By Sister Catherine Fedewa, CSFN
There are those who are seeking a better, safer life in this country. Our Statue of Liberty declares, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” Those words originally addressed the crowded ships coming from Europe. Now they continue to come by sea, but also by land and air. Are they welcomed?
Some come as a matter of CHOICE because they prefer our country’s opportunities, resources, beauty, freedom and educational opportunities. Thousands seek those same ideals because of the poverty, violence and persecution they experience in their homeland and so it is not a choice; it is a desperate NECESSITY, a matter of survival. And many know they will not be welcomed, they may be turned back, they may die trying to reach this land. But they still try; that is what desperation does.
Mother Foundress knew in her heart why so many left their homelands to come to the land of promise, only to find themselves in squalid conditions, with no medical help, no education and no one willing to serve their needs. That is what prompted her difficult decision to bring half of the community across the ocean to help those migrants.
Sisters have assisted migrants since the days we first came to this country, sometimes directly, giving shelter, sustenance and encouragement, and sometimes indirectly through the education, health care and social services that dealt with the systems that kept so many in poverty. Much of the work today looks a little different, but it is achieving the same end… compassionate care, supporting and encouraging individuals, but also advocacy for the safety and security for their families, even to the point of simply keeping those families together. Faith and civic groups as well have been able to tap the generosity and self-giving efforts of people willing to give generously of their time, talent and treasure to help the new-comers in many ways, whether that be finding shelter, supplying physical needs, helping to educate, providing legal guidance or simply befriending those “lost” in finding their way in this new and strange life.
Our province is a founding member and sustaining community of Bethany House of Hospitality, a ministry offering housing and support services to young immigrant women as they journey to independence. When unaccompanied minors come into the United States, they are placed in shelters until they can be united with their family here. If they have no family and turn 18 years old, they can no longer remain in those shelters. They are on their own at that point. Bethany House takes in these young women and offers them the shelter and services (legal, educational, psychological, medical, etc.) to help them as they journey in their efforts to achieve asylum, become independent and pursue their dream of living fruitful lives in this country. Some of our residents also come from border shelters as young single mothers with small children. As a founding board member, I am privileged to assist in helping to develop and support these programs. I also assist on the board of Viator House of Hospitality, which is a similar program serving young men.
I was fortunate to become acquainted within a year after I came to Chicago with a group called Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants. As a group of religious in the archdiocese, we have provided advocacy, educational events, interfaith prayer and public witness to help the public to become aware of the circumstances immigrants face as well as offering options for ways they can join in these efforts. Many of the members of this group have also been part of other groups and other efforts to address issues of immigration.
The Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (now the Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants) started with a ministry visiting immigrants detained by the government in centers in Illinois and Wisconsin. The main purpose for the visits was to let these immigrants, most of whom were undocumented, know that someone cared about them and was willing to listen to their stories, and sometimes assist in some small way, since so many were separated from their families and children and had no one to help them. It was a privilege to walk with these men and women, even for short visits. This group grew in several different directions especially when all the detention centers in Illinois closed. ICDI now works with migrants passing through the city at the Greyhound station, needing assistance with food, clothing and translation that helps them move on in the next step of their journey. It also works with staffing some of the new shelters in the city popping up as a result of the busloads of migrants being sent from Texas with nowhere to go and no resources. They have also managed to help some families find housing with the assistance of generous persons, some even willing to share their own homes.
So many migrants know little or nothing of the English language. One group, as a sponsored ministry of the Dominican Sisters established Aquinas Literacy Center which offers classes at a very low cost to adults in one area of the city. Right next to what is known as China Town, most students are Latino or Chinese. I’ve so often felt the limitation of not knowing another language to speak and share with immigrants, but I found I can help others to learn English. I have been fortunate to assist students who spoke Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. I may not be able to assist hundreds but I can help a few.
The most recent group established nearby is called the Sanctuary Working Group and is hard at work trying to find housing for newly arrived immigrants. Several faith groups are involved and one home they have been able to set up is the SWG House of Hospitality, where, at this time, there are two families and three single men living in a group setting. While receiving guidance from case workers, they are addressing legal, educational and health care needs preparing them to be able to live independently. Funds are short and there is only one staff member so volunteers like myself spend a few hours on weekends to be present to these residents and sometimes help with language needs. Other volunteers help with driving to legal and health care appointments.
Living in Chicago certainly affords numerous and diverse opportunities for assisting our brothers and sisters newly arrived in our country. It offers an opportunity to continue in the ministry which brought Mother Foundress and our sisters here to this city, to this country. Our sisters in other parts of the country are also active in this ministry. I join with them in spirit and I am grateful I have a wealth of opportunities here as part of my retirement ministry.
