Quite a LifeLine in Winton

July 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Monika Grasley – LifeLine CDC – CA

Ernie Solis was LifeLine’s first AmeriCorps member 4 years ago and continues to be a strong voice in the community. This is one of the projects that he and a team of community members have been working on. Organized by community members a collaborative law clinic is being piloted in Winton, California, thanks to the leadership of Ernie Solis. This article appeared in the Merced Sun-Star newspaper:

A free legal clinic is planned for Winton on July 9. The Free Winton Legal Clinic is a product of the collaboration between Winton LifeLine Community Center, Merced County Public Defender, Central California Legal Services and UC Merced Law Clinic. The purpose of the clinic is to make free legal services and information available to Winton residents.

Winton LifeLine Community Center has been part of the community for several years. LifeLine has become a force for improving the community by engaging in graffiti abatement, involving the local youth in this project and working on other projects.

I first met LifeLine representative Ernie Solis several months ago….

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Neighborhood Children Learn How to Advocate on Extreme Poverty

January 10, 2011 Leave a comment

Have you ever tried to teach a kindergartner about extreme poverty? What about teaching first and second graders about advocacy? Yesterday, I gave it my best shot. I had some resources from the people at Micah Challenge. They are pros at this stuff. I was just passing on their message.

A day of action. A day for prayer. A day for promise. A day of advocacy. This is what is at the heart of the Micah Challenge as they ask people around the world to join in the commitment to pursue justice for those living in extreme poverty and encouraging our leaders to take action. 2010 is the 10 year mark of the promise made by nations of the world to meet the Millennium Development goals. The UNDP (the UN’s global development network) has been working with global leaders to cut poverty in half by 2015. Micah Challenge is spear heading the Lend A Hand campaign to focus on our promise to those living in poverty. We need to remind our leaders that this is a promise worth keeping.

This is where our kindergarten, first and second grade students at Mika CDC come in…we decided to “lend a hand”. We talked about extreme poverty. Many of our students are from low-income families themselves and it gave us an opportunity to talk about the difference between struggling and survival. It gave us an opportunity to consider just how much we do have and to count our many blessings. We made a list of ways that we can help those living in extreme poverty. Jorge said we could give money that we save. Monica suggested that we could collect food. Carlos thought it would be good to give all of the clothes and shoes that don’t fit anymore to people who need them. As for the problem of a lack of medicine, one student said we should gather all the medicine in our houses and ship it to whoever is sick…maybe not do-able but hey, at least they’re thinking!

As a sign of our promise to do what we can to help the poor, we made postcards with our handprints on them. We will be sending them to the folks at Micah Challenge and they will be sending them on to Washington, D.C. along with others they are collecting from around the nation. We also made a banner with our names and handprints to send along with the postcards so our nation’s leaders would know that we care about the poor and that they need to continue to serve them and pursue justice on their behalf. What a great way to spend an hour with our Mika students!

By the end of our time together most of the students knew that there are 500 million people in the world suffering from extreme poverty and that we are trying to get that number down to 250 million. They knew that 10-10-10 is not a holiday but a day of remembrance – a day of prayer, promise and advocacy. Most of all they knew why we at Mika CDC chose the name of our organization and the verse that inspired it. Not only do we share the name with our brothers and sisters at Micah Challenge, but we share their vision to reduce poverty in our world as well.

“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

View MIKA’s blog.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with ,

Homeless Families and Empty Sunday School Classrooms

October 25, 2010 Leave a comment

I got a call the other morning from my friend Justin. A family that he has known for several years through his youth ministry told him that they were being evicted. This mom of three kids between the ages of 9-14 had been paying $650 a month to rent a travel trailer. When she lost her house cleaning job that was paying her under the table, she could no longer pay the rent. Her neighbor has offered her the back of her truck to sleep in for the night and that might be where they end up staying.

Justin called me because in his words, “that is unacceptable.” He wants to help the family but doesn’t know what resources are available to the family and he is trying to get his church to do something about it but that bureaucratic process will be a long one which will end up with help being too little, too late.

The frustrating thing is, I don’t really know what to do either. Despite the fact that social workers in our organization deal with families like this everyday I have little help to offer. If they do not fit our relatively narrow qualifications for immediate financial assistance we have no place to send them.

The reality is there is NOTHING in our immediate area that is set up to help families like this. Evicted, broke, out of work… I want someone or something to blame for this dilemma. I jump automatically to the family, they should have called sooner, they must have some sort of addiction stuff going on, they must be lazy.

The reality is stark though. Whatever the cause is of this family’s crisis, our local system in Bellflower has nothing for this specific family. 211, the LA county resource call center, will refer her to a shelter out of the area and or give her access to hotel vouchers for a few nights but there is nothing after that. What is the answer? Shelters are expensive financially and socially. Immediate financial assistance will not really help in the long run because of her eviction. What the family needs is a LOCAL place for at least 3 months were they can land long enough for mom to get a job and the kids don’t have to leave their school.

What will we as God’s people in this city do? We have resources. We have people. We have money. We have buildings (approximately 30 church buildings with countless classrooms that sit empty 90% of the week.) I wonder what Jesus feels about that? With hurting and poor neighbors all around us, is Jesus pleased with our clean and tidy classrooms that sit empty, preserved for telling Bible stories to the kids of the saints a couple of days a week?

Would it be possible to set up a Hospitality Network in Bellflower like this one?

Kingdom Causes

Filed under Justice Tagged with , ,

From ESL to Advocate

July 8, 2010 Leave a comment

Ana Martinez started attending ESL classes in Montana Vista about a year and a half ago.

Since then her self esteem and confidence level have increased to the point that she is now involved in the community and speaking publicly on behalf of the community. One such instance took place on March 8. As the community of Montana Vista is becoming involved in the political process, they have engaged the department of Justice to effect true immigration reform. On March 8 Ana worked with the “Red Fronteriza” (The Border Network for Immigration) and spoke to community members as well as Justice Department personnel. In addition to this, they are currently organizing an immigration rally that will take place on April 10, 2010. It is awesome to see Ana involved in this as she is also encouraging others to seek justice for the community.

In addition to this, Ana is encouraging the young adults graduating from High School as she has gone with them to fill out applications for study grants and acceptance into the local community colleges.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , ,

Que Dramatico!

February 21, 2010 Leave a comment

“Why do you have to be so dramatic!”  I thought as I rolled my eyes.   The speaker was telling stories of immigration officers pounding down doors and ripping mothers away from their children, of fathers leaving for work and being deported, never to say good bye.  It all seemed so extreme.  Maybe there were a few cases like that but, come on!  This is the United States of America.  We have order and compassion.  Let’s not be dramatic in our case studies.  Maybe you have thought the same things.  This is what I thought until it started happening in my neighborhood.

Lately our ministry gets more calls asking for help to find relatives that have been detained or deported.  Last week a mother called crying.  She was hiding in her closet with her four children, afraid to open the door to the immigration officers outside.  “We have never had any problems with the law before,” she cried, as my mind raced to know how to advise her.  “I don’t know why they have come.”  Clearly the immigration agents have a reason and right to ask her for her documents.  She has been in the US for seventeen years.  Her four children were born here.  Her husband was at work.  She stayed in the closet until they left.  What would you do?

What will we do?  Maybe you are rolling your eyes, thinking, “how dramatic!” but the fact of the matter is that the same scene could have played out this morning for your children’s schoolmates or one of your acquaintances.  Chances are that at some point throughout your day, you encountered a neighbor who does not have legal documents to be in this country.  There are around 12 million people in that situation in our country and knocking on their doors while they hide in the closet is not an effective nor American way to deal with the situation we find ourselves in.

There are many reasons that people do not have legal documents.  The system for obtaining documents is completely broken and we must come up with a way for people to literally come out of their closets and participate in legal ways in our society.  It is not safe for us to have neighbors driving around with no licenses or insurance.  It is not fair to workers for undocumented laborers to be working without paying taxes.  And it does not represent our best values to have neighbors who do work hard and contribute to our community be terrified to walk out the front door every morning.  This is the land of the free.

So what will we do to solve the situation?  Yesterday Representative Gutierrez introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for American’s Safety and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP).  It is a step toward looking at workable solutions that support our values of freedom and hard work.  Not everyone supports it.  Some say it is too dramatic.  As of right now there are no Republicans co sponsoring the bill.  But it is a conversation starter.  It is a solution oriented bill to move us forward as a nation.  Anne Lamott says to write “sh**** first drafts”.  Write something; get started.  This bill is a start- a first draft that we can examine and pour over and edit until we design a piece of legislation that will give some clear steps for undocumented immigrants to take so that they can earn a rightful place in our neighborhoods, workplaces and country.

The next time a neighbor calls I want to be able to say, “This is what you need to do- step 1, step 2, step 3…”.  No more hiding for any of us.  Let’s solve this thing together.

Crissy Brooks, Mika CDC, Costa Mesa

www.mikacdc.org

Crissy Brooks’ Blog

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , ,

Why Rejoice About Tearing Families Apart?

December 16, 2009 Leave a comment

I heard about the police sting on the day laborers almost instantaneously. One of my neighbor’s boyfriends was in the group that was picked up on 17th Street. I thought it was too bad but there wasn’t much I could do. He was, in fact, here undocumented.

Then more and more women began calling me saying their husbands had been taken, too. By Monday, I had six out of the 11 families whose husbands were arrested asking me for help. The rent is due this week and there was the immediate pressure of where to come up with the money now that their spouses weren’t here or in a position to provide for them.

Our organization, Mika Community Development Corp., doesn’t deal much with relief work. The whole premise of our ministry is to equip leaders to take responsibility for their community. I buy into the idea that if you point out opportunities and open up space for people to work and lead, then they will step into that role and be successful. I believe it is more beneficial for the whole community and affirms the dignity of the individual to offer work instead of hand outs.

As I sat in my office surrounded by these suddenly single moms listing what they needed to get through the week, I was perplexed by the fact that 72 hours earlier these women and their husbands were self reliant. They were formulating a plan to pay the rent.

Now, in order to show men that they have to be responsible for their actions, we have deported them, and the burden of care for their families is on the community. Churches, individuals and companies have pitched in to make up the short fall in rent for this week. As generous as this is, it’s just a short-term solution. Now the hard work starts of mapping out a long-term plan for these women and their children.

Of course I could do nothing. I could “let the market take care of itself.” And I’m starting to think this might be the best solution. I hear this admonishment often in the news and in our own city policy discussions –- this idea that if you open up economic opportunity it will either succeed or fail based on the demand for the product.

The more I reflect on the immigration situation the more I hear this phrase in my head. I keep trying to figure out how we got into this situation in the first place. At the risk of making a very complicated situation too simplistic, I think it goes back to us as a nation, trusting the market’s ability to take care of itself more than our laws.

The economic opportunity was so great in the last few decades that our systems couldn’t keep up. There weren’t enough visas for the amount of foreign workers we needed to keep up with the economy so we found ways outside the law to keep it going.

Then we changed our minds. We decided that enough is enough and now we want to enforce these laws. So we’re cracking down. The market has failed us. We are afraid there’s not enough for everyone and so we’re back to trusting in the law. In the mean time there are millions of people caught between our invitation into opportunity and our crackdown with the law.

So I cannot do nothing. These millions of people have become our neighbors and coworkers and friends and those who serve us in many capacities. I can’t do nothing because my faith as a Christian requires justice and mercy. Some say it was justice for the 11 day laborers to be deported. Now it is mercy that must follow through on the ramifications of those men being removed from our community and their families.

Several of my fellow Costa Mesans commented on the Daily Pilot story about the police bust using language of celebration and rejoicing. While I disagree with the reasoning, I can understand the support of the police actions.

What I cannot understand is those who rejoice in the fact that our neighbors’ families have been torn apart. Children are literally crying for their fathers, and mothers are scrambling to get by. You can say they brought it on themselves but why would you celebrate that kind of pain?

I have cried a lot this week. I cried with the women who don’t know how they will provide for their families. I cried with the men as I sat in a hotel room in Tijuana explaining that the church in Costa Mesa is standing with them and their families. But mostly I’ve cried alone in my car wondering how we became a city that tears families apart on purpose and then rejoices about it.

Crissy Brooks

Visit Mika’s Website

Visit Crissy’s Blog

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , ,

Working for Justice

November 27, 2009 Leave a comment

NECT & Christian Reformed Campus Ministry sponsored two days of “Justice Action” activities, Friday, November 13 & Sunday, November 15.

On Sunday, April 26, Rev. Ken Vander Wall went to the National Mall in Washington, DC for a “Display of Shoes For Darfur.” Forty-thousand pairs of shoes–symbolic of the 400,000 people killed in the conflict in Darfur (the western part of Sudan) stretched almost as far as the eye could see. God laid it on Ken’s heart to have a similar display in northern New Jersey.

The goal was to collect at least 20,000 pairs of shoes (one for every 20 victims of this horrible tragedy). Colleges, high schools, grade schools and churches in MA, PA, NJ & NY participated. All of the shoes were displayed Sunday Afternoon, November 15 at a location in northern New Jersey. Following the display, all acceptable shoes were distributed to homeless shelters across the nation by Soles4Souls, a nationally recognized charity.

Thanks to all who participated and made this a success!

On Friday, November 13th Al Santino and Campus Minister Ken Vander Wall spoke at Cedar Hill CRC in Wycoff, NJ. They spoke about the need for justice action in our communities and in our world. This spurred discussion of practical ways to be involved in “releasing the oppressed” in the name of Jesus.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , ,

An Immigrant’s Pathway of Hope

November 27, 2009 Leave a comment

Northeast Community Transformation has established a partnership with Nachman and Associates, which is providing vital education and legal assistance to our partner ministries and their communities.

Lisbel first came to the US in 1994 as a six year old burn victim through Healing the Children, an agency which brings medical care to poor children throughout the world. Dan and Jule Ann Martin of Covenant CRC, and their children, became Liz’s host family. They cared for her while she made visits back and forth from the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. Indeed, Liz and the Martins had become family. By age 20, with the support of her family in DR, Liz had decided to stay in the US to fulfill her hopes and dreams.

She desired to attend college and study psychology so that she could become a counselor helping people like herself who have been through trauma. However, as the case with many immigrants who are seeking to live fruitful lives in the US, they are subject to a “broken” and often arbitrary system. Liz was initially turned down for her Student Visa for what David Nachman considered no good reason. However through the advocacy of his law firm, the persistence of the Martins, and Liz’s determination not to quit, she was granted her Visa a few weeks ago.

Liz and the Martins attribute this victory to the grace and plan of God. Liz states that she was “wondering what was going to happen but I am now excited, happy and relieved.” She did not lose hope after the initial rejection believing that God wanted her in the US to fulfill her dreams. She also believes that “God did not want it to be easy. If it was too quick, you don’t value it.”

The story of Liz is one example of how NECT’s partnership with Nachman and Associates has helped to create hope and justice for “aliens” seeking to dwell in peace in our land. NECT is also supporting efforts such as ESL, citizenship classes and advocacy for immigration reform along with the Office of Social Justice of the Christian Reformed Church. Please pray for and consider participating in these efforts through a financial contribution and by being actively involved as a servant of justice. For more information about NECT’s Justice Education Program, contact Al Santino.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , ,

How Far Does Compassion Go?

July 21, 2009 Leave a comment

The other day my friend asked, “Can I have a hug?” The vulnerability of the request took me off guard. Some days you need to be squeezed. I thought of this as I got ready to visit another friend in jail. I wondered what it is like to go for years without a hug. My friend is facing 25 years to life. 25 years without feeling rain, without smelling flowers. 25 years without a friend wrapping their arms around you and holding you tight. I can’t imagine. It seems so harsh.

Then I snapped out of my compassion and remembered that he is a criminal. He did something to be in jail. He shot at someone. Perhaps my compassion is misdirected. Would I be as compassionate if my friend had been shot at?

Perhaps my compassion springs out of witnessing the arbitrary, seemingly unjust system my friend is entangled in. There are some people who murdered and got seven years. Then there is my friend, who shot a gun but hit no one. No one was hurt and he is looking at 25 years to life. It doesn’t look like justice to me.

As I struggle with this tension of how far my compassion should go for criminals, I reflect on the scriptures. In Matthew 25:36 Jesus said, “I was in prison and you came to visit Me.” This passage teaches that in visiting prisoners we are serving Christ. It even uses visiting prisoners as one standard by which Christ will judge who his followers are.  Nothing is mentioned as to if the prisoners are guilty or which Christ will judge who his followers are. Nothing is mentioned as to if the prisoners are guilty or not.

I am struck too by one of Christ’s final acts- to forgive a guilty, convicted criminal on the cross. It was clear that he was guilty and yet Christ had compassion on him. So maybe I’m not that far off. Maybe compassion does not have to make sense. Forgiveness is not logical. The wisdom of God is foolishness to the world.

So how far does compassion go?

Crissy Brooks

For more from Crissy Brooks go to:

http://www.conversantlife.com/blogs/crissy+brooks

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , , ,

What Do People Know?

May 21, 2009 Leave a comment

by Zach Hacker

ORANGE CITY – Nine people from the social work department at Northwestern College in Orange City want people to know more about immigration in their community.

Social work processor Valerie Stokes’ community development/needs assessment class has been working to find out what people in Sioux County know about immigration issues in their community. They presented the results of their work Thursday to about 40 people at a community forum at the Orange City Town Hall.

To gather their research, the nine seniors called every 10th phone book listing from Orange City, Alton and Maurice. Of the 411 people they contacted, 199 responded (48.4 percent) to their questions about perceptions and knowledge on Hispanic immigrants in Sioux County. Of those that responded, 122 were females and 79 were males, 96 percent were Caucasian, and they were between the ages of 18 and 96.

“In a matter of 17 weeks, they’ve accomplished a great deal by really assessing the community, by interviewing stakeholders and meeting directly with Hispanic women in the community, and then walking through this whole process of developing the survey, adopting it, implementing it and then analyzing the results,” Stokes said. “That’s a lot to do for students in a small amount of time. I am more than pleased.”

In their research, the students found what they felt were discrepancies in how people responded. Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said they thought there was “about the right amount” of immigrants in the community, while 64.4 percent were concerned there are too many illegal immigrants coming to the area.

Nearly 99 percent of those surveyed considered themselves to be a Christian. Of those, only 11.8 percent said the community “always” models the biblical passage “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Nearly 45 percent of respondents said Sioux County is “occasionally” a welcoming place while another 30.9 percent said it is “frequently” a welcoming place. But 87.8 percent said they have no Hispanic friends outside of the workplace.

Finally, 70.3 percent of those who responded said they thought immigrants strengthen the community, yet 45.6 percent said those immigrants do not pay their fair share of taxes.

Julia Rathbun, one of the researchers, attended a focus group for Hispanic people in the community for more research. Although shed said not every member of the group thought they had been discriminated against, they did think the community as a whole had much to learn about them and why they are immigrating.

“One thing that we really learned was that Hispanic people want the non-Hispanic community to know that they’re not bad,” Rathbun said, “They’re here, basically, on the means of survival and to support their families.”

That general lack of understanding shown in the “knowledge” questions on the survey was surprising to the researchers and a problem they think needs to be addressed.

“I think people have a good basis of understanding,” said group member Rebekah Wilson. “We need to kind of take that to the next level. If we’re really as concerned as we say we are, we really need to know things. How many unskilled workers does this county need? How many years does it take to get a visa? What are people withstanding when they enter this country? Issues like that.”

The group suggested there should be three intervention stages in Sioux County to help Hispanic neighbors integrate into the community. With religion having such a major impact on the community, the class things each church should hold Sunday School lessons revolving around the topic of immigration. Secondly, it thinks the community should hold outdoor events during the summer to encourage community and relationship building, and third, it thinks local newspapers should publish a series of articles pertaining to issues about immigration in Sioux County.

The Rev. John Nelson of Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City worked with the students in laying the groundwork for their studies. He said his church already is trying to reach out to the Hispanic community through real-time translation of sermons and English as a second language classes among other activities.

“We’re trying to break the barriers down, but we still need to work at it,” Nelson said.

The students and their professors think Sioux County could be a better place with the help of the three proposed interventions and community knowledge.

“The course is ending, and now the community has an opportunity to take hold of this information and run with it and develop a plan of action that will allow us to be who we say we are and who we want to be,” Stokes said. “We want to be a welcoming community. We want our Christian faith to show in our actions. We are a community of immigrants. We must figure out how to use that as an asset, to view that as a strength in our area.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Here are some of the most telling statistics in a recent survey of 199 Sioux County residents conducted by a social work class from Northwestern College in Orange City.

Q: Do you have a close friend or colleague with whom you socialize outside of work who is a recent Hispanic immigrant?

87.8% – No, I do not have a close friend/colleague
10.2% – Yes, I have a close firend/colleague

Q: Do you think there are too many, too few, or about the right number of Hispanic immigrants in Sioux County today?

52.3% – About the right number
28.0% – Too many, 12.4% – Don’t know
7.3% – Too few

Q: How concerned are you about illegal immigrants?

47.0% – Somewhat concerned
45.5% – Very concerned
6.1% – Not too concerned
1.5% – Not at all concerned

Q: Do you believe most recent Hispanic immigrants to Sioux County are here legally or not legally?

42.6% – Legally
42.6% – Not legally
21.2% – Don’t know

Q: Do you think Hispanic immigrants are unfairly discriminated against?

52.0% – Yes, discriminated against
40.3 – No, not discriminated against
7.7% – Don’t know

Q: Do you think Hispanic immigrants pay their fair share of taxes?

45.6% – No, they don’t pay their fair share of taxes
29.0% – Yes, they pay their fair share of taxes
24.9% – Don’t know

Q: What’s closer to your views?

69.1% – Immigrants today strengthen Sioux County because of their hard work and talents
29.1% – Immigrants today are a burden on Sioux County because they take jobs, housing and health care

Click here for a link to Northwestern College’s page about the study.

Click here for another newspaper article on the same study.

Click here for one more newspaper article on the study.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , ,

Another Crazy Making Irony

April 10, 2009 Leave a comment

We say it’s a “Win-Win”- those situations where each party involved benefits. As cheesy as the term sounds sometimes, it is nice when things work out well for everyone. I heard of a potential “win-win” a couple of weeks ago when one of my neighbors asked me to look over some paperwork.

My neighbor has been working as a Nurses Assistant at a convalescent home for 21 years. He makes $10.63 an hour and works full time. He has been in the process of getting his permanent residence status. He has paid a few thousand dollars in legal fees and gone through all the steps. He is in the homestretch.

What he needs to seal the deal is a paper signed by a “potential’ employer stating that they will hire him once he has his papers. It seems fairly simple considering that he has been working under the radar at this company for two decades. I imagined that his boss would gladly sign the paper and congratulate my neighbor on becoming legal and thank him for his years of service doing the dirtiest jobs in the hospital.

Here it comes- the crazy making part: The supervisor won’t sign the paper! But it’s a “win-win”- you get a legal employee, he gets to walk proud, free of fear. Yeah, no.

In my naïveté I am always sure there is a way to make things happen. I offered to go with my neighbor to plead with his supervisor. I offered to threaten him with phone calls to the immigration authorities. I coached my neighbor to have his lawyer call on his behalf. We racked our brains.

Now the deadline has come and gone with no signature. My neighbor will have to begin the process again- spending years and resources on one more try.

What is the fear that keeps us from helping? What is the pride that let’s us play with others’ futures? What did the employer have to gain by not signing the paper?

Crissy Brooks

For more information on MIKA Community Development Corporation click here.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , ,

Crazy Making Ironies

April 1, 2009 Leave a comment

Sometimes things can get so nutty! A couple of years ago our city council passed an ordinance that placed a Federal ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent in our city jail. So now anyone who is picked up by the police is screened by an ICE agent. You don’t have to be convicted or guilty of anything, just brought in for whatever reason and you are screened for documentation.

A couple months back a friend of mine refused to sleep with her abusive ex-husband when he brought the rent over. He got angry. She got scared and threw a plate at him. When the police got there he was bleeding and she wasn’t so they took her away as the aggressor. It didn’t seem to matter that he had a history of domestic violence. So my friend spent the night in jail. There were no charges brought against her and the case was dropped.

Except then she was on an immigration hold after having been processed through our city jail. So now she is in the process of being deported, in which case her three American citizen children will be left in the custody of their abusive father or child protective services.

That all seems pretty straight forward and some would even say it is fair. Technically, the law played out (whether or not it is a just law is another question). Here’s where it gets nutty…

While our team is trying to get an immigration lawyer on the case I get a phone call from one of our city council members who was a strong proponent of placing the ICE agent in the jail. She is calling to say that she would like to recognize our organization at the next city council meeting with a Proclamation of our valuable community work.

The thing is that the woman in the process of being deported is the main force behind our “valuable community work.” She rallied the neighbors to open the community center. She is the one who pulls people together to support a neighbor in need. She is the main idea woman behind our community seminars and programs.

So I went to the city council meeting to receive an award for my friend’s work in the community that she is simultaneously being removed from by the same council’s policy.

I don’t know whether to laugh or scream my head off. Isn’t it confusing to celebrate one’s work on one hand and then condemn them on the other? It’s too nutty. It’s too real.

Crissy Brooks

For more information on MIKA Community Development Corporation click here.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , ,

Justice Education: Walking the Micah Road

December 18, 2008 Leave a comment

By Dave Zuiema, Covenant CRC Deacon & NECT Administrator

For several years now, the GEMS Girls Club ministry has been feeling the ‘Call to Africa’. As their awareness has grown, so has their calling — to the point that GEMS national leadership chose “Walk the Micah Road” as the theme for their ministry year, based on Micah 6:8: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk numbly with your God.”

Part of that theme will be a “Micah Road  Experience” walk‐a‐thon fundraiser in the Spring of 2009. However, GEMS leaders in the northeast and mid‐Atlantic states saw an opportunity to use the event to set the tone at the beginning of this ministry year.

On Saturday, October 18, approximately 250 people (half of which were GEMS members, some from as far away as Virginia!) took part in the first Micah Road Experience at Covenant Christian Reformed Church in North Haledon, New Jersey.

The core of the experience was 3 booths which challenged walkers to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly. Hands‐on lessons about how poverty affects everyday life and death challenged walkers to consider the justice implications of Western affluence, and think about how they could make a difference
for others.

In addition, GEMS leaders invited local, regional and national service ministries to come, reinforcing for walkers that God provides ample opportunities to serve.

Approximately $3500 was collected for local and national GEMS activities, with over $1100 going toward the Esther School which GEMS is sponsoring in Zambia, Africa.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with ,

To the Least of These – The Undocumented

April 15, 2008 Leave a comment

by Al Santino, NECT Director

My wife Haydee and I have been ministering to Juanita (not her real name), a 19 year old single mother who is an immigrant from Mexico without documentation or as some would say, “an illegal alien”. Juanita was a middle school student of Haydee’s in the Bronx. As with several of the girls at her school, Haydee had become her mentor, “mother” or “big sister”. She took the opportunity to invite Juanita to a recent movie night hosted by our church, Open Door Fellowship of East Harlem and this gave us an “open door” to minister the Gospel in both word and deed.

Juanita came to the US as a one year old child. She currently lives with her mother, 18 year old brother and younger sister. Juanita dropped out of high school but wants to work to help support her family and eventually get a GED and go to college. We accompanied her to an Immigration Clinic in East Harlem sponsored by the CUNY Law School hoping and praying that a lawyer could lay out a pathway of hope. However, there was little to rejoice about since she has no documentation and short of any immigration reform, no viable pathway to citizenship. Her brother was born in the US but cannot petition for her until he is 21 and even then there could be a 10 year wait for a Green Card. Upon hearing this sobering news, the look of despair upon her face was obvious. Juanita, like many in her condition, is trapped in poverty and despite her willingness to take responsibility has no open door to a fruitful life for her and her child.

Recently, myself and several local Hispanic ministry leaders in our denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, attended an Immigration Forum at Princeton Theological Seminary. One message was central to all of the presentations; “Will the Church be a herald of justice for the aliens among us or remain on the sideline in indifference.”? Through our Justice Education Program, Northeast Community Transformation is seeking to take an active role in educating and advocating for accessible and just legal services and immigration reform that will reflect God’s care for the least of these…the undocumented. Recently we began a partnership with David Nachman of Nachman and Associates, an excellent immigration attorney who is consulting us on some of these matters. We will continue to keep our partners and friends updated about workshops, legal services and other important information.

The immigration debate is complex. Emotional, simplistic or knee-jerk answers will not do. Neither will indifference or apathy. The Lord is calling His people to seek His wisdom and fulfill His call for mercy and justice. Those like Juanita are not “illegal” in God’s Kingdom. May God grant us mercy over our failure to work for justice and may He grant us conviction to love those such as her, ones whom Jesus called “the least of these, my brethren.”

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , , ,

Immigration Forum in New Hampshire

November 21, 2007 Leave a comment

On May 5, the Indonesian Christian Reformed Church of Dover, NH sponsored an immigration forum to address the needs of the Indonesian community in the region.   This forum was done in collaboration with Northeast Community Transformation’s Justice Education program.   Rev. Michael Lapian of Indonesian CRC has been a catalyst in bringing Indonesian churches in the region together to form an association to work on community development and justice concerns.  Five churches and 35 people participated in the event.

The forum was led by attorneys Mona Movafaghi and Randall Drew, two excellent and justice minded lawyers who have been advocates for the Indonesians and for just immigration reform.  Some of the complex immigration issues facing the Indonesian community were addressed such as asylum and deportation, family sponsorship and labor certification.  The lawyers also discussed the need for churches and citizens to call on their representatives to enact comprehensive and just immigration legislation, which is currently being debated in the House of Representatives and US Senate.  They proposed the following be included in a letter to representatives:

1. Create realistic legal avenues for immigrant workers to enter the U.S. to fill jobs throughout our economy, through visa programs that ensure full labor rights, job portability, and a path to permanent residence over time for those who would not displace U.S. workers;

2. Establish a workable process to provide undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. an opportunity to come out of the shadows and earn the privilege of permanent legal status by: registering with the government, paying a hefty fine, undergoing thorough security checks, and meeting additional requirements;

3. Reform our visa preference systems and eliminate the family-based and employment-based visa backlogs that senselessly keep U.S. families separated for years and prevent American businesses from attracting the brightest talent from around the world;

4. Establish smart enforcement strategies that restore the rule of law in our workplaces and along the border, while protecting due process rights and facilitating the cross-border flow of goods and people that is essential to a vibrant economy.

In the often complicated and emotional immigration discussion, let us seek the Lord with a heart of mercy and justice: “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it.  Leave it for the alien…(Dt. 24:19).”

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , ,

Brave Ones

June 11, 2007 Leave a comment

Five Nooksack Tribal members worked considerable hours and weeks, seeking to form a new non-profit organization that would help members of their tribe in areas of personal and community-wide development.  On October 4th, they were notified by the Secretary of State for the State of Washington, that they had obtained a Certificate of Incorporation.  The organization is called “Nooksacks for Hope”.Within the Nooksack tribal environment, even with a democratically elected tribal government, it is publicly recognized there are many elements of misuse of power.  Rarely are tribal members allowed to see anything remotely considered as financial records, reports or audits.  Planning and decision-making, by the Tribal Council, is often conducted in “executive session”.

A recent plan to build a Class II casino near Lynden, WA. was only revealed to tribal members 1 day prior to a general public announcement printed in the newspaper.  The Tribe and Casino management signed a $30 million financial instrument for this project…giving no time for “public comment” by tribal members.  Many people and tribal members are summarily fired for unjustified or unsubstantiated reasons, often because they “whistle-blow”, critique their tribal government or casino management by asking legitimate questions.

A thick cloud of intractable fear has caused many Nooksacks to disengage from anything political, for good reason they would loose their tribal or casino jobs; tribal housing, or, simply be ostracized.

In the face of all this, 5-brave tribal women have decided it time to organize a non-profit that will help bring about new programs and new approaches that set in motion a more healthy political and programmatic culture.  In the process of doing this, 2 of the women have been fired from their jobs within the tribe.  Yet while facing financial instability, they proceed ahead with the building up of Nooksacks for Hope.

MORE STORIES ABOUT THE NOOKSACKS FOR HOPE:

Nooksacks For Hope

Nooksack Candidates Want Openness

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , , , ,

The Dance of Diversity

April 15, 2007 Leave a comment

by Dave Zuidema

Dancing has never been one of the Christian Reformed Church’s strong points.  And I think it was around the mid-1980s before my alma mater Eastern Christian High School was allowed to have a dance that wasn’t the Junior-Senior Banquet (the fact that it was ‘banquet’, not ‘prom’ pretty much tells you everything you need to know…).  Dancing, after all, could lead to ‘other things…’

So “The Dance of Racial Reconciliation” may seem an odd choice for the name of the denomination’s new racial reconciliation curriculum; but when 30 people gathered on a January weekend to explore the need for racial reconciliation in Classis Hudson and Classis Hackensack, they found that ‘dance’ is a perfect description.

Under the direction of Esteban Lugo, Director of CRCNA’s Office of Race Relations, a diverse group of classical leaders were introduced to the Dance of Racial Reconciliation (DORR) curriculum.  Esteban was assisted by Pastor Fred Witteveen of Friendship Community Church (Ontario Canada) and Rev. Sheila Holmes of Northside Community CRC (Paterson, NJ) – both of whom helped to create the curriculum.

The facilitators led the participants through a wide variety of whole-group seminars and small-group exercises, everything from Bible study to drama to ‘sculpting’ a representation of God’s diverse Kingdom using play-doh.  The curriculum was organized around three main segments:  recognizing and affirming the Kingdom value of diversity, recognizing and dismantling racism (historically and as it exists in our world today) and committing to and planning for racial reconciliation.

Working through these concepts in an organized and focused way was extremely beneficial.  As a guy from white suburbia, it’s easy to take for granted the advantages I have (or deny they exist to keep my conscience clear).  But in the end, it simply comes back to the foundational questions all Christians should be asking themselves – especially Reformed ones:  Is this what God intended for creation?  What can I do to help bring this reality closer to what God intended?  The DORR training helps answer these questions in a way that motivates participants to further action.

The ‘dancing’ came in as a diverse group of participants got to know each other throughout the course of the weekend.  On a basic level, dancing is movement in harmony, and that’s certainly one way to describe the goal of racial reconciliation – not uniformity, mind you, but individual expressions that harmonize with each other.  By the end of the training, there was a deeper sense of this harmony among participants than there was at the start.

It is our prayer that this dancing will lead to ‘other things’ – namely a broad commitment by classes Hudson and Hackensack to pursue racial reconciliation at the classical level, with the goal of fostering true healing and reconciliation among the members of the Christian Reformed Church in this region.  Follow-up meetings are already in the works, to encourage DORR participants to intentionally stay focused on racial reconciliation.

Imagine the power of the church when we value every part of God’s incredible diversity as He does; when we fully deploy the gifts, skills and cultural resources with which He has blessed us.  Then we will be an irresistible example of witness to our communities of the love and grace of Christ for which they are thirsting!

Dave Zuidema is a member of the Race Relations Task Force of classes Hudson and Hackensack, and Administrative Assistant to Northeast Community Transformation.  He is a member of Covenant CRC.

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , ,

Nooksacks for Hope

May 15, 2006 1 Comment

For many years, Nooksack Tribal Indians faced great upheaval and uncertainty as Europeans began showing up in the Northwest. What once was an established cultural way of life began to fragment at the seams when tribal non-recognition was not established until the 1970′s. By this time little of the old forms of a simple and sustained earthly life were left. Little remained for glimpses into a positive future or opportunity by the remaining 1,000 tribal members. Then came the wave of “hope” by the gaming industry – casinos. In the 1980′s to present, casinos began to pop up all over the US, and run by Indian tribes. The Nooksack Tribe received their first in the mid 1990′s.

Fast forward to today.  What once was heralded as a “entrepreneurial” way for tribes to reclaim some sense of economic viability and sustainability, casinos were to capture large sums of money for the tribal interest.  Some tribes (the vast minority) have used casino profits in big ways for their people.  Most have not.  Most have kept the financials (records of case flow and profits) from the scrutiny of their own people.  Stories are abundantly replete with Tribal council members, Chairmen, casino management, skimming money from the profit into their own personal interest pockets.  The Nooksack Tribal community is one of these.

Money, and the control of money, unaccounted for, by the powerful few, has lead to a culture of “corruption” and “hopelessness” within the Nooksack Tribal community.  The majority of tribal members feel there is little hope in changing this.  While the minority few, gaining from the graft, work very hard with keeping such as “status quo”.  Tactics used by this powerful minority to resist the actions or voices of those trying to bring positive change are: unjust, without cause, firing of employees within the tribal or casino administration or management; unrestrained poisoned innuendo or gossip passed around to disparage; hidden or public physical threats of bodily harm; threats of loosing tribal housing, etc.

In the face of all this a small number of Nooksack Tribal members are “fighting” back.  They have recently formed a new non-profit organization called “Nooksacks for Hope”. While their missional program is to bring benefit to the youth, elderly and families, through various relief or developmental programs, those in power, are doing all they can via said tactics above, to crush this meager upstart band of brave ones.  This particular effort with forming a new non-profit from a group of tribal members, not associated with Nooksack Tribal government, is very unique, yet challenging.  It is providing a “platform” for conversation, planning and action, from the perspective of people, not government.  Many forces within the tribe and the casino structure are doing all they can to dishearten and dissolve this effort.  “A new day is dawning,” says Julie Jefferson, “we have new hope because we have formed this new group.”

The Nooksacks for Hope in the next 2 years, plan to help their tribal school youth with gaining basic necessities and school supplies that help them participate in the full programs of the local public school; help with geriatric services in the homes for tribal elders to help them healthily stay in their homes for as long as possible; start up an Individual Development Account program for tribal families for post-secondary education, home ownership, small business, or retirement; and, to start up a Small and Simple Grants program for the different housing neighborhoods for Nooksacks.

Presently, the Nooksacks for Hope await the response of the IRS to their recent application for tax-exempt status.

Jeff Littlejohn, Executive Director of Imagine NW!, has been providing consultation to these Nooksack members in their formation of their organization and their program plans.

MORE STORIES ABOUT THE NOOKSACKS FOR HOPE:

Brave Ones

Nooksack Candidates Want Openness

Filed under Justice, Stories Tagged with , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 83 other followers