For people who contract monkeypox, recovery can mean taking weeks off of work.
Speaking at the HOPE Health and Wellness Center in South Dallas on Thursday, Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez said that can create a financial burden for people who get the virus and their loves ones.
“The biggest thing that people need to realize on monkeypox... in the event that you contract it is, you have to stay home," Narvaez said. "You just have to get through it.”
Kirk Myers-Hill, CEO of Abounding Prosperity, said the monkeypox outbreak has had a disproportionate affect on low-income Black and Hispanic LGBTQ communities.
Myers-Hill is leading the effort to provide financial relief for people recovering from the virus through the new Monkeypox Assistance Relief Fund. The effort is a partnership between the Abounding Prosperity, the HOPE Health and Wellness Center and Dallas Southern Pride.
“Individuals that have contracted monkeypox in our communities have been faced with increasing challenges related to meeting basic essential needs,” Myers-Hill said.
Myers-Hill said that while monkeypox cases are dropping across the country, racial disparities persist.
He says the relief fund will help people recovering from the virus pay for medical bills, food and housing costs. He said people will soon be able to access the fund on Abounding Prosperity's website.
Got a tip? Email Pablo Arauz Peña at parauzpena@kera.org
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
