Approximately more than 33,00 children without any adults came to the U.S border in the fiscal year of 2020, escaping war, famine, and violence. Children under the age of 18, upon arrival at the border, are sent to youth immigration detention centers where they await legal proceedings that will determine whether they will be granted asylum, a process that can take over 4 years. If a child turns 18 while at a youth detention center and has no family in the U.S. to live with, they are transferred to adult detention centers, which, in the Chicago area, are collar county jails. This is where organizations like Viator House and Bethany House show how vital their services are to asylum-seekers. These homes receive notices from either the youth detention center or from the child’s attorney, should they have one, before they turn 18. An interview is conducted to see if Viator House (if the child is male) or Bethany House (if the child is female) can meet the child’s needs. If so, these homes welcome asylum-seekers, giving food, shelter, education, work opportunities, life skills, therapy, and access to a case manager while they await trial and continue to provide for their families across the world. Zakat Chicago, during the pandemic, when these young people were unable to work, provided a grant that, in part, supported the families of these young men and women overseas and helped the asylum-seekers themselves as they began living independently from the home.
Viator House and Bethany House are more than just places of transition for those who are awaiting their legal proceedings. These houses are actual homes. They teach the young men and women who stay there English and life skills to take care of themselves. They enroll them in high schools and GED programs and even help them attend college. They give them therapy to help deal with the trauma endured from what happened in their home country that necessitated them leaving, walking to the border, and what happened at their detention center. In addition to meeting mental and physical needs, spiritual needs are also met. Viator House and Bethany House work with a number of different religious organizations like local mosques, synagogues, temples, churches, etc. to ensure that everyone who wants to practice their religion can do so freely. Viator House and Bethany House do all this without ever receiving a dollar from the government. These programs actively work to educate others on alternatives to prison while these young men and women await trial.
Your donations to Zakat Chicago make a tangible difference in the lives of these people. They witness the unimaginable in their home countries and escape with the intention to help their families. There are countless stories that fill these homes. The story of a young man sending money back so his sister can stay in school and not be forced into an unwanted marriage. The story of a set of sisters separated by thousands of miles after making it to the border finally being reunited after a year apart. The story of a boy sending money home to his mother so she can, quite literally, have a roof over her head. The work that Zakat Chicago supports at Viator House and Bethany House demonstrates a different kind of local aid. It improves upon the lives of these men and women by giving them the comfort they need to know their families are supported, even in times where they cannot work. Their sacrifices, their trauma, their efforts were not in vain. They can still provide for those they love. Your donation can provide that comfort.
