Casa Monarca

Casa Monarca was founded in 2014 in Monterrey, Mexico by Dr. Luis Eduardo Zavala de Alba to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, and defend their human rights. The organization provides legal, psychosocial, and humanitarian services for the many migrants, returnees to Mexico, refugees, and stateless persons in this prosperous, industrial city two hours south of the US-Mexico border.

When the pandemic arrived, Casa Monarca responded by first seeking to understand the new circumstances refugees and migrants faced. Through a series of phone interviews, they learned that job loss, food, and medicine were primary concerns, along with uncertainty about how their migrant status would affect access to healthcare.  Casa Monarca responded with a range of new programs, for example, food delivery, counseling, and support for migrants facing job loss, and a special initiative for new mothers.  Whenever possible, Casa Monarca shifted to remote service delivery, e.g., through phone or WhatsApp.  Throughout the pandemic, the team also continued and even strengthened, their focus on advocacy and collaboration with state and municipal governments for the development and delivery of migrant programs in Monterrey. Taken as a whole, their COVID-19 response brought to life Casa Monarca’s aim of providing “a local response to a global phenomenon, a human response to an inhuman situation.”