Refugee Support in a New Reality — How We’ve Been Able To Help and How You Can Too
by Andrea Cabrera, Refugee Services Case Manager
Refugee resettlement has looked a little different from what it used to be in the past. My name is Andrea Cabrera- the Refugee Services Case Manager here at Mission Adelante. I have been at MA a little under a year now, and my role has changed quite a bit since I began. When I first started, I primarily worked with ongoing services which encompassed employment services, English classes, and refugee medical services. My days consisted of serving alongside an incredible team helping newly arrived refugees look for jobs, taking them to medical appointments, and helping out with different orientations to help them get settled well in the US. When I wasn’t doing that, I was helping our amazing resettlement and placement team setting up incoming client homes and unloading many (many!) trucks with furniture. I loved every minute of it.
I was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the mainland at age 5. At my local church, I grew up surrounded by people from many different places and I fell in love with their stories and cultures. When we moved, we did not have much family in the area, so my church members became my family. My eyes were opened to the different obstacles people face when moving their lives to a completely new country and how challenging it can be to settle down. Working alongside my church, I was able to see the importance of supporting our community and had the opportunity to serve in different ways. Ever since then, I felt the Lord’s call to serve in immigrant support services and refugee resettlement.
When the new administration cut funding to the refugee resettlement world mid-January, it hit our team hard. We had built relationships with our clients and were expecting many more. We were unable to continue serving our refugee friends in the same way that we had done in the past. However, because of your continued support and prayers, we have been able to keep supporting them in many ways, it just looks a little different. In the recent months since the funding cuts and discontinuation of programs, Mission Adelante has been able to continue employment services, English classes, and social services support with our current clients. We could not have done it without you, so THANK YOU!! Being able to support our clients during a time when the world is seeming upside down has been such a blessing.
As time goes on, it seems like immigrant and refugee support channels are becoming scarce. While the means may be few, the work continues! There are many different ways in which we can all support our immigrant and refugee neighbors. The first is prayer. We serve a living and powerful God! Let us pray to Him as people who believe in the power of His love, in the power of His care, and let us pray confidently because we know that He answers prayers. Pray for refugee and immigrant families, for those within the community who are serving them, and for God to raise people within the church that see the need in our world as a call to action to be the hands and feet of Christ (Matthew 9:36-38). Second, with the discontinuation of resettlement and placement programs, resettlement agencies have had to become a bit more creative in the ways we can serve our neighbor. World Relief’s Churches of Welcome program is a great way to get your church involved in serving refugees and immigrants in the US. They provide the training necessary to help your church “welcome well”! Lastly, if you are able and feel led to, consider giving! There are many organizations that are committed to the task of resettlement and refugee services. Now more than ever your generous donations can be life-changing for refugee and immigrant families.
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Summer is here! We’d love to include you in some of the excitement during our summer trimester!
Come and See Nights: July 14, 15, 16, 17
Visit one of our programs and get a first-hand look at how you could make an impact as a volunteer. Learn more at missionadelante.org/serve
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Join us July 21–24 for a week of fun and creativity! Students can sign up for exciting classes and learn new skills in art, music, and more!
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