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Ola tells Shelter Island board its services expanded during COVID and urges town planning for ICE incidents
Summary
Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, outlined the group's mental-health and immigrant legal services, cited multi-year regional support and urged Shelter Island to adopt a response plan and local law to protect residents during federal enforcement actions.
At the Shelter Island work session, Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, described the nonprofit's regional work — YouthConnect adolescent services, a 9 a.m.–11 p.m. helpline, and immigration legal assistance — and requested that the town adopt a clear plan for responding to ICE operations. Perez said OLA has fielded dozens of cases and sometimes hires outside immigration counsel for complex detention work; she underscored that services are free for qualifying residents.
"Everything we do is free, by the way," Perez said, explaining that the organization screens for financial eligibility before offering services. Perez also described OLA's pandemic-era work (including about $2,000,000 spent on Chromebooks and hotspots for remote learning and involvement in rent-arrears programs) and asked the board to ensure that any town-level plan would not leave nonprofits shouldering emergency communications and representation alone.
