Now More Than Ever

When Covid-19 shut down visitation at Stewart Detention Center, we did not know what that meant for our friends in detention and their loved ones. We did not know what El Refugio's role should be. As it turned out, our friends at Stewart need us now more than ever. They cannot protect themselves from coronavirus. They are afraid and trapped. We cannot visit them. Their families cannot visit them. 

But here is what we can do. We can put money on their phone accounts. We can put money on their commissary accounts. We can send Covid-19 care packages to their families with gift cards for groceries, hand sanitizer, and antibacterial wipes. We can work with them by phone to help with their post-release needs. We can listen to their struggles. We can tell them to remain strong. We can remind them that they have dignity. They are people. They matter. 

Our services during Covid-19 are different than they were before. But at their core, our services are still about accompanying our detained friends in their journey.  El Refugio's work today includes the new, terrifying unknown that is Covid-19, but at its heart we remain a ministry of hospitality and visitation. Immigrant detention took away our friends' humanity. With your gift, you give a little of that hospitality back.