Ms. D and Betty
On July 26, my second day in the office as ERICA’s new Director, we received a phone call from an asylee from the Central African Republic, a single mother of two facing an unexpectedly short deadline to file for her green card. The circumstances, as usual, were complicated, the need immediate, and the financial hurdle insurmountable without ERICA’s help. Ms. D. came to the Cathedral the next day with an impressive set of personal documents. She had a well thought out plan, but more importantly, she felt a strong sense of connection and hope. While thinking and praying for guidance in her efforts to meet the high costs associated with applying for a green card, which for an asylee can total $1500 or more for government fees, legal advice and medical examinations and vaccinations, Ms. D noticed something stamped onto the bottom end of her well worn French-English dictionary. It was the ERICA stamp! She remembered coming to ERICA’s Clothing Boutique in the fall of 2007 at the recommendation of a Social Services caseworker. She needed some clothing appropriate for job interviews. She met Peter Kirchgraber, my predecessor, who encouraged her to avail herself of other ERICA services if the need ever arose and gave her a French-English dictionary to take home. Four years later that dictionary and that smudged but legible stamp have returned her to ERICA. A small favor for which to give great thanks. We have been able to provide an interest free loan to cover Ms. D.’s current immigration expenses and help her launch a new beginning in her life.
Ms. D’s story is uplifting in its own right and a compelling example of how ERICA seeks to fulfill its mission. It has also been my introduction to the ERICA and Cathedral community and my orientation to a small but important part of the process of refugee and asylee resettlement in Baltimore. I come to this new job with a sense that it was meant to be, that many things have fallen into place. I have had the good fortune to travel, study and work abroad, to work in education and public service, and to raise a healthy family in the Baltimore area. I have learned that I thrive when engaged in projects and purposes that connect me to individuals, to my physical community and to the world at large. This is how I feel spiritually nourished and how I get the energy to give the most of myself. It is not always possible to find one endeavor that combines all three levels of connection, but I believe I have found it in ERICA. Ms. D. and I are both embarking on a new phase in our lives, and we talked about this kind of blessing, our shared excitement and the role that the work of ERICA can play in the personal growth of everyone involved in the program.
Ms. D’s story is uplifting in its own right and a compelling example of how ERICA seeks to fulfill its mission. It has also been my introduction to the ERICA and Cathedral community and my orientation to a small but important part of the process of refugee and asylee resettlement in Baltimore. I come to this new job with a sense that it was meant to be, that many things have fallen into place. I have had the good fortune to travel, study and work abroad, to work in education and public service, and to raise a healthy family in the Baltimore area. I have learned that I thrive when engaged in projects and purposes that connect me to individuals, to my physical community and to the world at large. This is how I feel spiritually nourished and how I get the energy to give the most of myself. It is not always possible to find one endeavor that combines all three levels of connection, but I believe I have found it in ERICA. Ms. D. and I are both embarking on a new phase in our lives, and we talked about this kind of blessing, our shared excitement and the role that the work of ERICA can play in the personal growth of everyone involved in the program.
