Alum Rock Counseling Center (ARCC) is excited to announce that our very own Prevention and Early Intervention Program Manager, Desseray Vega, was invited to be the virtual guest of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren for President Biden’s 1st official Joint Address to Congress, taking place on Wednesday, April 28th. Desseray was interviewed by Congresswoman Lofgren about ARCC’s work during the pandemic and how the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) has impacted our services with families as well improved the experiences of our staff. See below for the official press release from Congresswoman Lofgren’s office. Here is the direct link to the video interview: https://youtu.be/V-qgpMOFYgE”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2021
Contact: ally.kehoe@mail.house.gov
VIDEO: Lofgren Announces San Jose Virtual Guest for This Week’s Presidential Address
SAN JOSE, CA – Today, Representative Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) announced that Desseray “Dez” Vega, a Program Manager at Alum Rock Counseling Center (ARCC), will be her virtual guest for President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The Joint Address, which is President Biden’s first speech to a Joint Session of Congress, marks 100 days into the President’s first term.
“One of the things we usually do around Joint Sessions of Congress is highlight something that matters to Americans. The COVID relief bills that Congress passed and have been enacted into law have importantly kept people going throughout this pandemic so that when it’s over we’ll still be standing,” said Lofgren. “I was so glad to hear from Alum Rock Counseling Center that the Paycheck Protection Program kept them from laying off around 80 people, helping both the employees and their families as well as the children they serve. I look forward to watching virtually with Dez Vega, as President Biden discusses big plans to build back better as we get out of this COVID emergency.”
“Stability, including having a steady income and being able to pay rent, has been on many people’s minds. Plus, when you have kids home all the time, you need more food to feed them – and you need funds to pay for that food. From my personal perspective, I’m very grateful,” said Desseray “Dez” Vega. “As a manager, COVID relief gave me hope, which I was able to relay back to other employees that I work with. We’ve been in an environment recently where morale is high. Back in March [2020] we were worried, but now we’re thinking about plans for the summer.”
Click here for a video with Rep. Lofgren, Des Vega, and ARCC CEO Steve Eckert.
Click here to download a version of the video without graphics, for television or digital media use.
Click here for information about COVID-19 aid and legislation.
ARCC’s mission is to heal families and inspire youth to reach their full potential. The agency strives to accomplish its mission by promoting the healthy development of at-risk minors through a combination of educational assistance, youth and family counseling, youth development and character building activities, violence prevention education, and crisis intervention services, all of which are designed to be linguistically and culturally appropriate. ARCC provides low-income, minority youth with tools to break multigenerational cycles of poverty and school failure, so that they can stay safe, in school and drug and violence free.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is serving her fourteenth term in Congress representing most of the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County. Congresswoman Lofgren is the Chair of the Committee on House Administration, is the elected Chair of the 42-member California Democratic Congressional Delegation and serves as the Chair of the House Judiciary Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee.
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