February Updates from Girasol
We have some great opportunities coming up over the next month – including our first Immigration Dialogue of 2021 next Tuesday! We will be discussing the roots of the concept of “illegality” in the U.S., how this connects with our current immigration detention system, and what we can do to re-imagine liberators communities that center the mental health of all immigrant families. We hope you’ll join us for this interactive workshop.
We are also grateful to announce the addition of two new team members here at Girasol. Jacob Rodriguez will be our spring 2021 Graduate Program Assistant, bringing an intersectional and justice-oriented approach to the Navegando Austin website and Social Work Detention Response Team. Brodi Amos is this spring’s MSSW APP intern, bringing strengths in program evaluation, development, and a passion for supporting undocumented student success. Look out for some amazing initiatives and contributions from our newest Girasol team members this year!
Continuing our focus on the four different pillars of Girasol’s work, as highlighted in our Two-Year Report, this month we are featuring Navegando Austin! Navegando Austin is a platform we created to share information about resources accessible to folks in our community regardless of their legal status. We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new-and-improved website for this project. Through a partnership with United Way, we had the opportunity to participate in the 48in48 challenge, and work with a team at IBM to revamp our site.
We know that there are still many uncertainties ahead in 2021 and are continuing our goal of remaining grounded, yet flexible through what is to come. We hope you are taking good care and we hope to (virtually) see you at one of our upcoming trainings and events!
As always, we hope to (virtually) see you soon!
Sincerely,
Ana Vidina Hernández,
Girasol Program Coordinator
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Introducing the New Navegando Austin Website!
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Now more than ever, it's important for everyone in our community to feel safe and supported. For this reason, we are so excited to share with y’all the NEW Navegando Austin website!
We encourage anyone who works in the field of immigration in Texas to use and share the new Navegando Austin site Special thanks to 48 in 48 and United Way for Greater Austin for their help in making this website a reality for us!
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Want to learn more about the Mental Health Collaborative and the other three pillars that make up our work? Check out our 2 Year Annual Report, released last month.
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Meet Girasol's New Student Staff
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Brodi Amos - Girasol MSSW Intern
Brodi graduated with a BSA in Biology from UT-Austin in 2019. He is currently a second year master's student at UT's Steve Hicks School of Social Work and is very excited to be joining Girasol as a graduate intern! His passions and hobbies include music, college football, petting animals, and making people smile.
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Jacob Rodriguez - Graduate Program Assistant
Jacob is a recent 2020 graduate with a BA in Sociology from UT and is a first year master's student at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. He is very excited to be working as a Graduate Program Assistant for Girasol! In his free time, Jacob loves playing video games, playing music, and doing comedian-adjacent things!
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Learn More About Girasol with Meet Girasol Mondays!
Join Girasol's program coordinator, Ana Hernández, on the second Monday of March, and April 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:
- March 8th from 12-1 PM
- Apr 12th from 12-1 PM
Audience: Anyone interested in learning more about our program!
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We will be regularly offering our trainings for professionals virtually for the next several months. Please join us! They're interactive and will provide you with more tools to work with immigrant families in the midst of social distancing.
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Working with Detained and Post-Detained Populations
Audience: Mental health professionals and students
Date & Time: Wednesday March 10, 2021, from 12pm-2pm
Cost: Suggested donation of $10
CEUs: 2.0 CEUs available
Registration is now open!
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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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Mental Health Collaborative Monthly Consultation Groups
A free monthly consultation support group for Girasol's Mental Health Collaborative members. These groups are available to anyone in our collaborative regardless of whether or not you are currently working on a case.
Date & Time: They vary, and you can come to as many as you want! We'll be hosting daytime and post-work meetings once a month.
- Friday February 19, 10:00-11:00am
- Wednesday March 17, 5:30-6:30pm
- Friday April 16, 10:00am-11:00am
Audience: Members of the Mental Health Collaborative
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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.
February Immigration Dialogue
Understanding and Deconstructing "Illegality" in Pursuit of Liberation
In our February 2021 Immigration Dialogue, Girasol staff and volunteers explore the history of the concept of "illegality," its connection to immigrant detention, and how we can deconstruct this framework as part of seeking liberation.
Date & Time: Tuesday, February 16th, 5:30-7:00pm CST
Cost: Suggested donation of $10
Audience: Social work students, law students, other students, mental health professionals, and community members
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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 A. Macrae
Kathleen Wendland
Margaret Everhart
Kaitlyn C. Doerge
Lumos
St. David's
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