There is a real possibility that we will be sponsoring an asylum seeker from Central America within the next week or so. This is a single adult man, in his 40s, who is fleeing a powerful gang. We are working with Kino Border Initiative who requested a sponsor for him, and have been able to speak to our potential asylum seeker. He is so thankful for our promise of support.
We can’t give any more details at this point about him, but we can certainly give details about how you can help!
Right now we need to focus on hands-on help. Please email bridgetorutland@gmail.com or call 802-779-4217 if you can help with one of the following items.
Volunteers are needed for these committees:
- Housing: Recruit sponsors and hosts for asylum seekers; assist with temporary housing needs
- Liaison with host and guest: Ensure well-being of guest, keep communication open, help resolve any household issues. It’s alright if you don’t know Spanish! You’d be surprised how much you’re able to communicate without knowing the same language.
- Material needs: Ensure adequate food, clothing, household items, organize shopping, tech support with computers and cell phones when necessary
- Medical/dental/psych: We already have some doctors willing to work pro bono! We still need people to find dental and mental health providers and serve as a liaison with providers.
- Tutoring in English: Conversation, actual tutoring, etc.
- Development committee: Fundraising in the time of Covid is challenging, but we can have creative fundraising and meet our sponsorship needs.
- Transportation: At this point, there wouldn’t be a lot of transportation because of Covid, but eventually this will be a larger need. There may still be some transportation required for doctor appointments or shopping.
- Social/recreation: Again – at this point this has to be kept at a minimum, but outdoor activities would be great for now. Isolation for someone from a different culture, climate, language, etc. makes the adjustment that much more difficult.
While we can’t guarantee when this person will come, this is real, and we really need you to help us now. We’ve all been in a holding pattern for so long, but now we need to get organized.
Please email bridgetorutland@gmail.com or call 802-779-4217 if you can help with one of these items.
And because we do need to fundraise quickly, please consider making a donation here: https://bridgetorutland.com/donate/