July Updates from Girasol
Dear <<First Name>>,
The sunflowers are here! The rain in Texas has inspired them to blossom in huge numbers - just in time for Girasol’s Month of Gratitude! This July, we are taking time to reflect on our wonderful community and to thank all of you that have helped make this work possible.
A heartfelt thanks to:
🌻 The TXICFW staff, interns, and graduate students who help us with our strategic vision, communications, and endless support with the day-to-day
🌻 Attorneys and legal staff who collaborate with us on cases and have dedicated themselves to creating trauma-informed work and spaces
🌻 Mental health professionals who attend our trainings, join the Mental Health Collaborative, and take valuable time out of their lives to write letters of support for immigration cases
🌻 Social service professionals outside the state of Texas, who participate in our trainings as they look for creative ways to bring similar initiatives to their communities
🌻 Students who engage with our work and help us push for systemic change
🌻 Our partner organizations who do amazing work in the community that we are proud to be a part of
🌻 Immigrant individuals and families who lead the way toward recognizing resilience, strengths, and needs to create more just communities
🌻 All of the folks that have donated to Girasol so that we can keep our programs moving forward
🌻 Funders and contract partners who believe in us and provide us with support to launch bold new projects
With Gratitude,
Ana Vidina Hernández,
Girasol Program Coordinator
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Learn More About Girasol with Meet Girasol Mondays!
Join Girasol's program coordinator, Ana Hernández, on the second Monday of July, August, September, November, December 2021. You will learn more about our work and the ways you can support our vision of creating a global community that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of all immigrant families. We will share a brief virtual tour of our program and then have plenty of time for questions and getting to know one another.
Date & Time:
- August 9, 1-2pm
- September 13, 1-2pm
- November 8, 1-2pm
- December 13, 1-2pm
Audience: Anyone interested in learning more about our program!
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The Mental Health Collaborative brings together a diverse group of mental health professionals. We provide trainings on writing letters of support and serving as expert witnesses for immigration relief cases. The aim of this project is to create a network of trained professionals able to provide expertise for the cases of individuals and families seeking asylum, U visas, and T visas. If you are interested in joining the collaborative, you must attend one of these trainings!
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Conducting Tele-Mental Health Assessments Training
Date & Time: Wednesday July 14th, 12pm-2pm
Cost: We accept payment on a sliding scale. Suggested $20.
Please pay what you can when you register. By paying what you can, you help us ensure that these trainings remain accessible to everyone and continue into the future.
Audience: Mental health professionals and students studying to become mental health professionals
CEUs: 2.0 CEUs available
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The Social Work Detention Response Team is a group of interdisciplinary teams of social work and law students orient migrants to the credible fear interview and asylum system, assist in their preparation for the interview, and provide emotional support to women and children undergoing this process. The team also goes on two trips to the border yearly to assist asylum-seekers at the Texas-Mexico border. While we cannot go to the border or to detention centers currently, please stay tuned for future Social Work Detention Response events.
July Immigration Dialogue
Challenging Crimmigration: Parallel Processes in the Immigration and Criminal Justice Systems
In our July 2021 Immigration Dialogue, guest presenter Alisa Hernández will discuss the research exploring the similarities and relationship between the immigration and criminal justice systems in the United States. Participants will engage in conversations around Everyday Resistance, ways in which social workers and community members alike can create a culture of abolition through daily actions.
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 27th 3:00pm-4:30pm CST
Cost: Please consider donating $20 when you register. By paying what you can, you help us ensure that these trainings are accessible to everyone!
Audience: Social work students, law students, other students, mental health professionals, and community members
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Check Out Our Unaccompanied Minors Resource Hub
Several schools of Social Work, NASW Texas, and other organizations across Texas are coordinating efforts to recruit volunteers, share resources, and advertise donation needs of various influx sites. As part of this effort, Girasol Austin has et up an online hub to support this effort.
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Ways to Volunteer
If you are interested in volunteering, whether in-person or virtually to support unaccompanied minors, please fill out this form. Girasol will contact you with in-person and virtual opportunities as they arise. These opportunities may include translating materials, providing virtual case management, and helping co-facilitate processing groups. If you are interested in volunteering in San Antonio specifically please sign up below.
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We are taking a pause in our training offerings this summer while we focus on strategic planning for Girasol. If you or your organization would like to request an in-house training, please email girasoltexas@gmail.com to learn more about what topics and options we offer.
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Girasol’s Navegando Austin website compiles resources to the undocumented community in Austin, TX with the aim of expanding to other areas in the state. We need volunteers to help us at this time to make sure this website reflects all recent updates about the pandemic, federal public charge rules, and resources available to the community.
Interested in helping us update the Navegando Austin website? We'd love your help! Reach out to us at girasoltexas@gmail.com for more info.
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Thank You To Our Partners and Donors!
Your contributions are critical to the success of our program. When you donate to Girasol Texas, you are committing to supporting justice and well-being for our immigrant communities. Thank you to the following donors for supporting our mission!
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Dean Luis Zayas
Mike & Jeanie Haggerty
Robert Margolin
Sherika Wilson
Anya Tyson
Daniel Hogan
Julie Macrae
Kathleen Wendland
Margaret Everhart
Kaitlyn C. Doerge
Lumos
St. David's
Texas Bar Foundation
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