Trudging Along

Since my last post, my involvement and level of autonomy at AI Justice (Americans for Immigrant Justice and formerly FIAC as you know from Adam’s post) has intensified significantly. Much to my delight, it is safe to say that the training wheels have officially been removed, as my personal interaction with clients continues to increase. No longer am I simply doing busy work when instructed to do so; I am meeting with more and more clients, making more phone calls, and must make my own decisions when organizing and completing applications for Visas. I will even be going to interpret an immigration interview this Monday at USCIS!

Words do not speak enough volume as to how having a real, personal, human connection with those who you are helping makes this volunteer work all the more meaningful. While this new level of autonomy ultimately means more work, I would not have it any other way; without this recent up-kick I’m not sure that I would be as pleased as I actually am with my volunteer placement.

However, that is not to say does my work at AI Justice does not have an adverse effect on me at times. As a member of the LUCHA project, I work with victims of domestic violence and human trafficking (mostly women) and hearing their stories can be disgruntling to say the least. For a deeper insight into the actual immigration work, special non-immigrant visas were developed for these victims as not to deter them from reporting these crimes due to fear of deportation. It is truly beneficial work in which I am continuing to believe more and more as my time and work at AI Justice moves forward.

To end on a happier note, Adam and I had the pleasure of hosting the Immokalee volunteers at our apartment this past weekend. It was great to see everyone and talk about the enneagram with such a large group once again. Probably the coolest part of the weekend was when we all went to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ protest at a local Publix. It was awesome to see some of the activism in which the other volunteers are immersing themselves. Until next time folks, keep it real.