St. John’s Circle of Care Update: November, 2019
The St. John’s Circle of Care has now been entrusted with helping a 22 year-old single woman from Guatemala.
She is a bright, self-possessed young woman, skilled in the ancient art of Mayan weaving. She has two years of college education.
Presently, she is receiving casework services from Catholic Charities, a resettlement agency in Springfield. This agency is under severe stress financially due to severe cutbacks in federal refugee admissions.
She has an apartment in town and is working two jobs – housekeeping at a local motel, and kitchen work in a local restaurant. She is looking for one steadier job with possibly some upward mobility. One of her biggest priorities learning English, and she is taking classes from the Center for New Americans. She has supplemented these classes with work online and has recently connected with a volunteer tutor.
She has begun to make social connections, including a Spanish-speaking evangelical church group, thanks to the rich social network of the circle.
How you can help…
- New members to the Circle of Care are always welcome, especially at this time those who speak Spanish.
- If you have ideas or connections for employment, or inroads into the local fiber arts and crafting community, please contact one of those listed below.
- If you can help with internet connectivity, let’s talk!
- If you can assist in any way with transportation, know we can use your help, either occasionally or regularly.
- If you can make a donation to the St. John’s Refugee Fund we will put it to good use. No donation is too small. Donations can be made right here or via check, made out to St. John’s and earmarked for “Refugee Relief.”
For more information, contact:
Judson Brown at judbrown47@icloud.com (text at 202-957-7221)
Cathy Wanat at cgwanat@gmail.com (413-230-4800)
Allyson Spencer-Bunch at allyscribit@gmail.com or 631-521-0813
St. John’s Refugee Relief Fund
The philosophy of the Circles of Care program is to encourage independence and self reliance, yet have a safety net available for extraordinary expenses or one time essential purchases that cannot be managed with a small budget.
How the money may be used….
- To help with expenses that are not covered either through employment or other community resources. For example, if the state fuel assistance program falls short, this fund will be tapped to pay for heating this winter. Presently, heating and electric are not included in the refugee’s rent. Housing costs remain a huge challenge for the city-wide Welcome Home Northampton refugee resettlement effort.
How the money has been used in the past…
- To repay “travel loans”. Refugees are required to reimburse the government for their “travel loans”.
- To cover the housing costs of the refugee resettlement effort.
- To provide emergency assistance to the more than 50 refugees who have been settled in this area in the past two years.
College Church Circle of Care Update
Sabato Furaha (25), Byamungu (9), Jean Claude (6), and Beyonce (3) arrived to the U.S. in April, 2018. Unfortunately, Sabato’s husband is still working through the process to come to the United States from Africa. Because of this, Sabato has been functionally a young single mother in a new country.
How you can help…
- Our circle is small and we would love some more people to join us!
- Our most pressing need is help with transportation. There are morning and afternoon drivers needed on weekdays and weekends. We’re also looking for people who could give a few hours on 1-2 Saturdays this winter to bring the boys to basketball practice. The family is a joy to spend time with and the kids are happy to teach you a little Swahili in the car!
For more information, contact:
Allyson Spencer-Bunch at allyscribit@gmail.com or 631-521-0813
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St. John’s Circle of Care Update: March, 2019
In February, St. John’s Circle of Care said goodbye to a Congolese family of three refugees who had come to us from a refugee camp in Rwanda. While here, they grew to a family of four. They left this area to join extended family in metro Salt Lake City.