Peace of mind is knowing that a loved one is safe at home, or that when things go badly, there’s someone there to help. It's a feeling of safety and security.
For Kirk Alexander Knight, a general contractor from East Orange, New York, peace of mind is a home for him and his younger adult brother, a person with a mental disability who requires regular hospitalization and whom he cares for while working part-time.
"When we were younger, my mom told me, no one's going to look out for your brother — so when I'm gone, take care of him for me," Knight told Global Citizen in October. "So I took that up, that ball, you know, and did what my mother asked me to do: take care of my brother."
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 left Knight without regular employment, leaving him unable to pay rent for more than six months for he and his brother.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 left Knight without regular employment, leaving him unable to pay rent for more than six months. Soon he and his brother faced eviction, joining 22.4 million Americans without work, many encountering homelessness, job loss, and eviction for the first time. Shelters and other services were closed to slow the spread of the virus, and affordable housing was in crisis mode, leaving many people with nowhere to go.
"I was incapable and unable to pay rent, [and] then pondered, like who can I get to help me? And I remembered La Casa de Don Pedro," said Knight.
Knight and his brother received emergency rental assistance from the Newark, New Jersey organization La Casa Don Pedro, which serves more than 50,000 people, mainly from Hispanic and African-American communities across greater Newark and Essex County.
Launched by immigrants in 1972, the organization provides critical social services that foster community development, health care access, rental assistance, immigration services, and more to communities in need.
As a result of a pledges from One World: Together at Home, La Casa de Don Pedro received $500,000 for its newly-launched COVID-19 Relief Rental Assistance Program, Peter Rosario, President, and CEO of La Casa Don Pedro told Global Citizen in August.
"Housing security has always been an issue in our community, [and] when the pandemic hit, it just was the tidal wave that really brought a lot of people to the brink," Peter Rosario, President, and CEO of La Casa Don Pedro told Global Citizen in August.
The organization was one of over 140 local beneficiaries that received urgent assistance thanks to commitments made at the record-breaking Global Citizen 2020 broadcast event, One World: Together At Home, curated in collaboration with Grammy award-winning musician Lady Gaga, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).
As a result of a pledge from three private foundations, including Global Citizen and the Stadler Family Foundation, La Casa de Don Pedro received $500,000 for its newly-launched COVID-19 Relief Rental Assistance Program. The program provided financial support to 150 Newark-based families who were behind in their payments by up to seven months, owing upwards of $7,000 in rent.
"The timing of the Global Citizen, One World: Together At Home concert was right in the heart of the emergency crisis," said Rosario. "We were able to distribute over a million dollars in rental assistance in about 12 weeks."
Thank you with all of my heart for watching #TogetherAtHome, sharing in a global moment of kindness with each other, and spreading positive and loving intentions. We love you.
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) April 20, 2020
COVID-19 was officially declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, after 79 nations and territories reported 1.2 million infections and over 67,500 deaths. Schools had closed for 90% of the world's students, airlines were grounding millions of flights, and lockdowns were happening across the globe.
On April 6, 2020, Lady Gaga became a leading voice in the effort to unite the world in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, joining Global Citizen and WHO to curate the One World: Together At Home global streaming event.
The event was inspired by the Instagram virtual music series "Solidarity Sessions: Together, At Home," launched in March 2020 by lead singer of Coldplay and Global Citizen Festival Curator Chris Martin as a way to bring people around the world together at home at the start of the pandemic, to enjoy streamed sessions from some of the world’s biggest musicians — including John Legend, Common, and Niall Horan.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a pandemic.
"My heart is aching and warm for those who are ER doctors and nurses who are sleeping in cars to make sure that they don't infect their families or their patients," Lady Gaga told millions of viewers during a WHO daily press briefing that April. "What you are doing is putting yourself in harm's way to help the world, and we all salute you."
In the run up to One World: Together At Home, held on April 18, 2020, Global Citizens took over 700,000 actions, supporting the mobilization of $55.1 million for the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and $72.8 million for local and regional responders.
Tatiana Valentinyova, a Global Citizen from Slovakia, joined millions worldwide in calling for action to protect the world’s most vulnerable from the impacts of the pandemic.
After catching the virus herself just weeks before the event, Valentinyova also lost her job.
"It's our responsibility to support people in need and a way to stop the pandemic around the world," Valentinyova told Global Citizen. "People need our help, that's important, and we have to help them."
Global Citizens like YOU took 710k+ actions for #TogetherAtHome, which helped @WHO deliver hundreds of millions of PPE to more than 173 countries! We're excited to share a special message from @DrTedros 👇 pic.twitter.com/kyPNpgkzKq
— Global Citizen ⭕ (@GlblCtzn) December 3, 2020
By August 2020, the WHO officially confirmed that it had received 100% of the $55.1 million in funding toward the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, aiding the global delivery of PPE, medical teams, and emergency assistance to over 162 countries. By March 2021, Global Citizen confirmed that 100% of funding from 26 pledges made at the event were received by all 140 local response organizations — including La Casa Don Pedro.
COVID-19 highlighted the existing inequalities in our societies, with communities of color and those living in poverty in the US disproportionately affected by both COVID-19 and homelessness. According to a National Low Income Housing Coalition report, Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to experience homelessness than white Americans.
By the end of 2020, the global number of people experiencing hunger would rise rapidly to 690 million. A decade of progress toward the United Nations' Global Goals would become seriously under threat, and still is today. The Ukraine war, COVID-19, and other compounding crises have left as many as 828 million people hungry — up by 150 million compared to 2019.
But taking action with Global Citizen means you’re standing up for millions of people worldwide who still don't have access to the most basic needs, like food, education, civil rights, and much more. Every day, you join us to campaign to end extreme poverty by ensuring that commitments made on the Global Citizen stage during our festivals are delivered to organizations like La Casa de Don Pedro on the front lines of ending poverty. Only by working together can we ensure protection, equality, and equity for the world's most vulnerable communities.