Sukkat Shalom is exploring a new initiative: supporting a migrant family impacted by detention or deportation through the Migrant Support Mutual Aid Network’s Post Detention Care (PDC) program.
To launch this project, we need a core group of volunteers who are willing to make a six-month commitment, some (but not all) of whom need to speak Spanish. The volunteers will form a care pod that will be matched with a family and assist the family to address their most pressing needs, which may include food, employment, transportation, education, and housing.
If you are interested in leading or joining this group, please email the Sukkat Shalom team at sukkatshalom@templemicah.org. In your email, please include your level of Spanish proficiency. If there is sufficient interest, we will arrange a meeting with the PDC leaders to learn more.
About the Post Detention Care (PDC) Program
The Post Detention Care (PDC) program invites congregations in the DMV to form care pods who are matched with a family recently impacted by the detainment or deportation of a loved one.
Pods are composed of roughly 5-6 people, including a lead point person (we call this role the liaison) who should be a moderate Spanish speaker.
After going through a background check, application, and orientation, the pod is matched with a PDC migrant family, given a grant of $2,000, and tasked with helping the family navigate our city’s resources. Pods assist with things like identifying the most pressing needs a family is facing (and allocating the $2k towards it), helping families find/access food banks or grocery funds, searching for employment opportunities, transporting to appointments, applying for rental assistance, and applying creative problem solving to whatever else arises as an immediate need.
It’s essentially a ministry of accompaniment, utilizing our familiarity with systems and language to lighten the load on our immigrant neighbors. The commitment between the care pod and family is six months, although it may facilitate longer lasting relationships.