Trying To Help Immigrants- Forum sees ESL classes, jobs as answers

At the end of their last meeting, members of the Centreville Immigration Forum compiled a list of ways they could help immigrants in the local community. At their Nov. 18 meeting, they added to it and discussed their next moves.

“When we have food-pantry day, I could survey people to find out if they need jobs,” said Hilda Rexach of Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM). She also suggested Barb Shaiko of Centreville United Methodist Church (CUMC) do likewise during her church’s Grace Ministries program, which furnishes food and clothing to those in need.

Alice Foltz of Wellspring United Church of Christ said her church wants to hire a Spanish-speaking person to stand on the corner outside Centreville Regional Library, where day laborers gather for jobs, and distribute information about English classes available to them.

“A volunteer asked them if they wanted to learn English, and they all said yes,” said Foltz. “But it’s difficult to take classes if you’re outside waiting for a job.” Noting that, one morning, of 40 hopefuls, only a few were hired, she said, “We also need to find out if there are families in crisis so we could refer them [to organizations which could provide help].”

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