Join UIDN for Giving Tuesday, November 28

SERVING PEOPLE BEHIND THE HEADLINES

Immigrants and refugees are in the news around the country and the world. It can feel overwhelming. We hope that by introducing the three individuals on this page, the headlines will become a little more real.

Your tax-deductible Giving Tuesday contribution sends a message of welcome and support to Alfredo, JM, Reyna, and other immigrants and refugees in the Hudson Valley.

And, your Giving Tuesday contribution can have extra impact because Kingston-based Hale Advisors will match the first $15,000 UIDN raises.

For facts and figures about immigrants and details on how your contribution will make a difference, read on.

Reyna and members of her extended family came from Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico earlier this year. “My fear was great due to so much insecurity in my country and in the place where I lived with my children.”

The family had no place to live when they first arrived so UIDN and the United Way quickly identified an apartment and helped with the first two months of rent. Since then, Reyna has become a founding member of UIDN’s first worker co-op, Blooming Queens of Clean.

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JM (not his real name) traveled to the U.S. from Venezuela with his parents and younger brother. For two months and thousands of miles, he traveled on foot and by bus wearing a colostomy bag.

UIDN arranged for the 12-year-old to see a pediatric surgeon in Albany. The doctor believes JM’s situation can be improved.

JM and his brother are enrolled in the Kingston City Schools and doing well. Friends also helped UIDN find the family an apartment and start on their asylum applications.

Alfredo, a Guatemalan Kek’chi carpenter and farm worker, arrived this summer, joining his sister’s family. She has nearly completed her asylum case — a strong one involving the murder of family members — and Alfredo (not his real name) will file a similar case. Before school started, he pounded the pavement looking for work, his 12-year-old niece interpreting for him.

He has picked up some day labor by standing on Broadway and through UIDN just secured a few days’ work near Woodstock but needs a regular job to repay the thousands of dollars he borrowed to get here and to cover legal fees for his asylum claim as well as food and rent.

SHADOW PHOTO by Sumesh Dugar, used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2. PLANING PHOTO by KelvinJM, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Back-to-School Supplies NeededBehind the Headlines