2019 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2019 | Page 22

“Immigrant.” “Refugees.” “Asylum seekers.” These words tend to conjure up potent emotions and
animosity, whether directed at the very individuals these terms describe or the forces that wish to
harm them. These words are intrinsically political, reflecting the diatribes that fly high above what
truly matters: the people.
I could spew paragraphs about the insight I gained from one of my projects, calling emergency
shelter staff and visiting these formerly mystical places that I previously only knew from the austere
pamphlets that the city distributes to those facing homelessness (or from Google). There’s much to
be said about the injustice, inefficiency, and apathy that characterizes the system, if it can even be
called such, that society has built for people struggling to find stability, especially in intersection
with immigrant issues. As important as these lessons were, however, some of the most impactful
moments unfolded a few feet away from my desk. I heard from behind my computer the stories that
ERICA participants told, sometimes in tears—stories that I, with the privilege of being born in this
country, could empathize with but never truly feel the pain of. I heard the frustration and the heart-
break in Betty’s voice, braced by years of expertise and conversations such as these. The debates
never mention these stories, and neither do they chronicle the successes, triumphs, and beauty that
our neighbors have achieved even in the face of threats and unwelcomeness. Through ERICA, I had
the pleasure of meeting asylum seekers who were building livelihoods and those who, as human
beings, also had affinities for soccer and Wegmans chocolate cake.
“So tell me about your family. What’s their story?” Betty asked one day. I stuttered in saying I didn’t
really know enough to tell it. Of all of the stories I encountered throughout the summer, I never ex-
pected my parents’ to be one of them, over the phone on a Tuesday night after work.
Thank you, Betty, not only for allowing me to question my privilege and reconcile the parts of my
story that perplexed me, but also for the innumerable hours you sacrifice every week to prove to
people that they’re not alone.
• Assisted with preparation for annual fundraising event
• Coordinated visits to shelters, resulting in an internal resource
document to enhance ERICA’s ability to assist those facing home-
lessness
• Helped further ERICA’s advocacy goals by helping to plan a by-
stander training and assisting with social media
• Initiated preparation of a workshop about the process of obtain-
ing housing
Community Partner: Episcopal
Refugee & Immigrant Center
Alliance (ERICA)
Intern: Charlie Nguyen
Site Supervisor: Betty Symington
What is ERICA?
The Episcopal Refugee and Im-
migrant Center Alliance (ERICA)
welcomes those fleeing injus-
tice, poverty and persecution in
other countries. With volunteers
and community partners, ERICA
helps refugees, asylum seekers
and other vulnerable immigrants
in Greater Baltimore rebuild
their lives through one-on-one
problem solving, emergency as-
sistance, and educational work-
shops.
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