“People are very concerned and afraid of the uncertainty, but grateful for people and organizations like us that are still operating and providing assistance. Sometimes you just need to be a listening ear for people; they need to vent about their frustrations, and they are grateful that we are helping them through the pandemic.”

Sophia recently relocated to Washington because she was fleeing a domestic violence situation and called us to get help for her family, as she did not have any money for food or rent. Sophia is a first generation immigrant; however, her daughter was born here in the United States. Fortunately, Samuel, one of our Bilingual Specialists, listened to and talked with Sophia to get her connected to a number of much-needed resources. Samuel helped her find food banks, submitted her application for Basic Food assistance, and provided options for rental support. He also connected her with ReWA (Refugee Women’s Alliance) to see if they could help counsel her through the domestic violence trauma and help her apply for a Humanitarian VISA. For families in these situations, there is a lot of uncertainty—made only more so now because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Samuel, one of the most important things he could offer was to be a listening ear and a support system for Sophia during these difficult times.

* Client name has been changed to protect privacy.