond to any census-related inquiries. Please do not hesitate to call our QAC Hotline at (408) 675-2686 and (424) 279-2584 Monday to Thursday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday from 9:00am to 3:00pm.
Now, more than ever, we depend on the generous donations of supporters like yourself to be able to provide our essential services. Donations to nonprofits qualify for charitable giving incentive under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). If you’d like to support Pars and the community we serve, you can donate here.
Stay safe, and best wishes,
Bita Daryabari