Category: Accompaniment

Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity’s Nueva Esperanza Accompaniment Team (NEAT) program trains San Francisco Bay Area congregations to form a team to walk alongside recently arrived immigrants for six months. The teams support the immigrants’ self-sufficiency by introducing them to local resources. By working toward families’ goals together, we create sanctuary, safety, and friendship in the community. 

We are creating beloved community. Since 2015, we have accompanied nearly 300 people from all over the world. We accompany recently arrived immigrants of all immigration statuses, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We have accompanied people from Cuba, Haiti, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Eritrea, Egypt, Mongolia, Philippines, Afghanistan, Brazil, Laos, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Fiji, Vietnam. All are welcome here.

• To learn more about families and congregations who have accompanied them, read our NEAT Stories or watch our video: “From Root Causes to Sanctuary”.
• If you are interested in participating in NEAT, you can form a team through your congregation! Please review our introductory materials to get started.  
• Individuals, congregations, and organizations can also partner with us by offering:
  • Hosted Housing – Offer temporary respite housing by hosting a newcomer family in your home, in-law unit, or apartment building for free or reduced cost for 1-3 months . Click HERE to learn more.
  • Welcome Navigator: Be a welcoming presence for families facing immigration court at the new Concord Courthouse.  See our upcoming webinar and training. Click HERE to learn more.
  • I-134A Supporters: You can help us reunite NEAT families with their loved ones by becoming an I-134A Supporter. This new government pathway allows us to bring Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians to the United States in a simple and clear-cut way, so they can reunite with their loved ones. Click here to learn more
• Meet our 2024 student interns!

Questions? Comments? Ready to start? Contact our NEAT Coordinator, Nadia Tavera: ntavera@im4humanintegrity.org

Have You Ever Stepped Foot in a Courtroom?

Imagine defending your case in a foreign language and unfamiliar environment, with the outcome determining whether you return to danger or find safety. This is the reality for asylum seekers at the new Immigration Courthouse in Contra Costa County.

Join the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity (IM4HI) and the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance (CCIRA) as a Welcome Navigator at the new Concord Immigration Courthouse!

Help provide comfort and clarity to families arriving at immigration court. As a Welcome Navigator, you can:

• Give basic directions within the courthouse
• Connect migrants to the attorney of the Day -on site-
• Be a friendly face in a time of fear

Interested?
To become a Welcome Navigator, please follow these steps:

Step 1). Complete our training videos from home

a)  Recording of IM4HI Virtual Accompaniment Training (2 hrs)

b) Centering Immigrant Newcomers (20 mins)

c)  Trauma and Self-Care Module  (22 mins)

Step 2:  

Attend an IN PERSON training. 

• March 19th or
• April 16th  

Trainings will be from 8:00am to 10:30am in person at the Concord Immigration Courthouse: 1855 Gateway Boulevard, Ste 850, Concord, CA 94520). Park on the 5th + floors only.

Please RSVP to the training by filling out the form below. All you have to do is show up one of the training days at 8am in the waiting area of the 10th floor. Nadia Tavera will be there to greet you.

IM4HI’s Legal Orientation Program

Our Legal Orientation Program provides basic orientation and pro-se clinics to empower and provide tools for immigrants.  We’re thrilled to have the skills and leadership of Pablo Guerrero, an asylum-seeker from Nicaragua, who has become an invaluable member of the IM4HI community. Pablo provides pro-se legal clinics and consultations to families from our NEAT Accompaniment Program, so they can be empowered to stand in love over fear. Through Pablo’s paralegal and legal preparer support, families are receiving support they may otherwise not have access to:

• Know Your Rights presentations
• Pro se asylum application workshops
• Pro se work permit application workshops

Check our calendar for upcoming workshops.

We are actively seeking bilingual volunteers to assist Pablo in filling out intake questionnaires in Spanish. If you are interested in volunteering, we will train you and support you as you meet this important community ask. Please contact Kelly Younger, Accompaniment Manager, at kyounger@im4humanintegrity.org to sign up.

Pablo’s Journey with IM4HI: Serving Fellow Migrants

At IM4HI we believe that immigrants, especially those who have experienced the challenges of our immigration system firsthand, know best how we can collectively protect and serve immigrants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pablo reached out to us with a passion for supporting his community and raising awareness about the situation in Nicaragua. IM4HI was able to support him to bring his children from Nicaragua through our I-134a Reuniting Families program, and he is now happily reunited with them. As a former attorney in Nicaragua, he began volunteering with us, assisting asylum seekers with their applications through our NEAT Accompaniment Program, demonstrating unwavering dedication to helping others like himself.  This summer, Pablo became the lead volunteer for our Newcomer Housing summer pilot at the University of San Francisco, ensuring that all 10 asylum seekers had filed their asylum applications before the end of the summer.

On November 19th. 2024 Pablo completed his Paralegal Immigration Training with the Paralegal Institute of the Americas, and Pablo helped design our new Legal Orientation and Pro Se program, which will have a lasting impact on the lives of hundreds of immigrants facing deportation and uncertain futures.