“It’s the right thing to do,” Kelly Chauvin, Immigration Services Coordinator at CWS repeated time and again regarding her work with the Central American Minors program (CAM). Simply being the right thing to do, however, does not make it easy. Founded in 2014, in response to the 2013 crisis at the Southern US border, the CAM program seeks to reunite …
Reclaiming career, family, and life
Jeikel was a dentist in Cuba, but life was hard. All medical professionals, himself included, were government employees, and no matter how much or little one worked, everyone received the same salary. Unfortunately, this fixed salary was $50/month, which was only enough to cover food and housing for about a week. It was hard to survive. But in 2015, the …
“The power you have is so great”
“I can’t even find the words to explain how this program changed my life,” Susana said. “You can’t imagine what it means to us in El Salvador that this office reached out to us from the U.S. and offered to help us.” Our legal office may look unassuming, but the power housed in its walls can change lives. Susana’s story …
Access and Citizenship
CWS Durham’s role in the N-648 clinics is partially funded by Duke University Health System’s Charitable Grants Fund. On the wall of CWS Durham’s immigration legal services office, you’ll find three bulletin boards covered in pictures of former refugees becoming U.S. citizens. For many of our clients, citizenship and the protections that come with it is a privilege that they …
Where are the refugees?
Fatuma Amisi, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaks during a press conference organized by CWS. Photo credit: Casey Toth March 31st marked the halfway point of the federal fiscal year, but only 12,151 refugees have been admitted to the U.S. since October 2018. This means that the U.S. is about 3,000 people behind on meeting the already-low …
AmeriCorps Week Celebration
Siri, Elizabeth, Soni (the AmeriCorps supervisor) and Michael enjoy a photoshoot outside of the CWS Durham office. This week nonprofits across the country are celebrating AmeriCorps Week – a week to highlight the dedication and hard work that AmeriCorps members bring to the nonprofits that they serve. This year, CWS Durham is hosting three wonderful AmeriCorps members – Elizabeth, Siri, …
New Neighbors make Good Neighbors!
This past Sunday, refugees and staff members from CWS Durham drove out to Princeville, NC to help with ongoing disaster relief efforts! Princeville was hit very hard by Hurricane Matthew and residents are still recovering from the extensive damage caused by the storm. We are proud to work with folks who are committed to being good neighbors in their …
Sanctuary and CWS
by Jennie Belle Church World Service is committed to serving the most vulnerable in our world. At the CWS Durham office, this means assisting refugees on the road to beginning a new life in the United States through legal services, assistance with housing, job training and placement, and English classes. However, there are other ways of helping those who …
Giving Tuesday!
A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated to CWS Durham on Giving Tuesday! We hit $4,975 total for the day between Facebook and regular website donations. Not only that, but we earned about $2,000 before Facebook matching money ran out! It was a great day for our office, and we were all walking around with huge smiles because we …
“I will never forget the compassion”: An Intern’s View of CWS Legal Services
Cerina interned with CWS Durham Immigration Legal Services in the Summer of 2018, where she was a huge help to our legal team and got to be a part of the great CWS Scavenger Hunt of 2018 (the context for this ridiculous photo). She hopes to pursue a career in legal services after experiencing both sides of this hugely important …