After a very long break and a
couple of requests, I thought I’d try to resurrect my blog while I’m in
America. I’m a week into my three month
stay with the Helpers here in Chicago and am enjoying reacquainting myself with
the city, meeting new people and spending time with one of my closest friends –
Maureen Ewing (who supplied the Chicago photo)!
This is my 5th visit to Chicago and promises to be rather
different to the others. For a start,
I’m in the south of the city in an Hispanic neighbourhood where I’m hearing
lots about the need for Immigration Reform and the bill which is before the Senate. There are 11 million ‘undocumented workers’ in
the US and it seems a significant number of them are in this neighbourhood! This article gives a brief but helpful
overview of the situation and the bill:
The Helpers I’m living with
largely have their ministries amongst these people. Debbie is a nurse practitioner and Rayo a
youth worker in a local parish. Many of
the young people she works with, although born here, suffer from the reality
that their parents are 'undocumented' For example, to apply for college places and scholarships, young people
have to give their parents' Social Security numbers. Their parents do not have
numbers, so they can’t apply... Without
the ability to participate fully in society, significant numbers of young people
are instead drawn to gangs - and the violence, crime and fear that membership
entails. This in turn impacts on the
families, local communities and the city as a whole.
When ‘The Circle’ is ready to open, I’ll be
moving there with Licha, so I’ll get to be around right at the beginning of
this exciting project!
