Since December 2023, AAFS, under the Illinois Welcoming Center, has partnered with Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to serve the migrant population from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador through the Southern Border Arrivals program. AAFS caseworkers provide on-the-ground support in migrant shelters, including in-take, helping people apply for housing assistance, food stamps, work permits and other immediate needs. Program funding for shelters was recently extended through the end of the year.
“When we first got assigned to go to the Northwestern shelter, we didn’t know what to expect, especially because our role was not clearly defined, but we had one thing on our minds, we wanted to do our best to help the residents get all the services that we can provide,” Basmah Qasim, Family Advocate at AAFS said. “With the help of the shelter management and the guidance of our supervisors at the office, we believe that we have achieved our goals successfully.”
