Early Progress

It's a week and a half into this project, and I'm pleased with my progress so far. I've learned that the migrant population in Sussex County (the area that I'm focusing on) is predominantly hispanic, from Latin American countries such as Mexico - Vera Cruz and Puebla in particular - Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Argentina. However, there are also small Chinese, Indian, and Polish populations. Since there aren't really any factories in this area, most migrants work in food services or landscaping.

Aside from this basic information, two issues have captured my attention. First, the local and county governments seem to have trouble coping with the needs of the migrants. While the various departments want to assist the migrants, most simply do not have the resources to do so completely. Ellen Phelps, the Chief Nurse at the Department of Health and Human Services, cited the language barrier as the primary difficulty. She said that her office is unable to offer classes to the migrants because no one in her department speaks Spanish. Anne Kakerbeck, an official at the Social Services Division, informed me that her Division faces a similar situation; employees must call a language line to access translators. I cannot help but wonder: why don't the Sussex County offices hire at least some bilingual employees?

Which brings me to issue number 2. Non-governmental organizations (NGO's) appear to provide most of the assistance to the immigrant community of Sussex County. So far, I have learned of two main organizations that serve the area, El Refugio and the Migrant Ministry, part of Catholic Charities.

Based in Newton, El Refugio is an outreach center founded in April 2006; it provides translation services, helps migrants navigate through the bureaucracies of social services, hospitals, and schools, and acts as "a bridge between the number of social services providers who seek to access an underserved community." I met yesterday with Lelia Gomez, the director of El Refugio. Lelia migrated to the US from Ecuador in her early 20's; she has a history of helping the immigrants in her community. "I want the already established community to know that we are ok, we aren't a threat. Whatever these people do, it's to work for their family," she says. I'm hoping to feature Lelia's story and work in one of my articles for this project, so you should be hearing more about her in the future.

The second organization, the Migrant Ministry, operates under the Patterson Diocese of New Jersey. One of the Ministry's centers is Blessed Kateri, a parish in Sparta, NJ. The Ministry at Blessed Kateri is the subject of my first article, which I will be posting tomorrow, so I won't say more about it now.

I do want to say something, though, about the three people I spoke with so far who work with either El Refugio or the Migrant Ministry: Brother John Skrodinsky, Director of the Migrant Ministry, Lelia Gomez, and Pam Madzy, coordinator for the Blessed Kateri Ministry. The compassion and dedication of these individuals humbles me.

Katie