Posts Tagged ‘Advocacy’
How You Can Take Action for Refugees and Immigrants in Chicago
Though news channels and social media might fixate on issues on the national stage, one of the most important ways you can support your immigrant and refugee neighbors is by advocating for them on the local level. Advocating for action in your own community is one of the best ways to make a difference for the people around you â by tackling issues in your neighborhood, city, and state!
What is Community Advocacy?
First, we can define âadvocacyâ as seeking to influence those in positions of power, including elected officials, to enact change for those affected by a specific issue. Advocates use their own voices, positions, and knowledge to speak up and intercede on behalf of those who are suffering, in poverty, or need protection.
At World Relief, we think of advocacy as putting love into action for our immigrant and refugee neighbors, especially those who are in the most vulnerable positions. This means that we want to:
- Address structural inequality and violence
- Increase awareness of issues impacting immigrants and refugees
- Deepen empathy and understanding
- Catalyze engagement
- And ultimately, build a movement for justice!
On a local level, like in the neighborhoods of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, advocacy can mean that you become a bridge. You have the power to share with your local representatives about the issues impacting immigrants and refugees in the community â facts, stories, and needs that they might not know otherwise! And you have the ability to ask them to take action to make life better for immigrants and refugees.
Why Advocate for Immigrants and Refugees?
If you believe that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and has God-given value and rights, then you have the opportunity to be a strong voice for justice! There are millions of immigrants and refugees around the world and in our communities who are suffering and in vulnerable situations that put them and their families at risk.
Individuals, churches, and community groups have an important role to play. But we also know that our elected officials have the power to make decisions. They can create change on a much broader scale. And when we speak up, we can help them understand why it is important to help immigrants and refugees around the world and in the United States â and that itâs something we care about!
How Can I Be an Advocate?
Becoming an advocate for immigrants and refugees in your local community can take so many different forms! And at World Relief Chicagoland, we are here to help you take action in lots of different ways. We want you to know you are not alone, but part of a bigger movement. A community of advocates!
Ways to Get Started
1. Look Up Your Elected Officials
First, you can start by learning about your elected officials. Who are they? What are the issues they care about? If you are in Illinois, you can click here to search for your elected officials and use your address to find a list of people at a local, state, and federal level. In Chicago, you may also want to click here to find your wardâs alderman. Or if you are outside of Illinois, visit this page on USA.gov for help identifying your elected officials in other states.
Because these are the people you will call to share your perspective, write letters to, and reach out to for meetings, it’s a good idea to know who they are, what their focus areas are, and how you can engage.
2. Learn About the Issues Impacting Immigrants and Refugees in Your Neighborhood
If you are not an immigrant or refugee yourself, one of your first actions should be to learn more about the experience of immigrants in your community. Talking with your neighbors or others in your church or school communities can provide all kinds of insight! Ask them questions based on their own experience and what they think would make their lives better. And try talking to lots of different people to identify common themes. Don’t assume that there is only one “right” answer.
Reading and watching videos is another great way to learn! You can find all kinds of stories and helpful information from reading the World Relief Chicagoland blog. But don’t stop there! In addition to learning about the experiences specific to immigrants and refugees, (many of the biggest issues that impact them affect a broader group of people…such as people of color, religious or ethnic minorities, or low-income families), consider looking up issues like:
- Does your town have enough affordable housing?
- Are there sufficient healthcare and mental health resources?
- Do the schools in your area have enough teachers and educational supplies?
3. Take Note
As you learn, pay attention to the solutions that trusted leaders share. Organizations like World Relief are part of community coalitions and networks that share information and work to identify good solutions together. But there are plenty of experts in your community too. Take the time to ask your immigrant neighbors, organization leaders, and others what they think needs to change. And take note of what they say!
4. Mobilize
There are so many different ways you can mobilize your community to take action. Here are just a few ideas!
- Join Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) Advocacy Days. World Relief is part of RCUSA, which hosts advocacy days each year. These advocacy days bring together community members and organizations in support of refugee issues. When you sign up, you get to participate in training opportunities and meetings with members of Congress! You will get to join a facilitator and others in your community who care about refugees. Invite your friends and neighbors to join too by posting about these opportunities on social media.
- Attend city council meetings, school board meetings, and neighborhood council meetings in your area. Show up and pay attention to meetings where big decisions impacting your community are made. Additionally, you can use the information you have learned to inform your questions and bring refugee and immigrant issues to the forefront of the conversation.
- Lastly, learn more about World Relief Chicagoland’s advocacy efforts and how you can get involved!
Read More About How to Address Barriers
How the Affordable Housing Crisis Is Impacting Refugee Families
How to âDriveâ Change by Donating Your Car
4 Ways to Read, Watch, and Listen to Powerful Immigrant and Refugee Stories
Our view: Welcoming the stranger
Winston-Salem Journal //
A letter soliciting support from members of Congress â including our own Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis â will, we hope, be influential. Its cause is compassionate and just.
The letter, signed by more than 70 evangelical pastors, leaders and church members â participants in the Evangelical Immigration Table â urges our legislators to provide permanent legal status to Afghans who are already resettled across the U.S. after fleeing from the nightmare of Afghanistanâs final days as a democracy in August 2021.
These are the people, and their family members, who assisted the U.S. military and other Americans during our long and, at the end, tragic foray in Afghanistan, only to have to abandon their homes and rush to safety here after civilized allies left and the Taliban resurged. …
Read the full piece at the Winston-Salem Journal.
Visit the Evangelical Immigration Table to add your name to the letter.
Servant: Caring for the Immigrant and Refugee
This discipleship video from one of our church partners, The Summit Church, discusses the Biblical command to “welcome the stranger” and offers some practical steps believers can take to follow God’s call, including giving, volunteering, and advocating alongside World Relief Durham.
“God commands his people to care for strangers and foreigners, along with the poor, the widows, and orphans. Itâs important to recognize that these passages are not simply proof-texts free of context. Rather, compassionate and just treatment of foreigners is a core ethical principle, rooted in Godâs covenant with his people. Just one representative example is Leviticus 19:34, ‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’ As God cared for his people when they were oppressed strangers in Egypt, his people were to demonstrate his faithfulness and compassion by welcoming strangers into their community and treating them justly.”
“Servant – Caring for the Immigrant & Refugee” – The Summit Church (00:49-01:43)
Mercy over Judgment
By K.J. Hill and Reema Nasrallah //
The tragic fall of Afghanistanâs government has led the international community to rally to assist evacuees fleeing the Taliban. More than 1,000 of these Afghan evacuees are slated for resettlement in North Carolina in the coming months.
As a pastor, I have been getting lots of questions about this crisis. Many of the questions are rooted in compassion with a sincere desire to help, like âHow can we help people arriving overcome culture shock?â or âHow can we meet basic needs like housing, clothing and food?â Other questions reveal cynicism, angst, and fear, such as âHow do we know people coming here can be trusted?â or âHow do we know they are who they claim to be?â These questions â which are also asked about asylum-seekers at our southern border â arenât new, but are actually the same questions that the early church was asking.
In fourth-century Antioch, Archbishop John Chrysostom objected to the congregations who were complaining about poor foreigners (including refugees and economic migrants) arriving in their city: âBut to what extent do [the poor] seek to deceive you? They are fugitives, they say, strangers, worthless creatures, who have left their native land and are gathering in our city. Do you resent this, tell me, and do you pluck the crown of honor from your city, because all men consider it a common refuge, and prefer it to their own land? Nay, rather, for this reason you ought to exult and rejoice, that to you, as if to some common market, they all run, and consider this city their common mother.â Read more at Baptist Press.
The Volunteer and Refugee Friendship Helping Both Reach their Goals
Who are the friends who have changed your life?
Who are the people who have changed your life? Are they friends who share your passions? Family members who have known you for years? Coworkers who helped you do challenging projects?
We can all attest to how relationships and friends can change everything.
Thatâs why, when World Relief Chicagoland matches our volunteers with opportunities to serve, we focus on relationships.
When you apply to volunteer, our staff want to hear about you â your unique skills, passions, and goals. Thatâs because your gifts and interests might uniquely align with the goals of an immigrant or refugee. You might be uniquely equipped to help them reach their goals!
When we match a volunteer with an immigrant, refugee, or asylee to help provide transportation, tutoring, or career mentorship, itâs so that you can walk with them. And together, you will both learn and grow!
And you might end up building a meaningful relationship as a result. Max, a World Relief Chicagoland volunteer, and Daniel, a refugee, are a fantastic example of just how meaningful these friendships can be.
âI cannot express how meaningful our relationship and connection has been.â
â Max, Volunteer with World Relief Chicagoland, referring to his friendship with a World Relief client named Daniel
Meet Daniel
From the age of 7, Daniel knew a life of change and uncertainty. He remembers a before time, when his home country was a beautiful place full of loving family. The violence that broke out in the 1990s ruined that. When conflict and violence killed his family and pushed Daniel from his home in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999, he fled to safety in Uganda. There, he lived in refugee camps for nearly 20 years.
Their home was a plastic shelter. Food was scarce and water was hard to access. Even as a young boy, Daniel woke up as early as 3 a.m. to collect water. âThere was not enough food,â Daniel told us. As he showed a video of the refugee camp, he reflected on life there. âIt was very hard.â
Eventually, Daniel moved to another settlement camp. That camp’s conditions were a little bit better. As he grew up, Daniel fought to study and achieve an education despite their poverty and his many responsibilities. This allowed him to achieve an academic scholarship to study at a university in Uganda and achieve a degree in human services in 2016.
The Future Became Brighter
Then, in 2018, Daniel was accepted for resettlement in the United States. âIâve never been excited like I was [at] that time. I was extremely happy,â he told us. Among the many changes he experienced with life in the United States, one blessing was the most basic: he slept inside a building â something he had only done while studying at university in Uganda. In the United States, he became connected to World Reliefâs services and started working toward stability â and dreaming about his future.
And thatâs when he met Max.
Meet Max
Like many of our volunteers, World Relief Chicagolandâs mission and work serving immigrants and refugees in vulnerable situations inspired Max. He wanted to be part of the work. That prompted him to apply to volunteer as a virtual youth tutor in the Chicago office. However, in talking with World Relief staff, discovered another way to use his skills and passion. As a pre-med student at Loyola University, Max has long been working toward a future career in medicine and was a great candidate to join World Relief as a volunteer health advocate.
Friends with Shared Passions
As a volunteer health advocate, Max walks with Daniel to help him navigate the intricacies of the health care system and manage various health tasks. He also helps Daniel work toward other goals â such as Danielâs dream of becoming a nurse. âHe has helped me so much,â Daniel said. As a pre-med student himself, Max helps Daniel study for his anatomy and physiology classes and the two discuss their shared interest in the healthcare field.
But the relationship is far from one-sided. In return, Daniel has shown Max a new perspective. âThrough getting to know Daniel, I have been able to learn more about the gaps in our healthcare system, as well as the good things that can happen,â Max shared. âMy hope is that in the future, I can help change the parts that are broken.â
Daniel has an insider perspective on what itâs like to receive healthcare as a refugee in the United States. Through him, Max has gained a greater awareness of the many tasks required to effectively navigate the healthcare system.
Dreams for the Future
âOnce I am an established provider, I want to work to change the policies around the gaps in the healthcare system,â Max says. He wants to serve individuals who canât easily get healthcare. To do this, he will take what he has learned from Daniel and engage other people in vulnerable situations. If they share their experiences, perhaps they can be part of improving systems. In the meantime, Daniel will focus on achieving his goal to become a nurse. He wants to be part of the mission and deliver vital healthcare to everyone. Daniel described how he will value the individual and their unique perspectives â especially those who are often excluded or forgotten. He shared, âI want to give the best services to marginalized communities.”
“I want to give the best services to marginalized communities.”
– Daniel, referring to his future career aspirations as a healthcare provider
Together, both Max and Daniel want to be part of making healthcare more accessible for people who are overlooked or underserved. And they are equipping each other to do just that.
You Can Build Transformative Relationships Too!
For more than 40 years, World Relief Chicagoland has connected volunteers like you with opportunities to serve. And as a result, thousands of volunteers have made a life-changing difference for our immigrant and refugee neighbors. If you bring your whole self â gifts, abilities, and passions â to the table, you will gain the chance to experience transformation too. We will provide opportunities for you to walk with individuals like Daniel, who are rebuilding their lives in Chicagoland.
Will you begin a transformative relationship?
Todd Unzicker and Adam Clark: Christians must heed the call to welcome Afghan refugees and other vulnerable immigrants
By Todd Unzicker and Adam Clark //
More than 1,000 Afghans will resettle in North Carolina in the coming months after fleeing violence and oppression from the Taliban. When they arrive here, it will be up to North Carolinians to welcome them.
This presents a challenge, but it is also an opportunity. We can and must answer the call to welcome our vulnerable neighbors from across the world. As Christian leaders, we think a big part of the responsibility for doing so falls to us and our fellow believers, to those of us who call ourselves the body of Christ.
Our faith commands that we empathize with the suffering of refugees. Jesus himself, our Lord, fled persecution with his family as a child. Caring for the vulnerable demonstrates the great love that Christ first showed us, and we live out our calling as Christ-followers by welcoming and seeking justice for the âsojourner.â
Many are already answering this call to welcome. For example, Vic and Michele Wallace are long-time members of The Summit Church in Durham. The Wallaces have been serving refugees in the local community for the past decade as they have lived out biblical hospitality and been blessed by their new refugee friends. Read more at the Greensboro News & Record
Why We Speak
âThe ultimate aim of advocacy is to demonstrate the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God.â – Jenny Yang, World Relief
Throughout Scripture, God moves for justice. Time and again, through ordinary people, God brings his vision of justice to a broken world, taking action on behalf of the most vulnerable. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10:18)
At World Relief, we believe itâs our call as Christians to speak with those who are often oppressed or overlooked in order to address the underlying causes of injustice and oppression. Speaking out can influence the policies and practices of people in power, and we believe it can demonstrate the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God.
The injustices of our world and this time demand action. And though speaking out isnât always easy, we believe we must.
We must speak out because:
- As a nation, we have chosen to be blind to the suffering of those seeking refuge from violence and persecution, or worse, scapegoated them
We must speak out because:
- Political ideology and religious identity have become inextricably conflated and truth has become a matter of subjective preference
We must speak out because:
- Climate change is ravaging more and more places in the world, forcing more than 20 million people a year from their homes by sudden onset weather events
We must speak out because:
- Systemic racism and the denial of equity and opportunity has been blatantly laid bare for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.
We must speak out because:
- Patriarchal attitudes and the acceptance of gender injustice is still far too prevalent both here in the U.S. and around the world.
Above all, we speak out because to NOT do so, would be to abdicate our role as followers of Jesus.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, âThe church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.â
We, the Church, speak out to guide, to highlight critical issues, to influence public attitudes and enact or implement laws and policies.
Will you join us by raising your voices with courage and conviction today?Â
Francesca Albano currently serves as Director of Branded Content at World Relief. With a background in Cultural Anthropology and a graduate degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, she connects her interests in societal studies and global cultures with her training in brand strategy and storytelling. Francesca is especially passionate about grassroots community development and the treatment and advancement of women and girls around the world.
Everything You Need to Know About Unaccompanied Minors at the Border, Part 2
A Conversation with Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang
Recently weâve seen reports of another âcrisisâ at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly related to children, or âunaccompanied minors.â
We continue to explore and understand whatâs actually happening, what should be happening?, and what can followers of Jesus who care about vulnerable children do?
Weâre continuing the conversation World Reliefâs President, Scott Arbeiter, started with Jenny Yang and Matthew Soerens, World Reliefâs in-house immigration policy experts and co-authors of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion and Truth in the Immigration Debate to help us understand whatâs currently happening at the border. (If you missed part 1, listen or read to it here.)
Quick Facts:
Immigration policy can be confusing and hard to keep track if you arenât familiar with the language. Below are a few key terms to keep in mind as you listen and/or read.
TVPRA: The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. A 2008 law that, among many other elements, governs how unaccompanied children identified at the border are to be treated.
Title 42: A public health law that both the Trump and Biden administrations have cited as a legal justification to turn away asylum seekers because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Migrant Protection Protocols: A Trump administration policy that required most asylum seekers who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border to âremain in Mexicoâ to await their court hearings, rather than being allowed to wait safely in the U.S. for their court proceedings.
Scott Arbeiter is a former pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and the president of World Relief, which is a subsidiary of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Everything You Need to Know About Unaccompanied Minors at the Border Part 1
A Conversation with Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang
This week, weâre seeing news reports of another âcrisisâ at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly related to children, or âunaccompanied minors.â
Whatâs actually happening? What should be happening? And what can followers of Jesus who care about vulnerable children do?
Here, World Reliefâs President, Scott Arbeiter, sits down with Jenny Yang and Matthew Soerens, World Reliefâs in-house immigration policy experts and co-authors of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion and Truth in the Immigration Debate to help us understand whatâs currently happening at the border.
Quick Facts:
Immigration policy can be confusing and hard to keep track if you arenât familiar with the language. Below are a few key terms to keep in mind as you listen and/or read.
TVPRA: The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. A 2008 law that, among many other elements, governs how unaccompanied children identified at the border are to be treated.
Title 42: A public health law that both the Trump and Biden administrations have cited as a legal justification to turn away asylum seekers because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Migrant Protection Protocols: A Trump administration policy that required most asylum seekers who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border to âremain in Mexicoâ to await their court hearings, rather than being allowed to wait safely in the U.S. for their court proceedings.
Scott Arbeiter is a former pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and the president of World Relief, which is a subsidiary of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Imagine What it Should Be: An Advocacy Q & A
At World Relief, we believe the government has a role in promoting peace and justice while also addressing systemic and structural issues that perpetuate extreme poverty and injustice. Our commitment to advocate on behalf of the poor and oppressed is based on biblical truths and on the example of Jesus. We believe such advocacy is an important witness to a watching world about the character of Jesus. Recently, I sat down with Jenny Yang, World Reliefâs Vice President of Advocacy and Policy, and asked her all about advocacy, why we do it and why itâs important.
What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is speaking up with those who are vulnerable to address the underlying causes of injustice and oppression by influencing the policies and practices of people in power. We should love our neighbors on an interpersonal level. But when systemic injustice is at the root of a problem, loving our neighbor means advocacy as well. Advocacy consists of organized efforts and actions seeking to highlight critical issues, influence public attitudes and enact or implement laws and policies. It starts with the reality of âwhat isâ so that a vision of âwhat should beâ can be realized. The ultimate aim of advocacy is to demonstrate the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God.
What is the Scriptural basis for pursuing advocacy?
Throughout Scripture, we see God move for justice. Time and again, through ordinary people, God brings His vision of justice to a broken world. Moses helped free the Israelites from slavery, speaking boldly before Pharaoh. Esther asked for mercy on behalf of the Jewish people before King Xerxes. Nehemiah went before King Artaxerxes to ensure his people were protected in Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 10:18 says, âHe defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.â Malachi 3:5 says, âI will be quick to testify against⊠those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice.â If these are the actions God took on behalf of vulnerable people, then these are the actions we must also do to reflect Godâs character in the world.
When did World Relief start doing advocacy work?
World Relief has been engaged in advocacy work for many decades. Evelyn and Grady Magnham, the founders of World Reliefâs U.S. refugee resettlement program, began conversations with the State Department in the late 1970s to help refugees from Vietnam resettle to the U.S. These conversations led to a partnership between World Relief and the Department of State to resettle refugees with the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980. World Relief has received several distinctions for our advocacy work, as Matthew Soerens was recognized by President Obama as a Champion of Change for Immigration Reform and met with him in the Oval Office to discuss our immigration advocacy work in 2013.
How is World Relief involved in advocacy?
Weâre involved in two ways â directly with the U.S. government and through mobilization and education to broader communities. We meet with Members of Congress and their staff to help write policy briefs, organize letters and campaigns and build and work in coalitions to address key issues such as international humanitarian assistance funding, gender-based violence prevention, and promotion of refugee and immigrant rights in the U.S. As we connect with communities and educate people on policy issues, we empower more people to advocate themselves. Through sign-on letters, calling their Members of Congress directly and even working with pastors, we help people raise their voices on important issues.
Can you share a story from your work in Advocacy and how youâve seen God move to help those we serve?
In January 2017, an executive order suspended most all immigration to the U.S., including green card holders and refugees. In a collective effort to call out inhumane targeting of people groups, World Relief collaborated with prominent church leaders to publish a full-page ad in the Washington Post, speaking out in support of refugees and immigrants. After the national outcry, the executive order was rescinded, although there were subsequent iterations of the executive order targeting smaller groups of immigrants. But this was a key moment where the church spoke, and our voice was heard.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Proverbs 31:8
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
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