Meet Nayely

Nayely Hurtado is a 2020 RISE alum pursuing a Masters in Public Policy at Northeastern University while balancing her commitment to serving Iowa’s Latino community. She joined RISE’s summer program to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the Latino population.

In her position as a case manager for the Spanish-language helpline, Línea de Ayuda, Nayely worked closely with agencies to refer resources. She says a lot of time was spent helping community members suffering from COVID-related job-loss or reduced hours, especially those who weren’t eligible for government aid. 

One client Nayely remembers well was a single mom who was struggling to avoid eviction during the pandemic. Nayely spent months trying to secure rent aid for the family by reaching out to churches, individual donors, and community funds for undocumented workers. 

“When I spoke with [the client] I wasn’t able to give her full confirmation that we would get the funding. She would sound very stressed, very depressed, and it was difficult to console her,” Nayely says. “When we were finally able to get a donation and say it was on the way, that was one of the moments I felt like we really helped someone.”

The woman and her family were able to avoid eviction and remain in their apartment thanks to the intensive work by the team at Línea de Ayuda. 

Nayely was hired this fall by EMBARC & the Iowa Office of Latino Affairs to serve as the Línea de Ayuda Coordinator. She now utilizes the skills she gained from her RISE term to supervise the helpline.  Through her work, she hopes to help clients navigate the many daily hurdles unique to immigrants, refugees, and non-English speakers. ​