A Word From Social Justice Coordinator Jason Taper Shalom y'all!
Social Justice is still going on--remotely. During this quarantine, I'm sharing opportunities to organize from home. Each issue has its own current point person to contact, if you'd like to get involved. No matter where you're affiliated, every group would love to have you. And if you want to talk about what issues you're passionate about getting involved with, email me at jason.austinsocialjustice@gmail.com or text me at 469-834-9987 and let's talk!
Thanks,Jason Taper
Social Justice Coordinator
Temple Beth Shalom & Congregation Beth Israel
_______________________________________________________ Or download a PDF of the application to vote by mail here.
_________________________________________________________RISE Fund for COVID-19 Relief in Austin
Social Justice Opportunity: The RISE fund is a $15M COVID-19 relief fund, which passed the Austin City Council unanimously. Its goal is to fill the gaps left by federal stimulus, especially with relief to non-citizens. Half is allocated to social service providers to assist with essentials like rent and utilities, and half will be unrestricted grants to cover whatever is needed most. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the following organizations who received RISE grants:
Asian Family Support Services
• Rise@afssaustin.org
• 512-358-6318
Austin Area Urban League
• https://aaul.org/
• English: 512-838-3442
• Spanish: 512-900-1598
El Buen Samaritano
• elbuen.org
• assistance@elbuen.org
• 512-439-8902
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
• Call the phone number which corresponds to the first letter of your Last Name:
o A-D (512) 910-5768
o E-K (512) 910-5907
o L-R (512) 910-7076
o S-Z (512) 910-7170
_______________________________________________________Reform Congregations--Immigration Work Website
Check out Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website to find the latest actions and her thoughtful analysis, updated frequently. ______________________________________________________________ Opportunities for InvolvementReligious Action Center, Texas
Contact: Rabbi David Segal, dsegal@rac.org
Upcoming Event: RAC Civic Engagement Campaign: Launch and Virtual Town Hall
When: Tuesday, May 19 at 7 PM
Where: Register here.
Join us for the official launch of Every Voice, Every Vote: the Reform Movement’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign on May 7. Throughout the year, Reform Jews like you join together to fight injustice by talking directly to our nation’s leaders. Help make sure elected officials at every level of government hear us by working with your Reform community to reach 100 percent voter turnout and combat voter suppression – so that every voice is heard and every vote counts in November.
Work So Far:
RAC-TX officially joined the Texas Voter Protection Coalition and held a meeting with Travis County Voter Registrar Bruce Elphant. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, this coalition was advocating for a list of reforms to ensure Texas has fair, accessible, effective elections. The urgency of this effort has only increased, and our state’s ability to protect the vote is a cornerstone of democracy and influences every other issue we work on. There is a legal and political fight right now, particularly around voting by mail.We determined that targeted outreach to County Elections Administrators is a strategic step: we are building relationships with the officials who administer elections, finding out what the issues are from their perspective, and gaining insight into how best to build power (with our coalition) to effect change.
CBI Social Action Committee Core Team
Contact: Mindy Lee | mindyem@gmail.com
Liz Mitlak | mitlakej@gmail.com
Update: CBI's reinvigorated Social Action Committee continues to meet as we expand our core team, conduct outreach to our members as well as further define our goals, mission and vision. While our committee continues to work on a process to identify key issues and engage in a power analysis of selected issue areas, we are currently focusing our attention on continuing actions around civic engagement & immigration justice. Contact Mindy or Liz to get connected and learn more!
Ongoing Actions:
• Immigration Justice: Continued activities around immigration justice are taking place in our community, especially with Refugee Services of Texas. Specifically, please refer families you may be assisting, donate to a COVID-19 relief fund, or to sign up to be a volunteer through RST. And please visit Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website for more opportunities!
• Civic Engagement: Our new civic engagement issue team is working in coordination with RAC-TX to advocate for universal, no-excuse vote by mail and to support safe and fair elections, particularly during the current COVID-19 crisis. We ask that if you're 65+ or have a disability, you apply to vote by mail. For the Travis County Tuesday, July 14, 2020 Primary Runoff & Special Elections, the last day to apply for Ballot by Mail is Thursday, July 2, and early voting has been extended to Monday, June 29-Friday, July 10.Temple Beth Shalom Social Justice Core Team (Anti-Poverty)
Contact: Larkin Tackett, 512-657-9383, larkin.tackett@gmail.com
Ongoing Actions:
The Anti-Poverty Action Team is moving forward with its work, creating three work groups to lead on each action goal:
1. Identify community members who are experiencing poverty and support the development of their leadership skills to review data, research, plan, and take action to reduce poverty and expand opportunity
2. Gather and share information about anti-poverty efforts from across the community, including educating system leaders about successful, community member-driven actions
3. Create a community-wide definition of poverty and opportunity
Work So Far:
* Education about strategies highlighted in NY Times, Tamarack Institute (Canada), and Central Iowa
* Partnering with other Austin organizations (LifeWorks, Community First! Village, and Capital IDEA) to conduct house meetings to understand issues and identify leaders of families impacted by poverty.Upcoming Event: Monthly action team meeting led by Ofelia Zapata
When: 6/10 at 10:30 AM
Where: Via Zoom, email Larkin for link
Jewish tradition is filled with commandments to help the poorest among us: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widow and orphan. When we organize to place working class voices at the center of how our community morally responds to poverty, we not only improve the advocacy we undertake, but fundamentally empower those who the Torah compels us to uplift. Advocates for Social Justice Reform (Criminal Justice)
Contact: Bob Batlan, bobbatlan1@gmail.com
Email Bob for a Zoom invitation and/or to join our mailing list.
Ongoing Actions:
* Frequent progress meetings via Zoom
* Frequent meetings with Criminal Justice officials and experts
Work So Far:
• Met with the Travis County Chief Public Defender Adeola Ogunkeyede. Successfully started an ongoing dialog.
• Continued advocacy for the safety of incarcerated individuals and criminal justice staff during the COVID crisis. Advocated to responsibly allow release of incarcerated individuals who do not pose a threat to society and assure they are tested/quarantined upon release as appropriate.
• Presented to the Travis County Commissioners Court for them to seek a state grant to support improved treatment of arrested individuals at the time of magistration including bail setting. Commissioners agreed and directed work be done to complete the grant application.
• Attended various meetings and seminars on Criminal Justice Issues and Public Policy.
"Justice, justice, you shall pursue." A just system of laws is ingrained from Leviticus through King David through every contradicting comment in the Talmud. Even an eye for an eye is blind to whose eye is taken, so we organize for a criminal justice system that is truly fair and impartial.
Refugee Services of Texas
Contact: Lynn Burdick | lburdick@rstx.org
Ongoing Action - Asylum Seeker Assistance Program (ASAP) Referral:
Contact Refugee Services of Texas to refer asylum seeker families you may be assisting to obtain caseworker help. More below.
Ongoing Action - Donations Requested:
• Emergency Assistance Fund - monetary donations for rent/utility assistance, food security, technology devices, and internet access
• Bicycle - Help a dad get to work by providing a new bike and accessories (chain/lock, light, helmet). We have a father from Cuba who is working hard to support his family and has requested a bike to get to and from his job.
• Babies, babies and more babies! We had two families welcome a new member into their family. We need diapers (size 2), wipes and formula.
• Feed a family - If you're uncomfortable or unable to go out, you can still make a difference by "adopting" a family. We'll supply the grocery list, all you have to do is go online, order groceries and set up delivery through Amazon, Instacart or other delivery service. This will be posted as an ongoing opportunity on Volunteer Hub.
• ESL Teachers - Learning English is a top priority to help our clients acclimate into their new communities. Adapting to our current circumstances, we are looking for ESL teachers to help with online lessons.
• Youth Mentor Program. The Youth Mentoring Program's goal is to match community members with refugee youth ages 15-24 for the purpose of education support, career guidance, cultural learning and friendship. Pairs are expected to meet 8 hours per month for a 6 month period, working on goals set by the mentee. Pairs might also enjoy recreational activities, college visits or other activities to help the mentee integrate into their community. Spanish, Dari and Pashto speaking members especially needed. Also, we would love to connect with specialists in the medical field, law and engineering/tech. If you are interested in being a mentor or learning more, contact Chloe at cscarborough@rstx.org or Marissa at mmelnikov@rstx.org.
Work So Far:
Local donors raised sufficient funding to begin the ASAP (Asylum Seeker Assistance Program) in May. RST posted the position for a part time case manager and had an incredible internal candidate – Ahmed Abbas. Those who attended the Austin Jews for Refugees conference will remember Ahmed as one of the speakers. RST anticipates Ahmed will start taking on a caseload around mid-May, and will slowly build toward a full caseload of about 25. The requested funding from the City of Austin and St. David’s Foundation, if awarded, will be a potential resource for asylum seekers that become clients in the ASAP program, as well as current refugee and SIV clients.
Our own people’s history as “strangers” reminds us of the many struggles faced by immigrants today, and we affirm our commitment to create the same opportunities for today’s refugees that were so valuable to our own community when we fled our gravest dangers.
ICE Reform Advocacy
Contacts: Maria Reza, Daniela Weil
Ongoing Action: Demanding Release of T. Don Hutto Detainees
Grassroots Leadership is asking folks to call (script here) and ask for the release of the women inside T. Don Hutto detention center, as they have little to no access to medical resources (the women inside have no choice but to purchase a bar of soap for $4 because the jail won't supply them with basic necessities). These are all women who are seeking asylum and have absolutely no need to be detained inside a hazardous jail, especially during an epidemic.Work So Far: Organizing against ICE contracts and inhumane treatment of detainees, including research, elected official contact, and protests.
Our Jewish values compel us to show compassion to these women who fled their countries after seeing their families being killed, crossed the ocean and arrived in a place they considered a safe haven. The dangers of Germany then and Guatemala now both compel allyship. Austin Sanctuary Network
Contacts: Jessica Duran, Daniela Weil
Social Justice Opportunity: Supporting Hilda and Iván in sanctuary
Work So Far: This organization has been protecting Hilda Ramirez and her son Iván, who are Guatemalan asylum seekers, from ICE detention and deportation to certain danger, for four years.
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” So we show our love and solidarity with Hilda and Iván whenever we can.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Contacts: Nancy Wolf, Russ Apfel
Ongoing Actions (please contact Nancy Wolf if interested):
• Attorneys to work remotely assisting asylum seekers: hias.org/take-action
• Girls Forward: Looking for adult women mentors for teen refugee girls. Virtual tutoring and mentoring: info@girlforward.org
• Needed for VOCA Program (Victims of Crime Act Program- formerly the STEP program for survivors of trafficking): Any type of gift cards, HEB, Walmart, Whole Foods, Central Market, etc.
• $25-100 Visa card to assist with food, clothing, and other necessities
• Mandarin speakers needed to interpret - volunteer or paid!
Work So Far:
During our Jews for Refugees assembly held on February 2, 2020, we were privileged to have many non-profits attend. HIAS, our partner in this endeavor, put together a flyer entitled "What Should we Do Next?" with opportunities to get involved in the following categories: Advocacy, Donations, and Direct Volunteer/Service. Of course, our world has changed during the pandemic, as we all face medical, economic, and social/emotional challenges. These challenges are often magnified for our refugee and asylee populations. Our shared histories and current circumstances reveal how we are all dependent on one another in ways that we perhaps could not have understood even just several weeks ago.
Our own people’s history as “strangers” reminds us of the many struggles faced by immigrants today, and we affirm our commitment to create the same opportunities for today’s refugees that were so valuable to our own community when we fled our gravest dangers.
|
|
