RCHP-AHC Quarterly Newsletter March 2024 | |
A MESSAGE FROM SETH KAPER-DALE, CEO, RCHP-AHC | |
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Dear Friends of the Reformed Church of Highland Park Affordable Housing Corporation (RCHP-AHC),
I write to you, as we near the end of the first quarter of '24, amazed at the scope of work that is occurring under the umbrella that is RCHP-AHC. I've been thinking, however, that 'umbrella' doesn't really do it for me anymore.
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RCHP-AHC is more like "loving arms from above that wrap around the programs that live under it." On one level those arms are the arms of the administrative, visioning, financial, grant writing, technology doing, data organizing aspects of the organization. But, on another, much more profound level, there are Loving Arms above anything that we, at RCHP-AHC, have complete control over. Dreams and visions 'break in,' if you will, and we cannot do anything but respond to them.
The dreams and visions that seep into AHC come from all over the place. Sometimes they bubble up from program staff and volunteers and participants themselves. Sometimes new ideas come to us from our faith community partners. Sometimes there is an opportunity that seems to float in from the most unlikely source, and it lines up perfectly with our vision.
I hope this quarterly newsletter gives you at least a slight taste of the culture of an organization that exists to 'respond to the Power that is constantly birthing new ideas and then providing Loving Arms to cradle those ideas within the agency and programs of AHC.'
Peace, Seth
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Criminal Justice Major and NJ-Step Grad Works to Prevent Violence, Trauma
Great things can happen when people have reliable housing situations. The following article shares the transformational journey of one of our Re-Entry Housing clients, Sammy Quiles. Story credit: Carrie Stetler – Rutgers Newark News
After graduating with a Criminal Justice degree in the Spring of 2023, Sammy Quiles says he is realizing potential that was hidden from him as an abused neglected child sentenced to 30 years in prison for a crime he committed at age 17.
In 2013, Quiles enrolled in the NJ-STEP program, which provides a college education to the incarcerated. He is now a Case Manager at Newark Community Solutions on the Alternative to Incarceration Team, providing the kind of understanding and support to others that he was denied in his youth.
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“I just want to make sure that there’s an alternative to calling the police,’ he says. “I’m there to connect them with the services they need. Because I’m bilingual in a Spanish-speaking community that’s growing, I want to make sure they have a voice.’’
As a child in Lakewood, Quiles suffered abuse and neglect at home. When he acted out at school, he was punished and classified as a special education student.
“I was labeled as unintelligent,’ says Quiles, who also, until recently worked as a research assistant for the Department of Urban Education in the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. Later, the consequences of violating curfew and joyriding in stolen cars entrenched him in the juvenile justice system, setting him on a path that seemed irreversible. At 17, he committed a robbery with friends that resulted in a victim’s death.
Although Quiles, a minor, wasn’t directly responsible for the killing,....
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Code Blue Housing in Highland Park
A wonderful example of AHC providing Loving Arms – story submitted by Pastor Seth
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For the past three winters RCHP has been asked by Highland Park to run the Code Blue program for the town. We provide housing on cold nights, and on snowy nights, and on extremely wet nights, to those in our community who are homeless.
While on paper, Code Blue is supposed to be initiated when temperatures fall below 32 degrees, the county is actually very good at communicating when Code Blue is in effect. An email is sent to countywide participants with as much advanced notice and possible and we immediately make plans to ready the house.
The Code Blue house is located over the Main Street Highland Park offices. It is a two-bedroom apartment, with a spacious living room. 1 of the bedrooms is lived in by a 'host' or 'host couple.' After 2.5 years of excellent hosting Paul Rubintwari moved out and Johnny and Kate Wood moved in. That couple lives there in exchange for being available, as needed, all year, for families who have no place to go. In addition to winter Code Blue the house is used if there is a local fire, if it is dangerously hot (Code Red) or if there is a family identified as using short-term support between long-term solutions.
Over the winter there were 11 different persons who.....
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Global Grace Marketplace Visits Guatemala!
Submitted by Meredith Carman – GG Marketplace Manager
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This February, Global Grace Marketplace traveled to Guatemala to visit several of the artisan groups that make some of the items sold in the store. We saw firsthand how important the consistent income provided by making these fair-trade items impacted the individuals and their communities. We heard from both the organization that coordinates the sale of the crafts and the women who make them. Mayan Hands is a fair-trade nonprofit dedicated to providing economic and educational opportunities to Mayan women and girls. It is not uncommon for girls to only receive an education through the 5th grade or maybe not at all. Mayan hands provide school supplies for all children and scholarships for women and girls. We heard from the women and girls who had received scholarships to allow them to attend school. We also learned about the health care opportunities that the workers are offered. This included eye screenings and glasses and mental health evaluations and therapy sessions.
The women welcomed us into their homes to share their stories, crafts, food and culture. We danced and ate, dressed in their traditional clothing, cried together as they spoke of their journeys and celebrated our time together. The emotional and spiritual connections made on this trip will have a lasting impact for years to come.
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Rising from the Ashes
The recent fire at Jerusalem Pizza in Highland Park destroyed the two apartments above it. Jim Zarra, our Project Development Director, helped 1 family to get a new apartment in HP by using our lease/sublease model. This was not a family that had previously been part of our program. 3 of the five men from one unit (which was one of our lease/sublease units) have been placed. We are actively working on placing the other two. We are grateful to everyone who has played a part in helping our friends get back on their feet!
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RCHP-AHC Annual Report for 2023
Our 2023 Annual Report is now available for viewing! Visit https://rchp-ahc.org/ for the link to read about the amazing work accomplished in 2023 by all the organizations that reside within the “loving arms” of RCHP-AHC.
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A Message from Ashar Ghumman, Director of Global Grace Farms
Dear RCHP-AHC Community and Friends,
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As spring begins, I-RISE staff and volunteers are preparing our farm for the next growing season. This year we are planning to grow a lot of vegetables and greens on a bigger plot of land to offer more farm shares. I encourage all those interested in gardening and/or who want to help the refugee farm to come and help us prepare the soil and plant. You can come any day between 9am to 12noon. Saturdays are our busiest days as most volunteers come on Saturdays, so if you want to spend some time with friends while helping, then you are welcome to come with your kids, help, and enjoy quality time.
I also request all caseworkers, employment office, lead volunteers, and all others having direct contact with refugees to please let them know that we have plots of land available for gardening. If any of the refugees is interested in gardening, they can contact the farm director at GGFarms@interfaithrise.org
Finally, we are offering Spring farm shares which can be purchased online. You can go to our global grace marketplace website by clicking on this link for 2024 spring farm shares. The prices of the shares are set on a sliding scale whereas we will also be giving 5 free shares in summer.
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A Place to Call “Home”
Our recently renovated house in Highland Park has two wonderful families living in the two largest apartments (the 2nd and 3rd floor units). Both of these families were homeless and had been living in the Middlesex County family shelter near the MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) for many months. We are so excited for them!
Support for the Next Generation
Lori Freedman, Tenant Services Director, just identified and hired a new Resident Assistant for one of our houses in Newark. We welcome Natasha Jackson to the position! This is one of our owned properties for justice involved/homeless youth.
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Sharing Our Knowledge & Best Practices with County Governments
Middlesex County Director of Human Services, Melyssa Lewis, invited Seth and our immigration legal team to come and present how we, at AHC and DIRE, could assist the county (and other counties) in preparedness for asylum seeker arrivals. This will result in us putting together a funding proposal to the county, and the Director of DHS has promised to share it with other counties as well!
Dept of Health & Human Services Report on Refugee & Asylee Fiscal Impact
This report, released in February, supports the argument that refugees and asylees are an asset to the US economy. While federal, state and local funds required for resettlement are quite hefty, our new neighbors more than make up for that once they are settled in and earning steady paychecks. And, as always, regardless of the economic benefits, helping our global neighbors who are in dire need is just plain “the right thing to do”, but the fact that they boost our economy is a wonderful blessing. Click on this link for the full report to view and share.
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PROGRAM UPDATES & HIGHLIGHTS IN BRIEF | |
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Accompany Now!
-We need to fill 8 additional positions to get us from 42 to 50 staff. We have hired a wonderful HR Associate who is moving us quickly to our goal. Welcome Jennifer Francisco!
-Our online English Class (thanks Bella Gerstmann!) has led us to believe we can successfully start other online programs. We are starting a Math tutoring program and a mental health support group, both online, in the next month.
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Asylum Seeker Housing
-Pastor Seth met with Legal Services of NJ to secure $1150/person coming out of detention to assist with housing costs assumed by our agency. We have received 4 asylum seekers from detention in the last month (Columbia, Columbia, Ecuador, Iran)
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Interfaith-RISE
-We have recently been asked to prepare for the arrival of some 40,000 additional Afghans (nation-wide). This comes as a complete shock, as we’ve been hiring Spanish and Creole speaking case managers in response to recent trends. We’ll be learning more about this new reality in the coming weeks.
-Interfaith-RISE hosted two Health Resource Fairs in February and March for clients in Trenton and Highland Park with hundreds of clients attending. We had employers, health care providers, banks, social service agencies etc…all providing valuable services to our new neighbors. (See our Community Highlights section for photos)
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RCHP-AHC Ventures
-I-RISE Recycled Woodshop is in full swing 3 days a week (Tues, Thurs, Saturday). Lots of items being made to support our clients (bunk beds and dressers)
-Global Grace Farm just hired a second farm worker to assist Ashar (USDA funded).
-Global Grace Marketplace - Meredith and Tom Carman just returned from Guatemala, where they visited artisan groups and learned about their communities. Read Meredith’s story in our Features section.
-Global Grace Café continues to produce 150 delicious meals per day.
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RCHP-AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORP
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
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New Van Purchase
RCHP-AHC recently acquired a new $25,000 15 passenger van. One of our buses was traded in, and an anonymous donor also donated $10,000 towards the purchase. Getting our clients where they need to go is so important (especially those airport pickups for our newly arriving neighbors!) This purchase will go a long way towards helping our volunteers and staff feel safe and confident when transporting “precious cargo”!
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More photos from the GG Marketplace trip to Guatemala. Stop by the store to shop for Fair Trade Items and to ask Meredith about the trip! Located at 208 Raritan Ave in HP and open Tues. - Sat. 10am - 6pm | |
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Client Outreach in the Trenton Area
In February, I-RISE hosted a Health & Resource Fair in Trenton. Flu and Covid vaccines were administered by our Global Grace mobile unit, as well as diabetes and mental health screenings. Also on hand were the MVC to issue state IDs, as well as registration renewals; local employers looking to fill positions; and Truist Bank, to help our new neighbors open accounts. These types of one-stop shopping events are a major benefit to our clients, who are often transportation and resource challenged.
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Client Outreach in the Highland Park Area
Earlier this month, I-RISE held another Health & Resource Fair for our clients in the Highland Park area. In addition to health services, we were fortunate to have employment opportunities with USPharma Lab, local library resource information, and M&T Bank to help our clients open up bank accounts. Verizon was also present to provide free phones/phone plans (for one year) for our clients. Amazing! We thank all volunteers and staff who made this event possible.
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Our operations are generally self-sufficient. However, our client needs vary, and 100% of donations from the public go to Direct Client Assistance. Thank you! | | | | |
