Chalice House is full!
As we had hoped, Vicky — Marlon’s wife and Angel’s mom – was able to join them at Chalice House in January after being released from detention, thanks to the determined efforts of attorneys at the National Immigrant Justice Center. As Marlon said, “my family is back together again!”
Meanwhile, Berlin, our guest from Colombia, is taking as many English lessons as he can find. He is doing some art with Peggy, a Countryside artist, and teaching himself the saxophone.
Everyone is adjusting well. They have had a lot of opportunities to meet many of you already, from a bowling party to a pizza dinner to Mardi Gras pancakes. If you’d like to invite them to something, let us know!
They are all anxious to receive their work permits. The soonest they can request work permits will be six months after their asylum applications have been submitted. Processing takes a few months after filing so they have several months more of waiting. They are counting the days.
We do have a few specific needs. If you are able to help us with any of the following, please contact us at ChaliceHouse@ccuu.org or click here to donate. If you would like to designate a specific use for your funds, there is a place to note that.
- Any music teachers out there who would like to work with Berlin on learning the sax?
- Marlon is a truck driver and wants to work toward getting his U.S. licenses. He’s been studying the Rules of the Road and we’d like to get him some practice driving here in the U.S. We are looking for funds to cover professional driving lessons.
- The POC food pantry and clothes closet covers many needs, but our guests would welcome gift cards from Walmart, Target or Eurofresh to cover additional needs and wishes.
- We are hoping to be able to take the family and Berlin on some outings this summer. If you have any ideas, or want to contribute to that effort, please let us know.
- Does anyone have an old phone that can be donated to our guests and/or other ICDI clients? Please contact us.
A special shout out to:
- Mike, for managing some recent home repairs, from replacing batteries in a thermostat to repairing a roof leak
- Our volunteer drivers, who are shuttling them back and forth to English classes and POC until the weather is more friendly to biking and walking
- Judy and Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, St. Michaels Episcopal Church, Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist and Southminster Presbyterian for providing opportunities for our guests to meet members of the Chalice House community
- The mentor teams for their commitment to helping our guests transition into a new life!