Asylum seekers are still arriving on buses from Texas and Arizona.  Mutual aid groups and the faith community continue to provide welcome, food, clothing and temporary housing to our visitors.

The main clothing needs now are winter clothing and work boots and shoes. Our visitors arrive from the border without suitable clothing for a mid-Atlantic or northern fall and winter.  Many of the asylum seekers are choosing to stay in the area – they need work boots and shoes.  If your congregation would like to organize a drive for these items, let me know and we can get you in touch with those who can use them.  

The Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda (9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD) is providing drop boxes outside but under cover for winter coats/jackets for all ages (small/medium sizes), mens steel or composite toe work boots (sizes 7-10) and womens work boots and non-slip work shoes (sizes 6-9).  All are invited to drop off new and clean, very good condition, items.  The folks at Cedar Lane will then get them where they’re needed.

You may have heard that Mayor Bowser and the Washington, DC Council have approved the creation of an Office of Migrant Services with emergency funding of $10 million.  This is great news!  But until the new office is up and running, and we see how it works out, support is still needed.

Here in Montgomery County, CAN is in discussion with the County Office of Community Relations and several Councilmembers about how the CAN and the faith community can work with the County to help those asylum seekers temporarily housed in Montgomery County, and the increasing number who are choosing to stay and make their home here.  If you are interested in participating in these discussions, let me know, or watch this listserv for more information to come.

Certain state governors in the south seem to think asylum seekers are a burden, problems to get out of their states as soon as possible.  They bus them here to “teach us a lesson”.  Well, our faith traditions have already taught us the lesson of welcome.  I encourage you to read the excellent Washington Post opinion piece by Gary Sampliner: The D.C. area is grateful for the migrants Texas is sending.  As Gary writes:

Gratitude might not be the reaction Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) was expecting when he began sending frequent busloads of migrants and asylum seekers to the greater D.C. area. But gratitude, warmth and a renewed sense of collective responsibility are the responses I have seen as D.C.-area organizations and faith communities (and, most recently, its government) have stepped up to welcome and support newcomers.

In gratitude for all you do,

Jerry Kickenson

Montgomery County Coordinator

Congregation Action Network